The Consumerist alerted us to the sort of story we eat up: basically, anyone messing with Wal-Mart...
Here's what ReachHigher said on the BikeForums site about her brush with the poorly-paid brainwashed yokels the run her Virginia-area Wal-Mart. First, she rode her bike four miles to buy CD-r's, depsite her disdain for Wal-Mart's union busting, sweatshop labor, and intra-company racism and sexism (okay, we're all about helping your local community, but maybe borrowing some blanks from somebody else or ordering from Amazon would've been a valid move in this case.)
ReachHigher arrived to find no bike rack outside. She decided that since her beat-up bike cost $600 to replace, she couldn't risk losing it and so walked it into the store. (Apparently, this is a common thing in some places, although it would get you tackled and hospitalized in any city we've ever lived in.) An elderly employee (is there any other kind at Voldemart?) grabbed her by the arm and told her to ditch the bike. A manager backed the employee up, first saying that bicycles were sold in the store and therefore this one-- even though it wasn't sold in the store, looked old, and was clearly the customer's-- couldn't be allowed inside. The manager tried a variety of tactics before inspiration struck ReachHigher...
I asked her if they also sold shirts in the store. She said yes so I took off my jersey and said well then I'd better not bring this in either. She got kind of flustered and said that it was a different situation but couldn't explain why. So I said that if they also sold shorts in the store that I'd better not wear those in either and I took off my shorts. Same goes for the shoes and sunglasses. Now I'm standing there in my spandex and a sports bra and I ask here if I can leave my things behind the customer service counter where they will be safe until I finish making my purchases and she said that I couldn't come into the store without shoes on, to which i responded "but I certainly can't wear shoes into the store because you sell those here and someone might think I've stolen them." She threatened to call security if I didn't leave so I told her that I would never be coming back to that store again and that I was glad I hadn't driven there since the gas to go four miles was probably more expensive than what her underpaid employees make in an hour.
Her expression when the shirt came off was absolutely priceless...I was pretty tempted to take off the spandex too but I wasn't sure what constitutes indecent exposure in Virginia...
Here's the Getty Image the Consumerist chose for our girl. We'd like to think it was a match, although it doesn't really matter-- regardless of her looks, this girl is still our silly, strange, proud, fierce, and crazy Crush of the Week.
Via the Bike Forums and the Consumerist.
Top photo via Flickr.
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