Finding Big-Hearted Merchants
Today I was at the Springfield (VA) Mall, while waiting for my daughter to take a written driver's test at the DMV, I went shopping for sewing supplies needed by the children at the Child Rescue Center--during the upcoming trip in October we're helping them get a sewing class and a basic carpentry class started.
I found a terrific deal on scissors and sewing gear at "Mr. Dollar" and, when I explained where my unusually large purchase was going, the proprietor immediately refunded the sales tax!
But wait, it's getting better, while pricing hand-help Global Positioning Systems (GPSs) at "Sports Authority", the VERY helpful Kevin was behind the counter. First, let's go back a month: when I was doing online research of GPSs, I concluded that, for our upcoming mission trip, the Garmin "Rino" combination GPS/Walkie Talkie would be the most useful; we have some 40 acres to map and I thought it most useful to have two folks plotting the boundary AND be able to communicate via walkie talkie. WELL, while I was telling Kevin about the trip and why I was looking for a GPS, he reaches under the counter and finds an unboxed, on clearance, no paperwork or software included Garmin "Rino"(!!)
A small voice tells me I'm in the right place. Unfortunately, I cannot convince Ben, the store manager, to donate it to the cause--he'd like to help but must refer me to Corporate Headquarters (who tell me that I must fax my request--and nobody's in on the weekend anyway) because it is Sports Authority policy that all charity requests go through Corporate. So now I am penning a fax to Corporate to simply ask them to give Ben permission to give this orphaned, who's-going-to-buy-a-lonely-GPS-system-in-this-state? type of product to our mission team to help improve our service to the orphans in Sierra Leone. Seems like a certain win to me--I'll keep you posted.
I found a terrific deal on scissors and sewing gear at "Mr. Dollar" and, when I explained where my unusually large purchase was going, the proprietor immediately refunded the sales tax!
But wait, it's getting better, while pricing hand-help Global Positioning Systems (GPSs) at "Sports Authority", the VERY helpful Kevin was behind the counter. First, let's go back a month: when I was doing online research of GPSs, I concluded that, for our upcoming mission trip, the Garmin "Rino" combination GPS/Walkie Talkie would be the most useful; we have some 40 acres to map and I thought it most useful to have two folks plotting the boundary AND be able to communicate via walkie talkie. WELL, while I was telling Kevin about the trip and why I was looking for a GPS, he reaches under the counter and finds an unboxed, on clearance, no paperwork or software included Garmin "Rino"(!!)
A small voice tells me I'm in the right place. Unfortunately, I cannot convince Ben, the store manager, to donate it to the cause--he'd like to help but must refer me to Corporate Headquarters (who tell me that I must fax my request--and nobody's in on the weekend anyway) because it is Sports Authority policy that all charity requests go through Corporate. So now I am penning a fax to Corporate to simply ask them to give Ben permission to give this orphaned, who's-going-to-buy-a-lonely-GPS-system-in-this-state? type of product to our mission team to help improve our service to the orphans in Sierra Leone. Seems like a certain win to me--I'll keep you posted.
posted by Bo-Bound at
12:58 AM
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