The other day I went to a chi-chi makeup counter to try and replace a favourite lip gloss that I had misplaced but recently found in a coat pocket. Yahoo! I had the same sensation as when I find a five dollar bill that’s gone through the spin cycle in the washing machine from a pair of my kids’ pants. (Do you have the same dilemma as I do? Should you keep it for your lunch money or give it back to your kid?).

Anyway, it only had a little bit left, which I used up. And so, off to the store. Here’s the response I got: "That’s been discontinued"—and then, in an accusing manner—"for a long time"—as if I had re-emerged from some deep sleep on Star Trek. Well, it couldn’t have been that long, because I remember when I bought it.  Then the crabby salesperson went back to doing her paperwork.

This from a store that constantly sends out bulletins about how fabulous their service is. No, it isn’t. Shouldn’t she have said to me: Can I try and find you something similar? While I can’t go around fighting every small retail violation, I wonder: what do you do when confronted with a snooty sales person? (And p.s., this, during a recession, even!)

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