Broondog
Regular Member
imported post
i decided to put OC to the test today in the Festus/Crystal City area. the only thing holding me back in the past was the wording of the Crystal City codes since the two towns don't seem to have real defined borders. one minute you are in Festus, the next Crystal and then back to Festus and on and on. that and the fact that Wal-Mart straddles the city line and no one is quite sure which side of the store is which. :banghead:
so i started at the Casey's gas station on 67 which just happened to have a Crystal cop across the street chillin' (i thought i was in Festus). i did a pay-at-the-pump as always but walked around the truck to check my tires and scrape the dead bugs off of the windshield. no problems. i actually got a nod from a biker who was relaxing on his bike eating a sandwich.
on to the Save-A-Lot over by K-Mart and Main Street. i casually walked thru getting the things on my list and no one batted an eye, customer or employee. well, the cashier did have a mildly strange look on her face, but other than that no problems for the 15-20 minutes i was there.
then i headed over to the Wal-Mart at A and 67. i strolled in, paused at the second door to change to indoor glasses when the greeter said 'hi' and offered me a cart. thanking him i went on my way. i made a loop thru the entire store. i hit automotive to get an oil and air filter, taking my time to play with the little part search computer. i cruised to pet supplies and got my dogs some treats. then i had to backtrack over to office supplies to get a folder to carry my printouts of local codes for area towns. back over at the food side i casually went up and down the aisles getting the things on my list. up at the front near the checkout lanes i paused to re-check my list one more time (i hate when i forget stuff) and proceeded to check out. i was in the store for 30-40 minutes and was never hassled, looked at funny or anything like that. again, no problems.
since Wally didn't have everything i wanted i had to hit the Schnucks up by the highway. making a quick loop thru there (i had cold stuff getting warm out in the truck) i hit a self-check lane to get out quick. here is where i had the only problem, maybe just a perceived one but i don't think so. as i was waiting for the thing to spit out my receipt i hear over the intercom and directly behind me "Andrew to Customer Service" (cust svc is directly adjacent to the self-check). i turn with my bag and receipt in hand to see the store manager standing there partially blocking my way and the self-check attendant staring at me with 'bug eyes'. i politely said to the manager "excuse me, sir" to get him to move from my path. he did and i thanked him and proceeded to exit.
now i suppose i could have dawdled to find out who 'Andrew' was (probably store security) but i was not looking for a confrontation. i was merely going about my business for the day except i was sporting a two-tone Sig P229 in a Fobus holster. as i walked away i heard the manager get back on the intercom and say "Andrew, cancel".
though mentally i was prepared for any situation that arose, a confrontation did not materialize at any place i visited today. i don't think the Schnucks manager appreciated me carrying openly in his store, but nothing came of it. i'll try them again in a week or so and see how it goes.
all in all though, it was a good OC day.
i decided to put OC to the test today in the Festus/Crystal City area. the only thing holding me back in the past was the wording of the Crystal City codes since the two towns don't seem to have real defined borders. one minute you are in Festus, the next Crystal and then back to Festus and on and on. that and the fact that Wal-Mart straddles the city line and no one is quite sure which side of the store is which. :banghead:
so i started at the Casey's gas station on 67 which just happened to have a Crystal cop across the street chillin' (i thought i was in Festus). i did a pay-at-the-pump as always but walked around the truck to check my tires and scrape the dead bugs off of the windshield. no problems. i actually got a nod from a biker who was relaxing on his bike eating a sandwich.
on to the Save-A-Lot over by K-Mart and Main Street. i casually walked thru getting the things on my list and no one batted an eye, customer or employee. well, the cashier did have a mildly strange look on her face, but other than that no problems for the 15-20 minutes i was there.
then i headed over to the Wal-Mart at A and 67. i strolled in, paused at the second door to change to indoor glasses when the greeter said 'hi' and offered me a cart. thanking him i went on my way. i made a loop thru the entire store. i hit automotive to get an oil and air filter, taking my time to play with the little part search computer. i cruised to pet supplies and got my dogs some treats. then i had to backtrack over to office supplies to get a folder to carry my printouts of local codes for area towns. back over at the food side i casually went up and down the aisles getting the things on my list. up at the front near the checkout lanes i paused to re-check my list one more time (i hate when i forget stuff) and proceeded to check out. i was in the store for 30-40 minutes and was never hassled, looked at funny or anything like that. again, no problems.
since Wally didn't have everything i wanted i had to hit the Schnucks up by the highway. making a quick loop thru there (i had cold stuff getting warm out in the truck) i hit a self-check lane to get out quick. here is where i had the only problem, maybe just a perceived one but i don't think so. as i was waiting for the thing to spit out my receipt i hear over the intercom and directly behind me "Andrew to Customer Service" (cust svc is directly adjacent to the self-check). i turn with my bag and receipt in hand to see the store manager standing there partially blocking my way and the self-check attendant staring at me with 'bug eyes'. i politely said to the manager "excuse me, sir" to get him to move from my path. he did and i thanked him and proceeded to exit.
now i suppose i could have dawdled to find out who 'Andrew' was (probably store security) but i was not looking for a confrontation. i was merely going about my business for the day except i was sporting a two-tone Sig P229 in a Fobus holster. as i walked away i heard the manager get back on the intercom and say "Andrew, cancel".
though mentally i was prepared for any situation that arose, a confrontation did not materialize at any place i visited today. i don't think the Schnucks manager appreciated me carrying openly in his store, but nothing came of it. i'll try them again in a week or so and see how it goes.
all in all though, it was a good OC day.
