(no subject)
Jan. 17th, 2016 06:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cblj_backup Well, it's a good thing yesterday was my day of capitalist debauchery, because it's subzero temperatures in Chicago today.
Yesterday went well -- I struck out at Macy's when shopping for a new saucepan, but that was because I had some pretty specific criteria. I wanted a 3qt saucepan in steel-clad aluminum (rather than teflon), with a see-through glass lid and one long handle instead of two short curved ones. Macy's had exactly one which fell in the middle of that venn diagram, but it was $50 on sale, and that's about $20 more than I wanted to pay, even on sale.
Target, on the other hand, had something to my exact specifications for $26. Also, Target doesn't enrage me by sorting their store by brand rather than by item. I realized one reason I get really anxious in Macy's is that every brand has its own area in the store -- all the menswear might be, say, on the second floor, but within that floor you have to look five different places to see all the jackets. Which makes sense in terms of sales -- it makes it harder for the customer to compare prices and therefore more likely they'll buy what they want instead of what's least expensive. But in an era where we can sort-by-relevance with a click of a button online, that technique's not gonna last a whole lot longer. One of the main reasons the big box stores do better than traditional department stores, even carrying much the same goods, is that they take way less time to shop through.
Anyway, enough marketing dissertation. I got my pot and a few sundries and took myself off to Russian Tea Room, which I've been meaning to try for literally thirteen years, since the first time I saw it while visiting Chicago for grad school auditions in 2002. I finally decided to test-drive it as somewhere to take my parents next time they’re in town – I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t a creepy dump or anything. For the record, it’s totally not a creepy dump. (Not that I mind creepy dumps if the food is good, but my folks are picky.) White tablecloth, nice lighting, great Russian music played at reasonable noise levels. Not cheap, but the food seems worth it.
And thus home. I did not steam a loaf of bread yesterday, as intended, but I'm going to make one today. I haven't decided whether I want to try steaming bread again or whether I want to make a loaf of onion-cheddar bread before the green onions in my fridge wilt. I could do both, but oh god, that's SO MUCH BREAD.
Yesterday went well -- I struck out at Macy's when shopping for a new saucepan, but that was because I had some pretty specific criteria. I wanted a 3qt saucepan in steel-clad aluminum (rather than teflon), with a see-through glass lid and one long handle instead of two short curved ones. Macy's had exactly one which fell in the middle of that venn diagram, but it was $50 on sale, and that's about $20 more than I wanted to pay, even on sale.
Target, on the other hand, had something to my exact specifications for $26. Also, Target doesn't enrage me by sorting their store by brand rather than by item. I realized one reason I get really anxious in Macy's is that every brand has its own area in the store -- all the menswear might be, say, on the second floor, but within that floor you have to look five different places to see all the jackets. Which makes sense in terms of sales -- it makes it harder for the customer to compare prices and therefore more likely they'll buy what they want instead of what's least expensive. But in an era where we can sort-by-relevance with a click of a button online, that technique's not gonna last a whole lot longer. One of the main reasons the big box stores do better than traditional department stores, even carrying much the same goods, is that they take way less time to shop through.
Anyway, enough marketing dissertation. I got my pot and a few sundries and took myself off to Russian Tea Room, which I've been meaning to try for literally thirteen years, since the first time I saw it while visiting Chicago for grad school auditions in 2002. I finally decided to test-drive it as somewhere to take my parents next time they’re in town – I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t a creepy dump or anything. For the record, it’s totally not a creepy dump. (Not that I mind creepy dumps if the food is good, but my folks are picky.) White tablecloth, nice lighting, great Russian music played at reasonable noise levels. Not cheap, but the food seems worth it.
And thus home. I did not steam a loaf of bread yesterday, as intended, but I'm going to make one today. I haven't decided whether I want to try steaming bread again or whether I want to make a loaf of onion-cheddar bread before the green onions in my fridge wilt. I could do both, but oh god, that's SO MUCH BREAD.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2016-01-17 02:27 pm (UTC)I despise Macy's fairly passionately (tho not, y'know, at the 10,000 fiery suns level) and wish to heaven they'd never bought out Marshall Fields / Famous Barr / wev they were called in Cali. I can't find ef-all I want to wear in there for either myself or any of my family, and having worked there as holiday help a few years back I know the corporate culture is both anti-employee and anti-customer. Direct quote during orientation about helping the customers: "We are a sales organization, not a service organization."
*further ranting deleted* Okay, maybe 1000 fiery suns, anyway.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 02:07 pm (UTC)Wow. So. Don't shop there. Sounds like their sales could use a bit of suffering. WTH...
no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-20 01:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-20 01:16 pm (UTC)Getting a package wrapped at their wrapping station on the seventh floor is hilarious. It's like a Saturday Night Live sketch.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-17 06:45 pm (UTC)You say this like it's a bad thing.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 06:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-17 08:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 06:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-17 10:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 06:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-18 01:39 am (UTC)...steamed bread? ooh, cheddar-onion sounds VERY good!
Also, bounced here from Tumblr (I don't really know how to work a lot on there, so this is a much, much better talky-place for me?) and wanted to say I read the last batch of promptfics and loved them! Especially Captain Feta^^ Oh! There's a farm in Virginia advertising for goat-cuddlers! About mid-February, they expect to have 90 baby goats who will need bottle-feeding nearly every four hours, dressing in little sweaters to keep warm, and the aforementioned cuddling! This is all to ensure they grow up big and strong and make excellent cheese!
hiii^^
no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 06:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 05:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 06:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 02:05 pm (UTC)It's terrible that we will go to the bigger stores because Cheaper and Faster (not to mention Easier).
So glad you finally got a chance to go! And that the wait was justified.
no subject
Date: 2016-01-19 06:38 pm (UTC)http://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/137511007871/holy-crap-it-looks-amazing-the-recipe-for-this
I think in terms of Macy's and Walmart it's a bit of a tossup, like, they both are equally huge. But yeah, the whole "bigger stores have cheaper merch" thing is a whole separate problem...
no subject
Date: 2016-01-23 05:39 am (UTC)I have issues with both sides of that particular coin myself...