One Saturday morning we were going to buy a lock for our door - flat renovations takes quite some time, and every weekend is so precious! After searching online a bit, found a shop calles smth like "European Construction House", or similar, and went to look for it. That day there had to be big demonstrations of oposition party in the very center of the city, so we were in a hurry to finish all the buying business before it starts. Hehe, what kind of hurry....
It took a while to find this shop. The girl who answered the phone gave a deep sigh and vaguely explained where it is - no, you found the storage house, you have to walk right and find another office, where the sign says somewhat different name than expected. Well, good job hiding! After ringing at the door we have to wait a bit. The girl opens the door and invites us to come over, showing the stairs to the second floor - please go up there. We get to the second floor - two rooms with the glass doors, empty, not a living soul around. We get down to look for our girl. "Oh," - she says, - "The boss is away." Ok, we will wait, ok, we will sit down for a bit. We take a seat near the door and pass the time looking at posters on the walls and fake mandarin trees "growing" around. Posters show that the firm is standing well, doing some serious governmental projects. Apparently, selling door locks is not their primary occupation. After good twenty minutes and reminders to the girl that we are still here, there comes HE.
His head is high up, he holds the pose of a Very Important Person, gives a few directions to the girl and to another man that entered with him (maybe a security guard?). He is wearing slippers - well, of course, you should feel comfortable while doing a very important business. Without a single glance at us he climbs up the stairs in full dignity and disappears on the second floor. To our questioning looks the girl explains - it appears, we have been waiting not so much for the director, but for his assistant, who all this time has been in..... the kitchen (?????) and will come in a minute. Open smiles on our faces, but still waiting, at least from curiosity it is worth to see what will come next.
Assistant comes in with full elegance and invites us upstairs. We are led through the glass-door office and double door with double security - to the room of the very Boss.... Oh boy, it is a huge apartment, with a long meeting table, closets, books, family photos, lots of things on the shelves, chairs and everywhere - sure, business is a serious thing. We have a chance to look around while walking good 15 meters across the room towards HIM. The signs of status catch the eye: various souvenirs, attributes, and especially a plate on the table that says - "Ostorozhno, shef ne v duxe". We are asked what could interest us? We want a door lock, we say. Aham, aham, he listens to us with due seriousness and confirms, yes, we have door locks. Gives some directions to his assistant and she takes us away with her - through the double security door, to another room. Asks to wait a bit again. Next to the sofa there is a parrot cage with one bird inside - great, watching it will help pass the time! Oh no, wrong again... After a second glance it appears that the poor parrot has lost some feathers and looks pretty sick - head down, just holding to its perch in the cage and seems like it is just, just about to fall.... Next to the bird cage the security guard turned on his computer and started watching the news and playing cards at the same time - apparently, a usual activity that is not hidden from clients or anyone. Now we are openly giggling and waiting, what will come next.
The assistant returns with two locks and some sort of catalog. Shows one, another - good, Finnish locks, price is also quite alright, seems like we got lucky after all! And then she goes: "Wait please, I need to show it to the Boss first." Oh boy! Hasn't he seen it before??? She disappears behind the double door and we remain waiting. It appeared, the boss really needs to control everything - she has brought completely wrong locks! We get a catalog this time, with a quite limited choice again: "So we have this one, and that one, the price will be almost double compared with the first ones. If you want to buy, you should call us later and we will book it at our storage place."
We do not get to see the Boss again, thank them for the highlight of the day and rush out of that place. In another shop it took fifteen minutes to get everything we wanted. Interesting, that this time everyone wore shoes, and Boss's desk/fake mandarins/dying parrots were nowhere to be seen...
