STORES Magazine - August 2008 - (Page 94)

POSTSCRIPT thelastlaugh From the Cooler to the Clink THE OWNER of Joe’s Food Mart and Video in Norwalk, Conn., was stunned to see an older woman crash her car through the front window of the store. But shock turned to outrage when “grandma” got out of her car and tried to buy a six-pack of beer. (Apparently, she would have preferred a drive-through, but nevertheless did her best to try to speed up the transaction.) According to police, Lynne Rice drove her 1988 Cadillac through the plate glass windows, plowing about halfway into the store. Rice got out of the car, walked over to the cooler and pulled out a six-pack of Budweiser. When the women presented the brewskies for purchase, the cashier declined the sale and instead called police. The crash destroyed two 6-ft.-wide glass panels and caused about $8,000 in damage, but remarkably, no one was hurt in the melee. Rice was taken to a hospital for examination due to a pre-existing medical condition; she was also arrested for investigation of misdemeanor driving under the influence and released on $15,000 bail. into service to run some lastminute errands for a wedding reception. The friend was sent to a store in Jackson County (Fla.) with a list of items that included spray paint, a corkscrew and rubber gloves. Like many shoppers who visit a store for the first time, the man was quickly sidetracked by all the toys, knickknacks, goodies, snacks and clothing that fill Dollar Tree’s shelves. Apparently he was so overwhelmed by this strange new world that he missed the two large green neon signs on the outside of the store that said: “EVERYTHING’S $1.00.” “How much is this?” he asked as he held up a pack of tube socks. “It doesn’t have a price tag on it.” “That’s a dollar,” the clerk said. “And how about this baseball cap?” he asked as he made his way down the aisle. “It doesn’t have a price tag on it, either.” “That’s a dollar,” the clerk repeated. This went on for a long time. “Sir,” the clerk finally said and pronounced her words very slowly, as if speaking to a child visiting from a foreign country. “You . . . are . . . in . . . the . . . Dollar . . . Tree. Every single thing in here costs a dollar, sir. That’s why they call it the Dollar Tree.” The biggest mistake he made may have been recounting the story to his “friend,” who promptly nicknamed him Captain Obvious and shared the story with everyone at the wedding – and then some. Hold the Bun, Lose a Roll MOVE OVER, Jared. There’s a new guy in town who has proven that a fast-food diet can yield significant weight loss. Chris Coleson, a 42-year-old Virginia businessman, recently lost 86 pounds in just six months eating a McDonald’s-only diet. Limiting his intake to 1,400 calories daily, Coleson ate McDonald’s salads, wraps, apple dippers (sans caramel sauce) and bun-less hamburgers. Since he began the diet, Coleson’s cholesterol level has dropped 50 points and his waist has shrunk from 50 to 36. Determined to get his weight down to the 185 pounds he weighed on his wedding day in time to celebrate his 10th anniversary, Coleson set his mind to making the change – and his GPS for McDonald’s, which he chose for its convenience. Captain Obvious Missed the Neon Sign A SENIOR writer for the Tallahassee Democrat wrote a recent column about a good friend who had never visited a Dollar Tree store until pressed 94 STORES / AUGUST 2008 WWW.STORES.ORG © The New Yorker Collection 2007 Mick Stevens from cartoonbank.com. All Rights Reserved. http://cartoonbank.com http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - August 2008

STORES Magazine - August 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page The Lure of Free Shipping Walmart’s New Look What Shoppers Think Will Widgets Work for Wheat Bread and Wasabi? 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Store Design Industry Economics Hot 100 Retailers Concept2Watch Mobile Technology Small Store Technology Website Optimization Site Selection Mobile Payments Recycling Merchandising: Cool Sells Merchandising: Merchandising in Mexico Store Construction & Development Human Resources Loyalty Programs Mobile Marketing Loeb Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - August 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.