Advertising is the art of
convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need.
Will Rogers
My mother has been
asking me to take her to a particular outlet mall and today was the day; so off
we went. We spent several hours wandering around the mall and went into most of
the stores. I want to know why this mall is called an outlet mall. When I go to an
outlet mall I expect DEEP discounts, not regular mall prices! I won’t even look
at an item unless it’s 50% and at an outlet mall I expect better than that. There
were very few items in the entire mall that were marked down by more than 30%.
Why on earth should I schlepp out to this supposed outlet mall when I could do
better at the Bay or the Eaton Centre?
Who decides what
mall can be called an outlet mall? Shouldn’t there be some kind of criteria? Or
can anyone call their establishment an outlet mall for the sole purpose of
duping the public? Is this a Canadian issue? I ask this question because I have
never encountered an outlet mall in the U.S. that wasn’t a legitimate outlet
mall. Perhaps this is why Canadians still go to the U.S. to shop, even though
the Canadian dollar is very weak. Lineups at the border attest to that.
Every summer my
friend Sue and I make our annual pilgrimage to an incredible golf resort in
northern Michigan called Boyne (I’ll tell you about it in another blog).
Directly in our path is the Birch Run Outlet Mall and let me tell you, this is
the mother of all outlet malls. This enormous discount shopping Mecca is
surrounded by motels because it’s actually a destination. People arrive and
shop for the weekend. Sue and I shop ‘til we drop and we get amazing deals!
There’s none of this 30% crap. We buy top quality merchandise at incredibly
discounted prices; typically 60% - 80% off. This is legitimate outlet shopping.
As a society we’ve
come to expect that there is no truth in advertising. We’ve become so
accustomed to the lies and manipulation that when we come across it, as was the
case today, we’re momentarily pissed off and then we move on. Our complacency
is the reason that there is no truth in advertising. Shame on us!
Advertising: the science of
arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.
Stephen Leacock
Make someone smile
today.
Geri
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