OK, here's the setup. I was going to get my haircut. Because my time's usually short and today was no exception, I decided to see what the hair salon at WalMart could do. I'm familiar with their setup. They don't take reservations, you walk in, sign up, and they get you whenever they feel like it. But it was fairly early, so I figured I'd take my chances.

I went in to the hair salon, which was open, looked around, nobody. Through a couple mirrored reflections, I could see a lady in the very back, folding the little smocks they put around you. She saw me briefly, but turned her attention away, as if deliberately trying to ignore me. I leaned in and got her attention.

Yes, she said, they would be cutting hair. But I would have to sign up (there was nobody there) and come back about 2:30 pm (two hours later). I looked at the signup sheet and saw two names on, one scheduled for 1 and the other for 1:30. So I asked her how long their appointments were, hoping I could get moved up a little. She responded with a terse, "I SAID 2:30!", and came towards the front.

The pen they had supplied wasn't working for me, so I pulled one out of my pocket. I signed up, then went to pocket it again. She looked at me like I was trying to carry off their register. Fine. It's not worth arguing about a ten cent pen. I left it with her. She then went to use the faulty pen, to prove it worked. Yes, lady. This was all a diabolical ploy to steal a pen.

I still couldn't get my haircut until 2:30, but thanks to this woman's rudeness and complete lack of a professional attitude, it was done at a salon where they actually WANT customers.