Bartering

     One of the nice things about working in a large mall is the connections you can make with other retail employees.  You can get free food, store discounts, and stuff put on hold if you know how to play your cards right.  The only problem is, nothing ever comes for free.  “Back scratching” certainly applies to the bartering system that exists in malls, but it comes with its benefits.

     When I was younger, at one of my old jobs (the store is closed now, and has been for several years), I used to be able to trade the food we sold for all sorts of stuff.  There was a nice Indian lady who worked at Auntie Anne’s who used to give me the bulk of their left over pretzels at the end of the night, and whenever I wanted a drink, I could just waltz on over there and get one for free. I could get Mrs. Fields cookies and Cold Stone ice cream, but if I was lucky, I could get something special.

     One time there was a NFL wide receiver who for some reason was signing autographs at a cell phone store.  He has since been charged with accidental vehicular manslaughter and has drifted off into obscurity, but that’s beside the point. One of the guys who worked at the cell phone store just so happened to walk over and tell me about it, and so I bartered for an autograph.  However, to this day I’m still not sure if it’ legit or not, which, unfortunately, is a clear example of the seediness of the mall bartering system.

     Today though I wouldn’t even dream of doing anything remotely like that, but back then, when I was younger and full of apathy towards my employers, it was nice to get free pretzels every once in a while.