I know exactly how many better things they have to do, such as their job. It's incredibly annoying to just be trying to get your stocks and par levels in order and your shelves the way they're supposed to be in the time you're allotted, only to have some dumbass 'customer' come up to you and waste your time asking for you to tromp back to a stockroom and check for something you likely don't even have, and then get mad at you when you try to explain that you don't have it.
I never said it was okay for them to pitch a tantrum. But, if they want to buy something, it makes sense to at least check to see if they have reason to give the store their money.
"I was helping a customer" was an all purpose excuse when I worked big box retail.
If the store's manager is an adult, then they will realize that a few minutes spent helping a customer spend money is not going to bring about the apocalypse.
If there's one thing I don't need, it's for the good people of Target and Wal-Mart to be annoyed with me. I'm sure they're already saying stuff about me with how often they see me swing by the toy aisle.
No, you do not need enemies. But, does it really bother you that much if they are talking smack about you? I am sure there are at least a few people at the local Target or K-Mart who call me "that weirdo who buys toys, or more often glares angrily at the empty peg hooks". But, who the hell cares. I care what my boss thinks of me. I care what my clients think of me. I could give a flying shit what the shelf-monkeys and cashiers at Target think of me so long as they are mature and professional.
Like you just explained, some stuff is socially-acceptable for adults to spend their money on, some stuff isn't. I didn't make the rules, but I do try to play by them as best I can while still enjoying the hobby, and the less people I bother while trying to do so, the better.
The particular rules in question have no practical enforcement though.
I used to wonder how much it was my hobby that held me back and how much it was me. Quite frankly, I know plenty of people who are in to gaming/comics/toys who are doing *fine* in their lives. Some have better (much) jobs than I do. More than a few are married or otherwise in relationships. And, among some of those who are not, it is at least partly by choice.
Drinking and gambling might be socially expected, but they also carry a much different stigma than collecting toys.
$29.99 HA Leadfoot was never available on the target.com web site
This is the most hilarous example of staying on topic. Ever. "I still do not have my toy."
Yeah, and you know what? I still do not have my damned Windcharger figure. (This really does bother me more than it should. Maybe I should take up drinking to alleviate this pain.)
Dom
-when did toys become contraband....aside from those Godzilla toys about 10 years back I mean....