So, you see in the picture above the two girls behind the counter catching up on their bar exploits of the night before while the woman waits, hand in purse to take out money to buy something? I mean, there’s no way to know how long she’s been standing there, but I think anybody could agree it’s not great form to ignore the person with the money.

Right?

So, Brandon’s tax refund came back and after we took care of everything that needed to be paid now and down the road, there was enough left over to buy a modest computer. His laptop, which by now has truly seen better days with its choking processor and external keyboard thanks to a coffee mishap, is due for replacing so we went to Micro Center in Rockville to check out the refurbs and specials.

Here’s where things just went to suck …

I’ve never had a bad Micro Center experience. In fact, I friggin’ love the place. It’s got great prices, it’s big, open, clean, much less annoying than Best Buy. Today, though, it was like going to Walmart (oh, hell, I just said the trigger word …) the morning after Thanksgiving. We wandered around the computer section, largely ignored, even when pawing the goods.

If you get ignored by sales help even when pawing the goods, congratulations. You’re truly in customer service hell.

After about 15 minutes, the manager (I could tell he was the manager because of his Fantastic Sam’s haircut, his fancy blazer and big nametag) came to the station inches from where we stood next to the refurbished Dell that was about to get a new home.

Because I’m an incurable smartass, I say, “Maybe if we just pick up the computer and carry it around for a while, someone will notice.”

Napoleon (so named because of his ill temper and 5-feet-1-inch of pure retail management) doesn’t look up from his monitor but gives a hot dose of snark with, “SomeONE will be with you shortly. That’ll avoid you setting off any alarms.”

Perhaps Napoleon didn’t get my wacky sense of humor and penchant for chaos. Napoleon could have earned mega points from me had he offered to help us out himself. No such luck. Looking at me with disdain was much easier.

Sigh.

Finally, Matthew came along. Matthew was wearing a Marriott nametag. But that’s neither here nor there. As a fellow ginger kid, I immediately found a soft spot in my heart for him.

But that soft spot went away … right around the time the upselling started. I realize that’s his job, but here’s a sales tip from me, the average consumer.

If a customer points to something and says, “This is exactly what we’re looking for,” leave it at that. Chances are, if a customer comes in and knows exactly what they want, they did the research at home or they’re smart enough to know what they want. Also, it’s not your responsibility to hold their hand, you know? I mean, I know that’s really cool in today’s society, but I mourn the loss of personal responsibility worldwide.

So, we agree on the model Matthew’s pushing, and he says, “Let me go to the back and bring that out.”

Oh, Matthew. I had so much hope for you.

At least 10 minutes pass. Matthew comes back. With an old lady behind him. And no computer. Matthew walks right by us. Matthew takes the old lady on a walk to the back of the store.

“Whatever happened to serving one customer at a time,” Brandon wondered as we watched them walk off into the distance.

I left the $7.99 headphones I was going to buy sitting on the computer’s keyboard and we left. I just wanted him to know.

Maybe it was a sign, you know? Maybe the right one’s coming along later and buying one now would have been a bad idea.

But still, Micro Center. Weak sauce. Weak.

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