Pumpkin Service, Please

Many of my neighbors have recently gotten into the Halloween spirit by decorating their front porches and doorsteps. In an attempt to be festive (and keep up appearances) I bought a $5 scarecrow from Big Lots. By itself it looked silly, so I decided to buy some pumpkins to go with it. At Target, they had pumpkins for $3 a piece, which I thought was a bit steep, so I only bought one. The checkout lady gave me a coupon for a dollar off, so the pumpkin ended up being $2. Great deal.

That was Monday- I have been to Target two more times since then, but did not buy any pumpkins. I thought I could get cheaper pumpkins at the local nursery/fruit stand in Centerville, so today that is where we went. Ethan and Serena loved it. They were sitting on the pumpkins and just going nuts-- fun for them. For me, however, my great deal was not to be found. When the kid that worked there finally came up to greet us, I told him we wanted to get some pumpkins and asked him how much they were. I am not convinced that this kid was not on crack. He says, "Well, some of them are marked, and we base the price on size and appearance. Like this one, (a giant green pumpkin) is $24.50." Hmmm. "This one, since it has no stem is $1." That sounds good.

So I find two reasonable looking pumpkins, one has no stem, so I assume it will be a great deal. So while this green-shirted, lazy, eighteen or nineteen year-old kid goes and slumps in a chair by the cash register, I leave my children unattended and carry my pumpkins, one at a time, about 200 feet to where he is . He rings me up. One pumpkin is $3. The no stemmer is $2.75. Big savings, eh? So feeling thoroughly ripped off, but happy to have my pumpkins, I leave the pumpkins on the table to go take a quick look at their trees. The kid does not offer to help me.

When I come back he is still lounging there, and I ask if I can use one of their carts to take my pumpkins. He says yes, and starts messing with his cell phone. What service! What a fine pumpkin salesman! Did he not see that I had two very independent children transport to my car as well as the two pumpkins I had purchased? Apparently not. Perhaps it was his ball cap and his drug-induced haze that clouded his vision. I don't know, but I am certainly getting sick of these kids and their crappy attitudes and lack of customer service skills. I could go on and on about that topic, but that's a blog for another day.

Results: I got my pumpkins. I am semi-happy. Conclusion: I should have bought a pumpkin a day at Target, but in the end, the result is the same. I now have a mildly festive doorstep.