by Michael S. Kaplan, published on 2007/10/31 10:01 -04:00, original URI: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/michkap/archive/2007/10/31/5796846.aspx
Even the most occasional reader of this blog probably has some notion of my love for San Pellegrino Limonata.
Anyway, after Trader Joe's stopped carrying this vital substance (to me, less important than oxygen since I inhale but more important than water since I don't hydrate), I switch over to Larry's Market and once again enjoy those periodic trips to pick up my Limonata cases.
I have been getting 10 cases at a time, a nice easy number and large enough to work out some kind of deal for....
Then this last week U was running low so I called my contact over there. The conversation always starts the same way....
"Hello, is _________ there?"
"One moment please."
{I am placed on hold}
"Hello?"
"This is Michael Kaplan, I was calling about getting an order of..."
She interrupts me and puts the word in herself: "Limonata!"
"You remembered! How sweet!"
"Like I'm going to forget this order?" {smile}
"How about 15 cases this time -- how soon would they be in?"
"Well, ordinarily it would come in on Monday. But we just put in our order and with the holidays starting to coming up I'm not supposed to put in a second order. So it would probably not be until Friday."
{pause}
"But let me see if I can get them it add it to the order. 15 cases, hopefully Monday but worst case Friday. I'll call you on Monday either way."
"Thanks, I really appreciate it."
"Any time!"
She was successful in getting it added, and so there would be no interruption in Limonata. But there was one problem....
The ordering changed a bit, and while ordering was done by the case, the price was by the six-pack (there are 4 six-packs to a case).
The order went through and she multiplied by 4 to get the price/quantity right, but that actually quadrupled the quantity.
So waiting for me was 60 cases.
Oops!
Yes, I had a Math is Hard moment. :-)
I had to admit to her that my car wouldn't fit that much. But I asked her whether if I bumped the order up to 25 could she make the deal any sweeter?
She laughed and said she'd what she could do.
So yesterday morning I drive to Larry's Market and enter the store.
I ask the cashier for the assistant manager.
"You're the Limonata guy?"
Heh. "Yeah, that's me."
"OK, I have the price here so I can ring you up, I'll call her so she can bring it to your car."
I ask whether she will have problems with too muck stock?
"Not at all, it's a fast seller even without your orders. By the time you're back I'll be order new cases to fill the order."
Whew, I definitely didn't want to cause any extra stress!
We manage to fill the backseat with 20 cases and the last five go in the front seat.
I drop those five off in the garage but leave the 20 in the back to deal with after work. I drive into work -- who the hell would steal cases of Limonata from my car! :-)
My neighbor at work pops by to mention he saw my car -- the license plate made him pretty sure but the backseat full of Limonata clinched it....
And when I get home I make five trips between the garage and the apartment, taking five cases each time. They are now stacked in the kitchen. I should probably take a picture of it....
This post brought to you by L (U+004c, a.k.a. LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L)
# Gene on 31 Oct 2007 3:18 PM:
> who the hell would steal cases of Limonata from my car!
Maybe the same person that stole a shattered motorcycle helmet from my car? (but left other more valuable stuff)
> I should probably take a picture of it....
PNG! PNG
# jon on 31 Oct 2007 4:06 PM:
Wow, I thought I had a Coke Zero dependency, but it pales next to this :)