Like any red-blooded retailer, I loved the state tax-free holiday last weekend. Our cash register was smoking after hours of ringing up one sale after another. The showrooms were jammed with shoppers eager to take advantage of the savings. Some were familiar faces. Others were new to Furniture Consignment Gallery.
One newcomer was absolutely giddy at some of the exquisite pieces she found in our showroom. She'd discovered two objects of lust - a Sheraton style sideboard and an inlaid china cabinet - and the longer she lingered in the showroom the more she found that would be perfect for her home.
"Do you deliver?" she asked. "Of course," I told her.
Suddenly, a look of consternation crossed her face. "Does your truck say Furniture Consignment Gallery?" she asked anxiously.
Turns out she lives in an upscale waterfront neighborhood on the South Shore. She didn't want her neighbors to know that she was shopping for bargains at a consignment store. She was afraid that our truck might signal she was suffering financial distress in a town that prized financial success. What if the neighbors snickered at her behind her back?
Little did she know that our delivery trucks cruise her neighborhood regularly picking up and dropping off furniture. In fact, we know every lawn ornament on the town's impeccably manicured lawns. Here's a secret: her neighbors may be moneyed, but they're also blue-blood Yankees. They appreciate quality, but they also insist on a good deal. And they know they can't satisfy both of those demands in traditional furniture stores anymore.
Mrs. Insecurity is in for a treat when we deliver her furniture this week. She has no idea how impressed her neighbors will be at the treasures she found at FCG - and her financial savvy in snagging a bargain price on that china cabinet with the inlaid satin wood. So, yes, our trucks will be rolling proudly into the finest of neighborhoods this week - and every week.
