A couple of weeks ago,a friend tipped me off about a particularly attractive table lamp that they knew would appeal to me. The lamp in question is available in a large well known department store in Southsea,a store that I usually avoid as I prefer the smaller local shops but,as it is not available anywhere else,I went for a nosey. This was my first visit to this store for quite sometime as memories of my last visit are still fresh in my mind....this entailed a visit to the third floor for a cooked breakfast that resulted in the discovery that even a simple cup of coffee was not included and the breakfast itself was so miniscule that I was more hungry after eating it than when I arrived.However,I digress....

The lamp in question certainly did appeal and I made a conscious decision that I would buy it and it would have to be from this store as it was exclusive to them,not exactly a bargain at £50 but I was advised that I would get a £10 gift voucher as it was £50 and so would effectively cost me £40. Sounds reasonable,I thought,before discovering that the bulb,a screw in oven type,wasn't included.Decided to check the availability of those first as the store didn't stock them and found out that they are about £7 if bought locally,about the same online for a multipack.Decided to hold off on the purchase as I heard in the store that a big sale was due in a couple of weeks....

Fast forward two weeks and I went back into the department store today having decided that I really wanted this unique lamp and it would be a bargain now the much trumpeted sale was taking place....and in the sale it was,20% off the original price bringing it down to....yup,£40,exactly the same as if I had bought it two weeks ago with the £10 gift card included....not such a bargain then,sneaky move by the store expecting nobody to notice....and still no bulb included. Even worse,it transpires that there were none in stock apart from the two much fingerprinted display models and that there was no box included....but they could bubble wrap it for me,whoo !!! The official story was that none of their lamps come with a box which I guess is a bit odd but fine unless it's a special gift for someone....so the upshot was £40 for a lamp with no box or bulb,duh. I tried next to do what anyone would do in a big store when trying to buy a bulb-less and box-less table lamp....I asked for discount,especially as it was a display model and non too pristine at that. Numerous calls to unseen management achieved nothing,which was not entirely unexpected as management and staff alike were completely aware that it was not available anywhere else and that if I didn't buy it,somebody else would sooner or later.So,with gritted teeth,I bought it,figuring that on my next trip to South East Asia,I can get a hand made version carved from wood for about the same price,but not just unique in design,it will be a one off.....and it will be fitted with a holder that takes regular bulbs !

Ultimately,the store sold me the lamp....but they also strengthened my resolve to avoid them whenever possible and others of their ilk and continue to support the small guys where the personal service replaces the need to ask for any discount....