I went for a shopping spree at Zellers

Of course, it has been around forty years since there was an independent Zellers store. I used to go to the one on Queen St. in Fredericton. You could enter on Queen St, and walk a whole block to exit it on to King St. It even had the first escalator in the city. So, being in a Zellers in a Hudson’s Bay store really wasn’t the same. For one thing, there was no cafeteria. I set a whole novel around the cafeteria in Zellers. I guess I won’t be doing that again.

But, I gotta tell you, I swear I was served by a sales associate (clerk) whose last job was in Fredericton.

She was the right age (60 to beyond): the right look (mid-tone frumpy fashionista): and accessorized with plump fake pearls and robustly applied makeup.

She happily took me to the places where I might find the items I could not find (like slippers) and we still didn’t find them.

Then back to the Cash, where I prepared to pay with $$$ bills. She asked if I might want to sign up for a card or two (or three). I said ‘no’, and that I didn’t want to waste her time. She opined that I wasn’t wasting her time, she was attempting to fill it.

So, I felt encouraged to engage her in conversation – which was really to let her roll on. There were not a lot of customers, and there was a noticeable lack of items. When I asked how Zellers fit in at Hudson’s Bay, she said that it really wasn’t independent, it wasn’t even a department. It was classed as “a Kiosk”.

SIGH

DE UEL