A sales person’s mistake of judgment

At this point, I’ve let all the emotions settle — shame, embarrassment, anger — before doing what any self-respecting 39-year-old white suburban woman would do: rage write. The thing is, I can’t seem to let this recent shopping experience go.

Over a recent weekend, my husband and I went on a hunt to buy an area rug for our living room. Admittedly, I’m a woman who likes a deal and I’ve checked all the usual retail suspects. But little did we know that finding a 7 x 9-foot rug at a budget price is a hard get. Fortunately, I remembered there was a rug store in Palatine that I would routinely drive by and be curious about. Surely this place would have something to choose from, even if I had to pay a bit more.

We walk in and the place is immediately overwhelming: Room after room filled with piles of rugs. A gentleman saw us looking and came by to help. I explained our predicament and how difficult it’s been finding a rug of that particular size. I even showed him a picture of a rug that I fell in love with at a chain store, but the sizing was too small. That was likely my first mistake.

Upon showing him the picture, there was a shift in his attitude and helpfulness. He suggested I try another store in the chain or better yet another chain known for bargain prices. I was a bit taken aback and confused. I’m literally standing in a pile of rugs at an actual rug store. But then it hit me, he had plenty of rugs for me to buy and they were beautiful. He just didn’t have a rug for this discount queen.

Maybe it was the store picture, the generic leggings and Illinois State University sweatshirt I wore, my beat-up Columbia sneakers, the Gooder sunglasses on my head, the 10-year old Hyundai we pulled up in, or my husband’s skin color — but in that moment, I knew. He put us in a box. No way would this couple be here to buy a $4,000 plus rug if they shop at that chain.

Well, I guess he’ll never know. But I’d like to kindly remind this man of an infamous “Pretty Woman” moment where Julia Roberts famously says to the Beverly Hills boutique salesgirls on Rodeo Drive, “Big mistake! Big! Huge!”

Amy Sanchez

Arlington Heights