"I'm just going to look at the dolls after I grab some bar soap and double-A batteries." That's what I told myself when I entered Family Dollar last Friday. Once inside the store, that plan changed, particularly since the Fashion Madness Kenya dolls were not where I saw them the week prior.
After a brief yet concerning commotion in the store*, I solicited assistance from a worker by asking, "Do you know if you still have Fashion Madness Kenya dolls?" She shared her uncertainty about which dolls I meant. So I described them as "black fashion dolls that cost $20."
"A man just purchased a doll that cost $20!" she said. Excited, I blurted out, "Those are the ones!" She, a cashier, asked her store manager to show me where the dolls were. They had been moved from a bottom shelf to the top of another shelf totally out of view. Unless he asked, I am not sure how the "man" who purchased one before my store visit found them.
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| Fireside Chatting Kenya has the darkest complexion of the Fashion Madness Kenya dolls |
I told the manager, "She's dressed in red and white. If you have more than one like that, I need to examine them because sometimes they have flaws such as loose clothing seams." There were only two Fireside Chatting Kenya's among the available stock. Both
appeared without flaws and both came home with me.
At checkout, the original clerk that I asked about the dolls was my cashier. She asked, "Why do these dolls cost so much?" I replied, "I don't know, but here I stand with two, so I guess they must be selling at this price." Confused about the price and the quantity I was purchasing, she asked, "Why are you buying two?" I tried to explain as briefly as possible by stating, "I am a doll collector. One is for me and one is a gift for a friend." She seemed amazed that a grown woman, or at least two, since I was purchasing an identical doll for someone else, would 1) pay $20 for a doll and 2) collect them.
A series of questions from the cashier followed, one of which was, "Is this the only size you collect?" I answered her, but could tell by her facial expression that she viewed my fascination with black dolls of all types as odd. At one point, as a result of her voiceless but still vocal, negative facial expressions, I said, "Shut up! It's my mother's fault, had she purchased black dolls for me as a child, I probably wouldn't be so enthused about them now."
"Is your mother still alive?" She asked. "Yes, and some of my life-size dolls live with her now too."
Oh, I guess by then she really thought I was nuts, but who cares. I was so excited about my purchase that I almost left the store with only my dolls until the cashier said, "You're forgetting your other bag" (soap and batteries -- the reason I entered the store).
*The commotion that I witnessed was hearing the diminutive female store manager demand a man, who stood over 6 feet tall to remove items from the legs of his pants. He kept insisting that he did not have anything. She kept demanding him to remove the items and asked him where the other man was who came into the store with him. (Do I stand here and gawk? Do I leave the store without my intended purchases? These were a couple of quick questions that ran through my head.) I had no idea what the man would do. I didn't know if he would get angry, present a weapon, or comply with the manager's request.
And where is the other man, I wondered.
I nervously moved to another aisle to avoid the urge to stand there and gawk. Heading toward me down the aisle on which I walked was who I assumed to be the "other man" the manager had mentioned. From where I stood I could hear the manager demanding, "Give me the rest," and the man saying he didn't have anything else. "Good Lord, should I leave now or what?" "Or what" was the answer because I had not located my dolls, the soap, or the batteries.
I paced from aisle to aisle away from the commotion and heard the manager threatened to call the police. The man finally complied and relinquished the goods he had attempted to pilfer. Before he left, he was instructed to never return to the store again.
Relieved that the madness was over, I nervously walked back to the front of the store and asked for assistance in finding Fashion Madness Kenya.
Out of box images and a comparison photograph with Movin On Kenya follow:
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| Fireside Chatting Kenya out of box |
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| I love Fireside Chatting Kenya's deep complexion. She really is a lovely doll, but for $20 I expect top quality, even if the doll is intended for the play market. After removing from the box and attempting to adjust one earring, one of the fake diamonds broke off; her neck joint is rather stiff; her right wrist joint is quite loose. This is not the first flawed doll in this line that I have seen. Their overall quality is below par, which is unacceptable and will prevent me from paying full price for any others or prevent me from keeping any others that I pay full price for that are flawed, because deep down inside I know I will buy TJ and Keyshia... and I want one with medium complexion, too). |
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| Head shot of Fireside and Movin On Kenya |
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