Hey there!
Today, Tine and I went on a little adventure. From my company, I had the invitation to go to the factory outlet of G-Star (a jeans/clothing brand), with the promise of good rebates. The outlet is about half an hour out of Hamburg, and given the sad selection of jeans left in my closet that are wearable, this was something to try.
So we drove there - really in the middle of nowhere - and entered something like a small warehouse, full of clothes. We were greeted by a shop assistant, who looked and acted more like a bouncer in a nightclub. He asked me where exactly I had gotten the invitation from, and what company I worked for. He wanted to see my passport and proof that I worked for the company (glad I had a business card in my wallet). Then, in a very serious tone, he continued like this:
“Alright, I will give you the hardcore introduction, because if we go into detail, it will take us ages. You are entering a contract with us. You may never, ever, re-sell the clothes you buy here, not in a store, not on ebay. If you do not comply, we will sue you. Whenever you come here, you can bring two persons with you. You are responsible for their actions as well. When you come, you need to present your store ID and your passport. If you cannot produce a passport, we will keep the store ID and you can get it back when you bring your passport to identify yourself. There are no refunds, so look at what you buy beforehand. No go over there to the other clerk and pay three Euros for the store ID.”
Tine suggested that probably, we would need to do ten pushups whenever we did not put something back in the shelves correctly after looking at it. The shop assistant/bouncer guy was only mildly amused.
After this initial shock, it was quite a good experience. Prices were really good, although I understand that I am not allowed to publicize the discounts they give… so I bought myself three new pants - a jeans, a pair with pinstripes that is missing some buttons, and a pair that has a checkered pattern on it… makes me look like a punk, but in a fashionable way. (I hope).
Now if you’ll excuse me, there is some serious weekend-relaxing to do. And some work, unfortunately… but for that work, I get to help giving a training in our company’s university on Monday and Tuesday - how cool is that! I did not expect to come back to that great place as a trainer anytime soon, I certainly feel honored… now I have to meet expectations, of course.