V is for VIP
Imagine my surprise recently when checking out at the grocery store, when the checker got a message in the computer that I was a VIP and they needed to bring me a gift! What? Me? A VIP? The woman behind me was hilarious and bowed down to me in an ‘I’m not worthy’ way. Of course, the whole VIP thing locked up the computer and we had to wait for someone to go fetch my gift and unlock the computer, so I’m glad that the people behind me were amused and patient.
My gift, as you can see above, was cheese related. It included a lovely cheese board, some cheese knives, a book on putting together cheese plates, a tote bag, and most importantly (to me at least) a gift card for $50! Yay me!
How does one become a VIP at your local grocery store, one might ask? (As the woman behind me in line did) Spend all of your money there, was my quip. But I suspect it has more to do with their loyalty/coupon program, which I use a lot, and it does save me money.
Why were they giving away gifts? Because this particular grocery store just went through a pretty major renovation, new flooring, new aisles, new everything. It’s a lot nicer now than it was, but I will admit that it was pretty crappy for awhile there in the midst of it, like when the canned beans were on temporary shelving in the middle of the freezer aisle. Not fun.
I’m glad they finished, and we’ve been enjoying the cheese board for our European dinners.
26 Comments
Elisabeth
It is SO fun to win anything, and this is actually useful. Hooray for pretty cheeseboards, winning things, and perks at the grocery store <3
J
Yes, it was quite a lovely surprise! I like all of it, but I was happiest about the gift card.
NGS
I think what I liked most about this story is that the people behind you in line were patient. I can imagine that going a very different way!!
J
Totally! I felt bad because the employees kind of didn’t know what to do at first, but yeah, the people behind me were really patient. And probably hoping they would be VIPs too!
Suzanne
Oh my gosh! What a fantastic surprise! I would love to be a VIP at my grocery store. And what a fantastic gift!
J
I know, I felt VERY IMPORTANT for a few minutes. Also, YAY to having something for my ‘V’ entry! This happend in September i think, and I just tucked it away…
Margaret
They all know me at my local store and the employees who do pick up for me sometimes slip me a special treat. Not as extravagant as that though. What a cool gift!
J
Nice! I’ve been going to the same 2 grocery stores for the last 27 years, so yeah, they know me too. It’s nice! They never slip me anything extra though…until now!
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie
A cheeseboard that will change your life is a big promise!
The closest grocery store has been undergoing renovations for YEARS. Everytime I’ve gone there a lot of things are in totally different places. They just announced that the reno is finished but I swear they are still moving things around like crazy.
J
LOL on the promise, you are right. I haven’t really looked at the cookbook, I don’t like my cheeseboard to be all smashed together like that. Pretty pictures though! I’ll probably give it away on my Buy Nothing group at some point.
Lisa's Yarns
Wow, what a nice gift! Dang! I love the reaction of the person behind you in line. I’m imaging her bowing down to you. Too funny.
My husband does all of our grocery shopping so I am totally out of touch with the state of our grocery store. He would take pictures and give me updates during the pandemic when the shelves were bare. He’s been shopping for us since I returned from maternity leave in July 2018. I used to do the grocery shopping and I enjoyed it but I wanted more time on the weekend with the baby once we had kids. I said we needed to do instacart or he could grocery shop. He opted to take on the grocery shopping.
J
She was hilarious, and very good humored about the whole thing.
Pandemic shopping was horrible.
San
I was going to say “how does one become a VIP and win a cheeseboard”? That’s really awesome. I wouldn’t midn a gift like that from a store I frequent. Congratulations, Julie! 😉
J
Thanks San, it really made my day!
Nicole MacPherson
That’s a really nice gift!
I get free gifts all the time at Superstore, but that’s because they always have a free item when you spend over $300, which I ALWAYS do! Sometimes the gifts are useful, sometimes I don’t take them because they are crap. Yours is lovely!
J
Nicole, that’s my kind of store!
nance
WOW! I sure wish my store would do something like that. I definitely feel like I am their VIP.
Love the reaction of the shopper behind you. I’d like to think I’d be that person. That’s a pretty nice free gift, especially the fifty bucks.
J
Nance, I KNOW, she was the icing on the cake (in the best way) for me. And as sometimes happens, this came right before payday, so it was really welcome!
Jenny
Wow- that is a REALLY nice gift! I mean, nice cheese boards like that are kind of expensive! If I won something like that I would totally use it all the time. Have you looked at the book yet?
J
I know, it’s a lovely cheese board! The book isn’t really my thing yet. Maybe I need to look at it more. When you crowd cheese together like that, I feel like you can’t really get to it. But I’ve had it that way when other people put it together and it’s great, so what do I know?
Tobia | craftaliciousme
Whooohoo for being an VIP. This isnt the. worst gift to receieve. I hope you spend all thos 50$ on some amazing cheese.
J
LOL, I don’t think I did, but I was very happy to buy groceries with it! Probably produce and wine.
Ernie
Go you! Hooray for a fun surprise during a boring trip to the grocery store. Our store renovated during the pandemic when I just wanted to get in and out of there. Instead I had to wander around because everything was in a?weird place.
J
Oh goodness, what a horrible time to do it, when they are limiting the number of people and you feel weird and exposed just being inside!
Stephany
That’s such a nice gift! Everything looks top quality – what a nice surprise for you.
J
Stephany, it was so much fun!