It doesn't take long to realize that stores and Christmas Eve are a challenge to navigate. And that's in the states. I assume Cananada and Euro are somewhat similar. The DR is chaos with an exponent.
It's like a glowing burner on an electric stove: Don't touch lest you suffer the consequences.
However, sometimes you must.
We drove to La Romana to pick up a guest at the airport. It's quite the drive so we left Jarabacoa with plans to get there early, plenty of time to spare. And we did: 45 minutes to spare.
So we decided to "jump" into the big Jumbo in town to pick up just 3 items for our Big Festivus Feast of Pavo Aserdo, cornbread/celery stuffing, bean and broccoli caserole, cranberry sauce (Ocean Spray, of course!:cheeky and cherry cheesecake.
Holy Guacamole!
The place was PACKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean elbows to elbows and cheek to cheek!!!
We grabbed our items and headed for the "10 items or less" line. Clearly the local school system is remiss, because folks couldn't tell "10" from "30." EVERY check-out line was at least 15 deep and you couldn't even walk through the lines in the front of the store.
And in typical Dominican fashion, entire families wandered aimlessly, totally unaware of everyone else around them.
(Note to stock help: Yes, I know it's very important to restock the shelves. But just a tip: try not to stop your cart in the MIDDLE of the aisle while standing between it and the shelf. Try putting it against the shelf instead and work from the back/front of the cart. That way customers can get by...)
We had a plan: Alida and I took 2 different lines; whoever got to the check-out clerk first would text the other and we'd consolidate our booty there.
After 30 minutes in line, during which the highly efficient check-out staff proceeded to process 5 (yes, 5, not a typo) clients, we had to leave for the airport. I texted Alida and we put our items down on the nearest shelf and left for the airport. Yes, I know, poor form. Oh, well, just a crude and crass Gringo in a hurry.
Got to the airport on time to find Jet Blue had delivered our guest 30 minutes early. No problem. Loaded him up and back to Jumbo we went, this time without a timetable. Not to our surprise, the items were where we had left them. So we took them to the cosmetic area where the clerk looked somewhat bored with the 2 customers in line. Checked out there in 10 minutes and out the door.
Never again. Next year we'll plan MUCH better...
It's like a glowing burner on an electric stove: Don't touch lest you suffer the consequences.
However, sometimes you must.
We drove to La Romana to pick up a guest at the airport. It's quite the drive so we left Jarabacoa with plans to get there early, plenty of time to spare. And we did: 45 minutes to spare.
So we decided to "jump" into the big Jumbo in town to pick up just 3 items for our Big Festivus Feast of Pavo Aserdo, cornbread/celery stuffing, bean and broccoli caserole, cranberry sauce (Ocean Spray, of course!:cheeky and cherry cheesecake.
Holy Guacamole!
The place was PACKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean elbows to elbows and cheek to cheek!!!
We grabbed our items and headed for the "10 items or less" line. Clearly the local school system is remiss, because folks couldn't tell "10" from "30." EVERY check-out line was at least 15 deep and you couldn't even walk through the lines in the front of the store.
And in typical Dominican fashion, entire families wandered aimlessly, totally unaware of everyone else around them.
(Note to stock help: Yes, I know it's very important to restock the shelves. But just a tip: try not to stop your cart in the MIDDLE of the aisle while standing between it and the shelf. Try putting it against the shelf instead and work from the back/front of the cart. That way customers can get by...)
We had a plan: Alida and I took 2 different lines; whoever got to the check-out clerk first would text the other and we'd consolidate our booty there.
After 30 minutes in line, during which the highly efficient check-out staff proceeded to process 5 (yes, 5, not a typo) clients, we had to leave for the airport. I texted Alida and we put our items down on the nearest shelf and left for the airport. Yes, I know, poor form. Oh, well, just a crude and crass Gringo in a hurry.
Got to the airport on time to find Jet Blue had delivered our guest 30 minutes early. No problem. Loaded him up and back to Jumbo we went, this time without a timetable. Not to our surprise, the items were where we had left them. So we took them to the cosmetic area where the clerk looked somewhat bored with the 2 customers in line. Checked out there in 10 minutes and out the door.
Never again. Next year we'll plan MUCH better...