NBA beef and the Toys 'R' Us collector's nightmare...

I'd like to start today's rag by 'officially' stating that I don't know how many more times I can watch the San Antonio Spurs be handed playoff games before I just stop watching NBA playoff basketball altogether. I realize the Suns didn't help their cause much with some late game turnovers in game 5, but the phantom calls and conveniently placed 'no calls' by the refs have got to stop.

And if public enemy number one, David Stern, was afraid to show his face in Phoenix following his controversial suspensions of and comments regarding two Suns players during last year's playoffs for leaving the bench during a player altercation, then he might as well now expect to retire without ever setting foot in Arizona again after opting not to suspend two players that left the bench and stepped onto the playing floor during an altercation in this year's playoffs between Celtic Kevin Garnett and Hawk Zaza Pechulia. And the last time I checked, pushing a ref is also grounds for suspension, unless you're Kevin Garnett, I guess.

Unfortunately, double standards, poor officiating, paid-off refs (interesting how that got swept under the rug in record time) and Stern measures are killing the NBA. And when life-long fans begin losing interest in the game, you know something's gone awry. Can it be repaired? Possibly, but not with Stern at the helm.

Ok, enough about that. I'm here to entertain you with a story about toy collecting, so here goes. As collectors, we all have a tale of frustration we've encountered at some retail store, and mine goes like this.

Back in the late '90's, I would spend the occasional lunch break visiting the Toys 'R' Us near my place of work in the hopes of filling this or that collection I was working on at the time. Many times, I wouldn't be able to find what I was looking for on the shelf, so I would ask an employee if they had any stock in the back that they could bring out to fill the shelf display. After encountering the same response every time for weeks, 'No, everything we have is on the shelf,' I was beginning to think that the Toys 'R' Us employee training department must have that line in its handbook. Either that, or Toys 'R' Us employed the laziest people on the planet.

Now, I come from the school of thought that says employees should do everything they can to help customers with their needs, especially if it could mean additional sales for the company. I also come from the school of thought that says if you can't get someone to help you, it's time to help yourself. So one day, after asking an employee if they could restock the empty display of new Marvel figures and receiving the standard line, 'Everything we have is on the shelf,' I decided to see for myself.

I unabashedly walked right back into their back room and starting searching for the 'out of stock' figures. Naturally, the employee was not amused (I think he was equally shocked), as he followed up behind me insisting I leave the back room immediately. 'I already told you we don't have what you want,' he emphasized indignantly. My response? 'Oh, you mean these right here?' Coincidentally, the exact location where we stood in the back room of Toys 'R' Us held several cases of the figures I had just inquired about.

I think his embarrassment prompted the next words out of his mouth. 'I'm going to have to ask you to leave the store.' I could hardly believe my ears. He was about to remove a paying customer from the store for having the nads not to accept being lied to. I left without incident, but I couldn't help but feel that the proper way for him to handle that situation would have been to admit he made a mistake, offer to fill the display, sell me what I wanted, and ask me politely not to enter the back room area again. I guess he comes from a different school.

I wasn't officially banned from the store or anything (no photo on the Toys 'R' Us bulletin board with a line below it reading, 'Back Room Infiltrator' or anything like that), but I seldom went back, and a few years later I heard that the store had closed its doors. Funny how business can decline when you go out of your way NOT to sell merchandise to your customers.

Please join me tomorrow when I'll share with you the uplifting story of two small children, a house without a fridge, amazing home-made BBQ and a knock-off handbag. Until then, carry on.

- Joel (FromMyToyBox)