It's official. Ok, there wasn't anything written in
the newspapers, no government edict, no parade announcing
the event...but it's official. Christchurch no longer
needs the business of U.S. Antarctic Program participants.
Yes, Christchurch has taken the deep step off into the
abyss and declared itself able to stand on it's own.
How do I know this? (Better yet, why would I think that
it was ever this way?) Because you can no longer get a
"Ice Discount" at Kathmandu. To those not from NZ,
Kathmandu is an outdoor clothing and gear store, and
participants (Ice folk) used to be able to get a fairly
substantial discount just for being Ice folk. I once
scored a really big discount because they thought I
was a Polie and they got a 50% discount just for being
Winterover Polies! Hmmm...I thought, not fair...why them?
But hey their mistake (yes, I can feel the embers of my
afterlife now). When I went into the store today with
a gift certificate that had been expired for two weeks,
I was allowed to use it. However when I asked about the
discount...not so fast. The manager did a slightly
obligated look through some book and announced that a
discount no longer existed. He did give me a token
discount just for coming in an enquiring, which I was
grateful for by the way, but it was obvious the days of
Christchurch businesses enjoying our company has passed.
Can you blame them? We come in, take over the town,
some act rudely and then we leave. To be fair, most
Ice folk are pleasant and most Christchurch Business-folk
appreciate the business. However, they don't need us to
be a success...and that's good for all involved.
No comments:
Post a Comment