A few years ago I got a free sample of a personal deodorant dropped in my letter box. It wasn't a brand I used, and it was apparently a new and exciting development. Not a roll on as I was accustomed to, but a waxy looking stick.
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| Something like this. |
I chucked it in the back of my bathroom cabinet and didn't think about it again until a morning many months later. Emerging from my shower, I remembered what the item was that eluded my memory at the previous day's supermarket visit. I was out of deodorant. Then I remembered the freebie and gave it a go. It was fantastic. When it was nearing its end, I sought out a replacement with no success. Not one to give up, I rang the handy 0800 line in the small print. Where could I buy this wonderful product? The customer services representative informed me that would be nowhere, ever. What? But this was a brilliant product. Oh, yes. It was the best they ever produced, but it didn't catch on so it was discontinued. So the current product range is inferior? Yes, that's right. Inferior but preferred by our customers.
I recalled this sequence of events as I cleaned my shower this morning. I was using the best ever shower cleaner. I'm probably the only one in the whole of New Zealand still using it. It was recommended years and years ago by a rep from the company that produced it. It was every bit as effective and easy to use as he had indicated - and so it should be, it was considered the best product on the market by those who know the bathroom cleaner market. Then came the bad news. Even with me raving about it to complete strangers in the supermarket, it hadn't taken off. My inside source told me it would be withdrawn. This time I was ready. I stocked up, and I mean stocked up. I bought up the last on the shelves of every local supermarket.
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| The stash. |
I brought the stash with me when I moved to Petone. I've been here over five years. At best, I think I have a couple of years left. I am preparing myself as best I can.
