[78-L] Rochester

[Michael Biel]

From: Cary Ginell <soundthink at live.com>
> Also went to the Record Archive where ARSC members were greeted by a sign saying "Welcome ARSC" at 
> the door. They were extremely friendly there - the shop is very eclectic. I was able to find a 
> 10-inch LP of pro-Communist pro-Labor folk songs by Joe Glazer as well as a double-disc 78 set on 
> Banner (the post-war NY label) of songs from HMS Pinafore sung in Yiddish by an all-female cast. (for > the collector who has everything). With my ARSC discount, each came to only four bucks. 

We didn't get to the Record Archive until our drive home on Sunday.  The
clerk with the Australian accent said that our 20% ARSC discount was
still valid, so off we went.  The 78s were in a different place, but we
found them and went thru about 7 boxes of 10-inch LPs and 78s, mostly
unmarked but we had gotten them for $3 last fall when we were there. 
When we checked out the Aussie entered most of our pile into the
register, all marked LPs, a lot were $1 but there were some higher,
including Record Store Day things Leah got.  But to "help him out" the
other clerk, the one with the three days beard growth that he must think
makes him look "manly" too the 10-inchers.  Starting with the five 78s
he proceeded to GOOGLE EACH ONE to get a price.  I objected to the $5
ones and didn't buy them -- even for a big customer with a $200 sale
(before discount) he was not willing to reduce them to the $3 that he
priced the others at -- unable to find some Soviet LPs in Google.  I WAS
expecting him to come up with a $25 pricing for the Dragnet Christmas
Story soundtrack LP on RCA Victor LPM 3199, but it was $3 as was the
only copy I've ever seen of the 10-inch original issue of the Tom Lehrer
cover album by "Jack Eljan" on Rivoli R-4.  (I had the 12-inch version
when I was a kid before I got the legitimate albums that Lehrer himself
made, but this cover version is much rarer than the legit albums!)  

After entering a total of 13 items that he had priced at $3, we paid the
$160 after discount and he bagged just those 13 discs.  When I asked him
to bag the others we had also bought he then reached over to start to
ENTER A SECOND TIME the large pile that the other clerk with the Aussie
accent had already entered.  He couldn't see immediately that it made no
sense that his small $40 pile would add up to nearly $200.  I thought
Leah was going to scratch his eyes out when she grabbed back the pile
and said they were already entered.  He had to call over to the other
clerk for confirmation that the stuff that had been placed on a
different counter was already entered.  This guy acted like he was the
superior one in the store, and I wonder if he is the boss.  If he is
not, he needs to be talked to by the boss. And each item needs to be
priced or a price for a category of untagged items be posted.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com