I love watching product demonstrations. During the county fair I am much more likely to be in the commercial buildings watching the demonstrations of mops, jewelry cleaner, hair do-dads and cookware than the animal areas or midway.
When infomercials first came out, I would watch the entire half hour. It didn’t matter if it was Jack Lalanne’s juicer, cookware just like the pros use, or the famous Vegamatic that slices, dices and comes clean under running water. I had to keep watching until the … “But wait, there’s more!”
So it was exciting to learn that Redding now boasts an ‘AS SEEN ON TV’ store, located on Churn Creek (behind Dairy Queen). My sister and I just had to go check it out.
First, we were surprised to learn the store is locally owned and not a franchise. Second, we couldn’t have asked for better customer service. The staff greeted us with genuine smiles and were very knowledgeable about each product; they cheerfully answered all our questions. I picked up a few small items, cutting mats, a hand-held sewing machine for those “emergency repairs,” and a roller to pick up dog hair and lint from clothing. At that time, the store was still trying to get all its inventory.
When in Redding a couple of weeks ago, we had to make another visit to the AS SEEN ON TV store. This time, the shelves were fully stocked and many of the items had a small TV above the product with a commercial loop demonstrating the “amazing uses.” Sis doesn’t like to stand idle. She is more of a power shopper. I wanted to watch every demonstration. I watched a couple before it was time to ring up our purchases.
I bought:
- Another flexible plastic cutting mat: excellent buy.
- Another set of 600 thread-count sheets ($19.99!): I love them and guests have commented on the quality.
- Mighty Mendit amazing flexible bonding agent. It has paid for itself repairing a roll-up dog pad that I take with us for Bailey, my service dog, in restaurants or other public places. Next, I am going to try it to hem a pair of yoga pants.
- Pro-Bond Putty: So far, I have fixed a broken coffee cup handle and a lamp top.
- A small, bullet-shaped cheese/nut grater was a total waste of money – tossed it after first use.
But wait, there’s more! - SHAMWOW! For as many jokes this product generates on late night TV, it is an exceptional product. Between the SHAMWOWs and the micro-fiber cloths, we rarely buy paper towels anymore.
- I can’t wait to see what they will stock next. I know there will be more.
Darcie Gore earned a Master’s degree in social work and enjoyed working with diverse populations for over 30 years. She is a stroke survivor and is assisted by Bailey, her service dog. Darcie has been married to Jim since she was 17 years old. They have two grown children, Laura and Jeff and recently moved into a retirement community..
