A Memo to Victoria's Secret

...it's getting to be too much.

I've gone in a couple different Chicagoland locations recently to shop.  On different days at different levels of crowdedness, I've had virtually the same experience.

The employees have been, pardon me, up my a** like an uncomfortable thong.  I could not take two steps without having been approached to see if I need help.  I must have been approached at least 8 times!  I could not look through unmentionables in peace.  I needed help - I needed employee repellent.

Ok - first off, let me say something:  I get it that it is not the employees' doing.  Either they are a) highly commissioned or b) (as I believe with VS) heavily pressured by the management to approach every guest in sight and reprimanded if they are caught not doing it.   For this reason, I tried to give a polite 'no, thanks', but after a while, it became hard to stop myself from snapping 'get away from me!!!'

Now, also, I get it that a lot of stores have the mentality of 'it's better to have the employees proactively helping the guests' because of suggestive selling, the guests sometimes being timid about asking, etc.  I get that.  But Victoria's Secret has crossed the line and become 'too much'.  I am not sure, exactly, where that line is drawn, but spending 2 minutes in Vicky's makes one realize she is in a place that is over it.  The worst thing is that most things purchased at VS are better purchased in store than online.  Sigh.

So, therefore - my point.  In case there are any Victoria's Secret top executives perusing the blog world looking for feedback/slander about their stores - ease up on getting in your customer's faces, yo.  Thanks for listening.  

Handwritten Letters

Random question:  Are handwritten letters a thing of the past?

I am pretty sure they are.  Or if they happen, it's cause they are forced.  Perhaps someone will read this blog post, then send me a handwritten letter for this reason.  Perhaps a man will send one to a woman as a gesture of romance, if you will. However, do these normally happen at all any more?  I feel like they are much more meaningful to their simpler, more environmental counterparts.  Not just from a romantic standpoint - there is something special and meaningful about receiving nice paper in the mail from someone who cares - right now the only ones who care about me in such a way are my credit card companies and my cable provider.  I love email but I fear it has phased out the old fashioned note on stationery.

Anyhow.  I suppose cards will always live on - e-cards don't have the same effect and haven't successfully phased them out.   However, I fear snail mail is getting phased out for good.  Am I right?  Do handwritten letters still exist?   Will they in the future, or will it be something future generations are confused by - like landline phones or perms?

Anyhow.  There is another fine selling point to the good old-fashioned handwritten note when one has something personal to say - it's not so simple to just hit 'forward'.