robyn jay

Dear retail assistants,
I am now officially over your terms of endearment that you feel are an essential aspect of providing me with customer service.
In the last month I have been called:

• darls
• darling
• love
• lovie
• sweetie (by a 20 yr old)
• gorgeous (also by 20 yr old) , and
• dear

I’m just waiting for sweetie, cupcake, honeybun, sweetpea, sugar plum, princess, precious or perhaps poppet is awaiting me ?

Male assistants are a little more cautious:

• madam (well it’s an option if the consultancy doesn’t work out)
• ma’am (am I THAT old?)
• miss (has been a VERY long time)

or best of all…

• mate (by a young Indian guy)

The terms are typically used in conjunction with short queries – “chips or fries love ? (read any of the above options) and replace extended phrases such as “would you like ….” or “hi” …. or “excuse me..”

I just hope I can cope and my hormones don’t get the better of me. A  ‘ grumpy old woman’ moment in public won’t be pretty.

LOL

CC FlickR image by ginfox

Yesterday, in the back room of the church at the Balmain Market I found a veritable treasure chest of Thai silk clothing and textiles. A few items were hung but most were tied in twine in carefully arranged piles on a trestle table.

The stall was run by a Thai woman and a younger helper who I am guessing was her daughter. The older woman appeared to be instructing the other as I perused their gorgeous wares. I was quietly and respectfully showed to a small makeshift changing room when I made my difficult selection.

My purchase was laid out on the table and the item meticulously folded. ‘It is all handmade’, the stall-owner said, and she stroked the fabric as she quietly explained to the other how to fold it. The shirt was then placed on a sheet of simple, hand made rice paper and the older woman stepped her apprentice through a fold that culminated in a tucked in corner that necessitated no adhesive.

In two hands the parcel was handed to me and I was graciously thanked for my purchase. We exchanged a smile and feeling as though I was carrying treasure I left the building contemplating what I had just witnessed. Seconds later the young woman ran up and gave me a small shoulder bag – ‘this is for you, for free’, she said.

The parcel sat for a day unwrapped.