News

The Zed Files by Karen Handling for Heritage SK August 28/12

This was probably my last trip to Zellers today. I happened to be in the shopping mall close to where we used to live. The layout hadn’t changed, so I wandered the aisles. This time of year saw parents scrambling to pick up back-to-school items and fashions. I remembered those years when we likewise scrambled to get our son outfitted with needful things. Those years are long gone. I strolled past the in-house hair stylist and remember waiting for the mother and son cuts. It was bittersweet thinking of how many years we’d shopped here. I also recall the ‘Zed’ points system to earn discounts or, better yet, free products. And I thought of the final one obtained on my mother’s card after she passed away. At the time I asked Customer Service if I could transfer the card to my name but they told me ‘not without the death certificate’. I found that request absurd, even though I understood the rationale. I refused to do it, I guess it felt like rubbing salt in the wound. So with the built up points I sent away for small slow cooker. After 5 or 6 weeks, the pain of her death was still strong but I didn't think about her every minute. When Zellers called to notify me that the item was in, I went to pick it up. There it was - with mom’s name on the address label. I couldn’t explain to the clerk why I was weeping over a small kitchen appliance. I just offered a silent prayer of thanks for her final gift to me. I walked past the little restaurant and thought about the coffee and pie mom and I enjoyed in the middle of a shopping expedition. The Zeller’s lunch counter was the last of the in-store ones and made me think of other institutions like Woolworth’s on the Scarth Street Mall, known for its daily soup and sandwich. The last time I saw the abandoned lunch counter in the old Union Station, the Blue Plate Specials were still posted on the chalkboard. Before Zellers, there was K-Mart and McLeods, Woolco and Saans, but I'm not sure of their origins. I do know that Zellers was a subsidiary of Hudson Bay Company and that in itself made it proudly Canadian. With the onset of dollar stores and discount liquidation worlds, medium-range sellers of this country don't seem to have a hope. One more way that our heritage is being eroded, though I suppose looking for the best deal is part of our culture too. Maybe we can change our attitude and work for more success stories of Canadian-owned retail outlets. Karen Handling