On the way, we stopped off at the art supply place Thomas The Bookbinder had suggested to me. My goal: get paper for the blank book I'm going to have him make for me.
The store is called Boesner and it's a chain in Europe, and the store is just unbelievably cool. I can't begin to describe the amount of art and drafting supplies they have in there---every kind of paint, pen, marker, pencil, canvas----and of course, paper. Handmade stuff, textured stuff, all different colors, all different sizes, some cheap and some very, very expensive.
So B bought some nice wrapping paper and I bought 200 sheets of acid-free sketch paper, and some beautiful yellow paper to use as end papers. (If you look at any of the Bukowski books published by Black Sparrow Press, they all had a thicker, different-colored piece of paper at the beginning of the book, and at the end. Not sure if it serves any purpose but it's cool-looking to me, so I wanted one for my book.)
We get to the cashier and the WTF experience begins. The cashier says, looking at her computer monitor:
"Your name and address, please?" It takes me several seconds to figure out this is what she's asking.
"I'm not in your files; I'm a tourist from the US," I told her.
She says: "Well, I can put that information in now."
B and the lady talked in German and the gist was, she wasn't going to take my motherfucking money until I let her enter my name and address in the computer. I kept my voice more or less reasonable but I was about as pissed as I can get and I told B: "This is bullshit. I'm not giving anyone my fucking name and address. I want this paper. Here's my money. I'm ready to go." The lady was nice but she didn't budge. "Fuck this shit. Let's go," I said. I was ready to leave my shit behind and storm out.
But B gave me a look and started talking and the lady started typing, and I realized she was giving the cashier the name and address of her long-dead grandmother. I was still pissed at this bullshit of demanding my fucking name and address and I almost said, "NO, goddamit, NO! This. Is. Bullshit!" And maybe I should have. Writing this now, I'm pissed at myself for knuckling under, even with the scam of giving a fake name.
We got to the parent's house and told B's dad about the incident. He started getting hot and said: "That's illegal---they can't refuse to sell you paper if you don't give them your name and address!" He went in the next room and called one of his buddies who knows the rules and the guy confirmed it was bullshit---they have no right to demand that info.
So when we got home B emailed three different consumer protection departments and told them what happened. We'll see if they respond.
It's really too bad, because the store has some fantastic supplies, but that bullshit of "Show me your identity papers, comrade!" just doesn't do it for me. Since when did buying paper become a complicated process like buying meth precursor chemicals or explosives or nuclear materials? WTF?
----
Well, fuck. I calmed down enough to make this for supper. Turned out pretty good.
I subscribe to Bittman's "Minimalist" cooking videos via iTunes. It's free, and he has some great recipes.
4 comments:
I agree the whole name and address thing is bullshit. There are places here in the good ol' USA that want zip codes and even phone numbers.
But I don't get pissed - on the spot I just make up a name, address and sometimes phone number... And hope someone doesn't get some advertising or other shit in the mail.
:)
Mod, I understand---from a marketing point of view---why they want the info. But in the US, I just tell them: "No thanks. I just want to pay and be on my way," then I toss the shit on the counter and smile at the guy and tap my fingers a couple of times, like: Hurry it up, man. Usually they just shrug and take my money.
Either the lady was mistaken about the policy, or the company rigged the computer / cash register so that it wouldn't accept money without first having a name entered. Which, here, is ILLEGAL. Privacy laws are stronger here...not that everyone obeys them, of course.
John "Outraged" X
J - you are one radical SOB...
lol
"Mal-Wart" does that, when you buy ammunition. They ask you if it's for a rifle, or a pistol, and if you tell them it's for a pistol they won't sell it to you if you don't give them your info. I haven't pushed the envelope yet and just told them NO.
I bought some .45 ammo there a few weeks ago and just told them it was for a rifle. They bought it--or rather, sold it.
Good thing their clueless. One guy called me on it in the distant past and I told him it was for a camp rifle by Marlin. They make one in 9mm, but it worked in .45 as well, even though I'm not sure they have one in that caliber.
Wal-Mart, the end of civilization!!!
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