Popped in at my local Fleet Feet store yesterday afternoon, because I was out and about in the neighborhood and I heard they were having a sale. I don't go to this store very often. Mostly I find myself there if they are hosting packet pickup for a local race. But the store changed ownership earlier in the year and didn't sponsor the races I was doing so I didn't have a reason to go there.
I entered the store and was immediately greeted/accosted (depends on your perspective) by an older, not especially fit looking woman (I know, I shouldn't be judging! Well, I mean she looked older and less fit than me. She looked like somebody you'd see walking a 5k.)
I try to explain that I just want to look around, not looking for anything in particular, heard they were having a sale, blah, blah, blah.
Oh year, turns out the sale is 11% off, in honor of the store's 11th anniversary. Not much of a sale, since there isn't anything I really need. But there are also a couple of bins with $5 socks and some half-price gear.
I pick through the socks, while the woman hovers. I feel like she is worried that I am going to shoplift some socks. It makes me uncomfortable. I don't find any socks in my size. I give up on this.
The woman goes away and comes back a couple of times, each time telling me that she will be right back with me. But, I do not need her help. I have tried to make this clear. She steers me over to the running bra section. I am a woman, I must need running bras, right? Ok, I will look, just in case there is something that is really a great deal at 11% off.
When it comes to my running clothes, I tend towards the old school side, a little bit. Not cotton, Not that old school. But I like my clothes, like my shoes, to be fairly simple. I like those basic sportsbras in a wicking fabric that come in S, M, L. I don't like having to figure out my exact measurements and cup size. Unfortunately, that is all they have in this store. It's just too complicated for me to deal with, and plus 11% is not enough of a deal on an item for which I do not have an urgent need.
Ok, that's it for the bras. I wander over to the $30 shoe table. There is a pair in my size but they are not my usual style. I resist the urge to try them on.
I take a quick look at the gear rack but nothing catches my eye. I am on my way out the door when I see they have a few more bins with gear at 50% off. That's more like it.
I pick through a bin and find one of those fuel belts that also holds your race number. Been thinking about trying one of these, and at $8 I cannot resist.
A young man comes over and proceeds to do the same hovering thing that the woman did earlier. I definitely have the impression that they are worried that I am going to shoplift something. Is it really so much of a problem for them? Do I really look like a shoplifter to them?
There's a fair amount of activity in the store and I wonder about the other shoppers. I figure they must be new runners who need to stock up on attire at almost list price, or they don't know yet what kind of shoes suit them so they need guidance from "experts." I've consistently had bad luck with the shoes recommended for me by these "experts" and anyway, I'm wearing cheap shoes in last year's model and I know the store doesn't carry them and even if they could order them for me, I can order them myself probably cheaper and have them delivered directly to my home. I guess I am not the target market for a running shoe store, even though I am an avid runner. It is somewhat ironic.
So anyway, the guy continues to hover as I start to pick through the bins of old leftover technical race tees, and then stop myself because I don't need any more of these even if they are giving them away.
And then comes one helpful thing: they guy points out to me the clearance rack, over on the other side of the store in the men's department, which I had missed earlier. Not too much there, and it's obvious why most of it is on clearance (nobody, even a beginner, is going to be dumb enough to buy white running shorts, and the real mystery is how this stuff ended up in the store in the first place). However, as the guy continues to hover, I do find a couple of worthy items. There's a blue and white shimmel top and a nice pair of black shorts, both in my size. I snap them up at 50% off. That's a real sale price, and the only way you'll get me to buy this stuff that I can live without at full price.
So, for less than $60, I leave with the fuel belt, a new top and new shorts. Not bad. Sixty-five degrees out today so I even wore my new duds for my run. The shimmel is a little big but the shorts are okay.
Back to the story of the store. As he rings me up, the guy asks me if I am training for anything. I don't want to get into it too much but I just say I am always training for something. He asks me if I have ever run a marathon and I say, yeah, just last week, and I'm training for another in January. He starts talking about their training programs and I ask if they have anything on Wednesdays, because I am starting to think it might be nice to have a group to run with or at least a couple of friends, because I am getting kind of lonely out there.
Oh yes, he says, Wednesday if their "No Boundaries" program. I have a feeling I know what this is but I let him keep talking anyway. Yes, it is their couch to 5k program. He continues describing it, and after a bit I have to interrupt to tell him that I do not think it is for me. What part of "I ran a marathon last weekend" did he not understand?
And so, I am reminded again of why I do not shop in these stores unless there is some incredible sale going on.
