feeling listless

Commerce Right, I'm in a bitter mood (this ongoing fever has meant that I haven't been able to do half the things I was planning to do this week) so I'd better get started. I'm not at all surprised that Dixons are showing a slide in their profits if my visit to the Liverpool store to buy my Christmas printer was anything to go by. I went there because I'd looked all over town and hadn't found anything to fit the profile of something cheap that will do the job, buy y'know nothing fancy.

After a browse about the store I saw a pile of Lexmark's for £25.00 each (some of you are going to sigh here but I'll continue). There weren't any on display so I asked one fo the sale people for some help. As always happens in Dixons he looked about 12 but as always I gave him a fare go. I asked him what kind of cartridge came with it. Colour or Black. 'Dunno.' He says, 'Could be either.' I asked him if there was a way to tell. He sighed and went and asked his friend on the other side of the shop. Who tells him it'll be a colour one. I asked him if it will also print in black and white -- I'm told that it won't. I ask him to show me the cartridges which go with it. He sighed again and leads me to were the cartridges are. He feverishly looks them up and down. I eventually go over to the printers myself, make a note of the code and find the cartridge -- which will be £25.00. So now my printer is suddenly double to price. But I decide it's still worth it and head for the till.The girl at the till doesn't look up at me. She is still chatting to her friend. Then a voice chimed in from behind me -- 'Have you got a lead for that?' It's yet another sales person. 'Doesn't it come with one?' I asked. 'No.' And he shows me the USB leads. The cheapest one they had was £14. So now my cheap printer is £64. I was about to pay anyway, when this sales person, in the kind of sarcastic voice which would make you punch anyone else says: 'Not so cheap now then is it?' So I put the printer down ... I step away from the shop.

This only confirms that if you're going to buy anything you should stay well away from that moribund company ...