No you may not help me

If you thought going to Nebraska Furniture Mart on a weekend was bad (and it is) try going there on a Friday afternoon. We ventured there on a whim of unexpected motivation around 2:30 p.m. last Friday. Well ... you know how a party with a ratio of too many guys to too few females is called a sausage fest? Well this is the salesperson to customer version of that.

Initially we were stopped to be asked "Are you doing ok?" when we were testing out a couch or chair. Understandable. (No thanks, my butt can tell if I like this couch or not. You won't convince me otherwise.)

But soon, we couldn't round a furniture-filled corner without being asked "Can I help you find anything?" or any variation of the phrase. Not sure how many times we replied with a "No, just browsing, thanks." But you know when you write, type or say a word too many times, it begins sounding completely foreign? Yeah, that's what happened to our response phrase.

J regretted not setting an over/under on the number of times we were bombarded by the clearly-on-commission-employees. I regretted not punching half of them in the face.

Anywho, we found a couch we really liked ... hated the pillows. Like clockwork, we had another insincere offer for help, but we actually obliged this time. Asked him about the pillows and ended the conversation there. The guy gave us his card and said "Ask for me if you decide you want the couch. I'd really appreciate it." He walks off and mutters, "This is how we make a living, you know." I thought it odd, but shrugged it off. Shrugged it off, that is, until we passed the same guy 10 minutes later and when we told him we were just browsing he says "Yeah, that's what they always say" while rolling his eyes. Um. Rude!

We go back to the NFM on Sunday to purchase a chair. The place was crawling with all walks of life ... great for people watching, bad for furniture buying. We, however, found the perfect chair. Colors, pattern, size and price. I sit on it, staking claim so Betty Sue and her five screaming kids with grubby hands don't test it out and ruin it. (It's the last one, floor model sale ... don't judge me for judging others.) We couldn't find someone to sell it to us to save our lives. Finally we track someone down, buy the thing and make a beeline out of there.

Too bad we still have a living and dining room to fill. Are there any other furniture stores in KC?