netorio.us

We were at Wal-Mart the other day and Linda wanted to buy some fabric for her blackboard at school. We took the bolts of fabric to the counter to be cut and were greeted with this sign. I rang the bell; thinking to myself that it was a bit like spitting into the wind. Sure enough, the sound was quickly swallowed by the overwhelming ‘bigness’ that is Wal-Mart.

A minute later a man and his daughter came to the counter with fabric of their own. I rang the bell again; this time with more gusto. The result was the same leaving Linda to use the only tried and true method of getting help at Wal-Mart. She went hunting for anyone who looked like they worked there. Her expedition was successful and, although the gentleman she brought back with her didn’t look that thrilled to be there, he cut the fabric and we were on our way.

Nothing out of the ordinary, perhaps, but this is Wal-Mart we’re talking about; the company that pioneered computerized inventory control, the company that championed RFID and self-serve check out. Somehow this lo-tech bell seemed totally incongruous. If we were in Target there would, at least have been a call box that announced “Customer assistance needed in the sewing center”.

This is an interesting confluence of old-fashioned and high tech and I would guess that perhaps “the bell” was a local solution as opposed to a corporate solution. I would probably file this under “old habits die hard”.