I’m not fancy… let me put that out there right away. For the most part, you will find me wearing comfy clothes and a pair of canvass shoes… with no laces… (yes, just like they do in prison… but I’m on the outside, and CHOOSE to dress that way… that is the difference AND the definition of freedom). I think I look presentable, but maybe I’m one of those daytime talk-show makeovers away from realizing my full potential, from an appearance perspective anyway.

When my husband and I were looking for this particular baby accessory that I just had to have (that we never ended up using, not even once), we decided to go to the fancy store where they sell ‘special’ baby stuff. We walked in and were ‘greeted’ by an employee who immediately directed us to the less expensive part of the store. Yep, you read that right. She said, and I quote: “the less expensive items are over there…” pointing with her index finger to make sure we knew where to go. Whoa. What? That was unexpected and completely unprompted by anything I had said. My husband watched me, unsure of how I would respond, but I simply smiled and said, “OK, great, thanks.”

Surprisingly, this wasn’t the first time I had been Pretty Woman’d [the act of being unfairly judged and disrespected in a store because of one’s perceived station in life]. There was no point in getting defensive with her… I am by no means Oprah rich, but we can afford any item they sell in that store, more comfortably than she likely can. Although I shouldn’t make the same assumption she did; for all I know, she could be exceedingly wealthy and volunteers her time at the local baby boutique where she is a bouncer that maintains world order by corralling customers into different areas of the store based on their perceived net worth. The Lord’s work… praise be.

Stuff like this doesn’t offend me, I am pretty secure in who I am. One thing that I’ve known to be true for some time is that high end does not always equate to a high degree of customer service and customer satisfaction. Fact: I get better customer service from the Walmart greeter than I do at Nordstrom (and yet I still buy my dresses at Nordstrom…).

One of the primary observations I have noted about high end stores is that many of the well put together, young 20-somethings working the cash registers have been assimilated into a culture (brand) that they themselves cannot afford… sad really. Think about that for a minute. I walk in, willing to shell out $1200 for a bag, and they don’t give me the time of day because I don’t match the image that they have of who their customer should be…  and to some extent the dummies work on commission…big mistake… huge!

Stay great!