The long, ranty post that wasn't.

Well, I was all prepared to write a ranty post and it totally got derailed. *sigh* And I'm SO good at those!

I sent my husband an email today and asked the guys to meet me at the store after work.  The plan was to buy a laptop for MC to take to college.  Yeah, not so surprisingly, this is NOT a luxury item for students anymore.  These days it is an absolute necessity - can someone tell that to my wallet, please?

As today was the start of the back-to-school tax-free weekend here in North Carolina we figured we would take advantage tonight before it gets all kinds of crazy in the stores tomorrow and Sunday.

We had done our due diligence in preparation.  We knew exactly what we wanted and where to get the best price.  We were like ninjas - we were ready to strike.  No dithering around the store wondering if this one would be better than that one.

So we rendezvoused at the local Office Depot at 5:30 pm.  I figured we'd be in and out in no time.  But Office Depot was ready for us.

They were out of stock.

Seriously?!  Already?  Only a few hours into the biggest back-to-school shopping weekend of the year?

We, okay....I, demanded information asked about the stock at other locations.  I was determined.  I was going to get this damn computer tonight, come hell or high water, because tomorrow?  Tomorrow it will be like Black Friday out there; and after the week I've had I just couldn't face it.

Much to my amazement, two of the other stores (rather far away) actually had a limited supply on their shelves at that very moment.

We conferred.  I could tell that Hubby had absolutely ZERO interest in driving across town to try and score this deal.  But remember, I was determined.  Besides, we really don't have much time left to get this bit done.  He leaves in exactly two weeks and there is still much to be done.  I wanted this bit out of the way.

So I decided on a store, that for some reason I thought was off the beaten track.  Turns out, the store wasn't off the beaten track - but on one of the most heavily traveled roads in our area during rush hour.  Hmmm.  So much for MY sense of direction.

At any rate, we made it over in record time.  Apparently, Hubby was channeling a NASCAR driver, because I'd never seen him drive like that before.

Once I realized where we were actually headed versus where I thought we were headed, I figured that this mission was a failure.  I even tweeted my rising frustration . . .

Sdomeone tell me, WHY don't stores stock up on those must have items on the back to school no tax weekend?!
— Gigi (@gigirambles) August 3, 2012

Ignore the typo...it's hard to type on a phone while flying through town with a crazy man at the wheel

and

So now I'm running all over town instead of relaxing at home after a hard day at work *grumble*
— Gigi (@gigirambles) August 3, 2012

And, just so you know, I finally figured out how to properly embed Tweets! Finally, one thing accomplished this week!

And then immediately started composing a long, ranty post in my head about how stores are inconsiderate and rude.  And they should be ashamed of themselves for inconveniencing people; particularly ME, on a Friday night - when all I really wanted to do was go home, put on my jammies, and have a glass (or three) of wine after a long stressful week.

But then we arrived at our destination.  And lo and behold, we walked right in and immediately found a friendly, helpful associate who said, "Yes, we do have that model in stock; let me get it for you."

And with that the long, ranty post died.

*****
But still, the question remains.....why don't these stores stock up on these must-have items in preparation for weekends like this?  They KNOW that parents are going to be out there looking for the best deals they can find - especially in this economy.  The guy at the first store even said that more were coming in throughout the weekend.  So why spread it out?  Why not have all the inventory at the store at the beginning of the sale?  It's a mystery to me.