PokeyMans!

So, yeah, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl launched today. Rough day at work, though not for the reasons I expected. I was anticipating a huge crowd of kids looking to catch them all, and I figured I'd spend all day running back and forth between the games case and the cash register. Unfortunately, fate had a different hand in store for me. The ad set up was horribly mis-managed, so (long boring technical rant you really don't need to hear - I was basically setting up signs to show what was on sale).

But after that got set up, I managed to spend a couple hours selling games. ^_^ One family in particular stuck out in my memory, partially because I recognized them from one of my mom's old Sunday School classes, though I don't think they recognized me (I was just another faceless adult to them... Sigh). Anyway, the interesting thing about their visit was that, while the older brother (maybe 8-10? I'm bad with names) was getting his hands on Diamond, the little sister (couldn't be older than 6) wasn't getting anything, it seemed. Instead, their mom was telling them that they would share. Now, anyone who's played a Pokemon game knows what a mistake that is. I actually got myself hooked on the game by borrowing James' old Game Boy Red Version and just seeing how far I could get (usually I'd get the 2nd badge before it was time to cut it out), but the point is the games have never supported a second save slot - and for good reason, considering the collectible nature of the game. I pointed this out to them, that they really couldn't share the game, and the little girl started tearing up. I swear, she looked like she was gonna cry right there because she couldn't play with big brother. Being the quick thinker I am, I asked if they wanted to go ahead and grab pearl version for her, and mom said "No, why don't you just watch brother play." That didn't seem like a good option, so I offered another thing. "We've got last years version available for $20." She could try that, and if she liked it, save her money and upgrade to the next one later. This seemed acceptable to everyone, so I grabbed Fire Red and Leaf Green (why on earth are they Players choice, but not Ruby or Sapphire?), little sister chose LG, and we had a happy family. ^_^

I'm good at my job, the way I see it. Target wants me to sell "Red Cards," which are Visa credit cards run by Target. If you get one, you receive a 10% discount on an entire day's shopping at Target, which can be a fair amount if you're buying, say, a big screen TV or a full set of patio furniture. But they're asking me to be sure to ask "EVERY" guest, and honestly, I don't wanna. I think it bothers the customer, because they usually either already have one, or they have enough credit cards and don't need another. So, I drop it when I get a no. I've heard tell that at least one of our "Team Leads" has a great record because, and this is pretty much true, he will not shut up about the "benefits" of the card until the guest gets one. That just seems rude to me, and it's not what I signed on for, I think.

Target feels it's my job to earn money for the company, by selling products, and also by getting those credit cards sold. On the other hand, I feel my job is to aid the guest in making the best decision and getting the best deal possible for them. More often than not, our goals are similar enough that they cross over, but I refuse to simply act as a mouthpiece for the corporation. It is my real and honest belief that if I give good guest service, people will enjoy coming to Target, and want to come back, even if our stuff is 13 cents more expensive than Wal-Mart (seriously, they have stuff for like 13.84 that's 13.99 at Target... And that's their "Low Price" X_X)

Anyway, enough rambling. I'm enjoying Diamond (Pearl is saved so Jackie can do the quest for herself, and we'll probably trade version exclusives and the like), though I'm feeling a little guilty that I'm JUST SHY of beating Emerald - I just got the 8th Gym badge today, and can probably beat the Elite Four soon. I may do that once I've beaten the first gym in Diamond, just so I can say I'm done... There's also the Battle Frontier in Emerald, and Battle towers in Fire Red and Ruby, so I'll have to see what else I can do in those areas. I'll probably need to train up a kick-ass team in 3rd generation, one I WON'T be sending into the 4th gen later on (once I've beaten THAT games Elite Four). So much to do...

In the mean time, here's my friend code: 1590 1166 1789 I've written it down here as much for myself as for all of you. Lemme know if you want me to add you for something. ^_^