So that should be liberating! How it came to pass is that a coworker passed along her coupons from Macy's so I could use them. I knew the rules for these cards: you have to use your Macy's charge to get the discount. But I have had a Macy's card for years! I don't use it often, and I always pay it right off; in fact it's probably been 10 years since I used it last. But it was surely that long the time before that, too. I just don't go to the mall that often!
I need a new pair of shoes and maybe some boots, so I headed over in Sunday traffic to have a look. First, I have to say that the shoe department was a horror within itself. People just seething everywhere, and it took me 10 minutes of standing around with shoes in my hand to find someone to help. Obviously it's been a long time since I bought shoes at Macy's too, because they have a totally new system. Harried and cranky salespeople have to scan the box, only to tell you then that they have almost nothing in the sizes you have requested. Then, ten minutes later they appear with the ones you barely wanted anyway, and you put them on to discover they're an inch too long for your foot.
And that's how it went. I decided to head up to the petites department to see if I could find something nice to wear to work, and that's where it went from worse to worst, and my separation from Macy's was sealed for eternity. I finally managed to find a sweater and a shirt which would have cost, in total, about $50. At the register, I discovered that my credit card no longer worked. The saleswoman (who worked more slowly than molasses so I had had to wait a fair amount of time just to be put through this experience) offered to 'reactivate' the card, with a license and major credit card.
Knowing that my credit rating is strong, I wasn't worried at all, it was only a reactivation! I knew that I had been rejected once by Sleepy's when trying to get credit for a mattress, but at the time my own income was less than $20,000 a year. Now I felt it was at a respectable level, surely enough to charge $50 on a crappy Macy's credit card! (I had even checked 'store card only', not wanting their AMEX or anything else. I just wanted to charge this, pay it off, and move on.)
Soon I realized things were not going to work out. I had to be put on the phone with a girl, who grilled me and asked me, in front of all around, personal questions about income, mortgage and other investments. It was quite awkward and I told her so, and that if this was going to be a rejection, she should tell me right now because I'll just leave and not take the clothes. Of course, it was a rejection after all. I came home and wrote to Macy's non-existent customer service, and received in response a "thanks for taking our survey!" form letter. What is it with this store, that they just can't get it right? I guess I can now see WHY it's been so long since I purchased anything at Macy's.
Anyway, that was my Macy's debacle. It's truly hardly worth getting upset about it because I really couldn't care less that they didn't give me the card. What I do care about is that they put me through that humiliation over $50 worth of clothes and several hours of shopping out of my precious wasted weekend that I'll never get back to use more fruitfully. But I learned a hard lesson. Macy's sucks!
And in other news, the cold weather is upon us. The leaves are coming off the trees in droves, and the cars are all fogged up every morning. B has decided to shift his college search to warmer climes (which is really an irrelevant quest anyway, as he seems unable to finish an essay despite having been given weeks to complete it.) Fortunately, the community college doesn't require an essay! And if he goes there, just think of all the money we will have to spend at places that are NOT MACY'S!!!
