(Protagonist is at the till of a department store, paying for her purchase.)
Me: Do you have any rings for little girls?(Exit stage left.)
Shop Assistant (SA): No, we don't, and I don't know where around here you can get them. Maybe try [slightly dodgy extreme discount store]?
Me: I don't know. I'm always worried their stuff would be poisonous or something, and it is for a child who likes to put things in her mouth.
SA: Would it help if I said their stuff is probably made by children's hands?
Me: [Stunned silence] ... eh, not really.
SA: Well, what do you expect with such low prices?
Me: I hope none of the stuff in this shop is made by children.
SA: It's bound to be. Have you seen what we charge for stuff?
[I was in Hema, a very large Dutch chain. Think of a funkier Woolworths. I had admittedly just paid 2 euros for four tall glasses.]
Me: Seriously? Surely you check your suppliers for that.
SA: Oh, we do spot checks, and there are education programmes and everything, but do you really think the parents can pay the bills with what we pay them? You have to be realistic, madam.
Me: [Another stunned silence] ... well, thank you very much.
I think Hema have been infiltrated by a certain rogue element. I was shockingly not cheered up.
Posts
Oh no.
ReplyDeleteYour excellent dress! :/
My excellently sharp little potato peelers! :/
All those cute baby clothes! :/
I tend to agree with the shop assistant.. realistically, it's all so cheap, there must be something dodgy going on.
But I still shop there.
Hmmm. Not cheering me up either.
(It's Rhi, I still can't comment on your blog with my Google ID... grrr)
Kelloggsville said (I have to be anon too! which is why haven't been commenting much recently)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rhi, you can't have your cheap glasses and eat it! The SA was probably right about the rings, I mean, I know the workforce is cheap and all that but they can't afford to be killing the child slaves daily, there isn't an endless supply of them you know. It all sounds blase but I don't mean to be, it is serious and how do we stop it? You can't even really guarantee that the more expensive stuff isn't created by child labour but with a bigger profit margin. I suppose you can only try to go fairtrade and check out the store's policy or just accept that sometimes it is the way it is.
I sometimes think about that too, but I'm not sure how you make sure that you don't buy things made by child labour when everyone is so insistent that THEIR company doesn't do such a thing. And there's also a point someone made to me once - if we stop buying things made by child labour, those children aren't suddenly going to become much better off, they're going to starve to death.
ReplyDeleteHope I haven't made you even more depressed...
I read that boycott makes no real difference to the big people, but customer opinion actually DOES, so letter writing is where it's at.
ReplyDeleteHmm, SA not very good at her job is she? My brother once had a Christmas job at Woolworths and a bloke tried to pay with an American Express card. My brother said, "American Express? We can't accept that, you do realise you're in Woolworths?" He did actually get fired from that job. I suppose rogue elements infiltrate places when they can't find a job elsewhere. Sorry to hear she depressed you.
ReplyDeleteAm really hoping this lets me comment because I've tried for like weeks ...
ReplyDeleteSorry she depressed you but you have to love the anti-assistant thing going on there
Agree with Muddling Along: the message may be disturbing, but the messenger is seriously entertaining.
ReplyDeleteIf you send this blog post off to Hema you will probably set some real fireworks off in the staff room. Hope you are feeling a bit better this evening x
ReplyDeleteWell, that was honest. Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI quite like the sound of the honest SA. She's totally right. In the UK where we have Primark, there was a documentary on the child labour used to make Primark's clothes and everyone was horrified. I guess people don't like to think about why a sequinned t-shirt might only cost £2. Primark has supposedly changed it's ways, but I don't think their business was dented too much by the negative publicity anyway. I don't like child labour nor do I like Primark clothes but when Ryanair lost my luggage it was still my first stop so I could get the kids £2 pyjamas. My conscience seems to keep quiet when I'm a bit desperate.
ReplyDeleteFiona
Incidentally, other 'Anon' commenters, apparently the problem is that Blogger isn't compatible with the latest Microsoft updates. You need to post your comments using Google Chrome, and then you can be yourself again. (But I always forget, see above)
ReplyDeleteHema? Hema? Oh no, please not Hema. I love their cucumber make up remover (for 1.29 or so). Out of the hands of children? Gulp.
ReplyDelete@Rhi - Yeah, I still shop there. I can hardly get everything I ever need from Oxfam.
ReplyDelete@Kelloggsville - It's so depressing!
@May - Believe me, I've had all those thoughts already. I don't really think there is an answer to the whole problem right now.
@Jo - But the point is that Hema are probably already doing all the programmes. It was just the shop assistant calling them liars. And frankly, she may be right in a philosophical sense, I doubt she knows anything about the higher-up decision making. Maybe she just had some really bad PMS.
@Emily O - Ha! Your brother sounds funny.
@Muddling Along - Yeah, I did find that part slightly amusing.
@Pueblo Girl - Entertaining or unbalanced? It's a fine line.
@Tanya - I don't want to get her fired. I'm such a softie, I'm always thinking what if the mentally unbalanced weirdo has a family to feed?
@Ms. Moon - Yes. That just about covers it. Jesus.
@Fiona - Thank you so much for the pointer on the commenting! I will pass on your gem of wisdom in my next post. Thank you!
@Metropolitan Mum - I refuse to believe they're any worse than anyone else. I can't live without Hema, it's that simple. I looked it up, and they have good principles which I can only hope they implement. It's obviously something they're doing something about. I really think the woman was either clueless, depressed or crazy. Or all three. Please continue buying your make up remover. I will keep buying my baby stuff there as well.
Some years ago I did a story on child labour with all the big chains here in New Zealand. Funnily enough, despite the fact they all provided me with statements to say that they all had 'checks in place' to make sure no child labour was involved, no one would front up on camera.
ReplyDeleteOh wow. This shop assistant doesn't sound very helpful - for the customers or for the shop! I think she's a fifth columnist ;-)
ReplyDeleteAstonishing! Reminds me of going round Walmart with my mother and trying to explain why they're evil. Sample:
ReplyDeleteMother: Those poor girls and boys. They make them stand up all day. And they pay them so little.
Me: You could always shop somewhere where they paid them more and gave them stools?
Mother (with 'It goes up to 11' Spinal Tap expression): But Walmart is cheap?
Depressing, especially because most of the population can't afford to shop any where else.
ReplyDeleteWow. That's a great reason to never shop there again. Obviously she wasn't worried about child labor?? Who does that??
ReplyDeleteLove the rogue element--and she's right. I once bought 3 pairs of socks for US$3.00. Why did I buy 3 pairs when I only needed one pair? So...buy one pair not made by children and it will cost approximately the same.
ReplyDelete