Here is the page from the catalogue where I found the "half-moon" umbrella for our deck. When I first went over to Bricomarché (a national chain of hardware and DIY stores), they hadn't yet received them but were expecting to. A sales assistant took my name and number and said he'd call when they came in. Yeah, right.
I've had enough experience to know that he was probably just placating me. No call has come. I went over to the store again last week to check and, sure enough, the umbrellas were in. Three of them. They didn't have the color I wanted (the green that you see in the catalogue image) and the sales people told me they wouldn't be getting any more and, no, I could not order one even thought the catalogue said all items shown are available in-store or by order. I couldn't find the umbrellas on the company's web site, either. I've learned that, in France, the customer is very often wrong.
So I bought a red umbrella (the other option was blue). It turns out that we both like the red a lot. I'm looking forward to using it this summer. It will shade our deck table in the mid-day hours before the sun moves over the house. I'll get a photo of the new umbrella in use one day soon.
It's a very cool umbrella. We have Bricomart here, which I assume is the Spanish brand of the same company. We got almost all of our home renovation materials there and I have a feeling they wouldn't call us either.
ReplyDeleteI Googled them after reading your blog yesterday, so I have a better idea of what they are. I'm looking forward to seeing yours :)
ReplyDeleteThe red umbrella will go with your geraniums.
ReplyDeleteYour deck looks so inviting.
ReplyDeleteGood timing on this one. I erected our outside umbrella only to have the fabric tear off all its spokes and drop like trousers in a comedy.
ReplyDeleteThat's what the ardent AZ sun does to things. Time for a new one - a full one not a half moon.
Were you a stand-up comedien in another life, Ur-spo? That description made me LOL (laugh-out-loud)!!!
DeleteI think most salespeople mean well, when they respond, "I'll call you when they come in!" - but as you didn't believe the person, I, too, never take them at their word if it is something I really want to buy! And, just like you found out, there they were and no, they didn't call you - but you do have the umbrella, now! Red is one of my favorite colors, but then blue and dark green are too! That would have been a tough call for me. But Evelyn made a good point. The red geraniums will really pop with the matching umbrella! Let's hope you can get another 25 years out of the new one!
ReplyDeleteWhat? No Bertie in the chairs?
ReplyDeleteI, too, think the red sounds like a good choice. It's an interesting design, and the base is shaped to go with the non-circle top.
ReplyDeletemitch, we used to have a second store, Mr. Bricolage, that was taken over by Bricorama, and then bought by Bricomarché and shut down. Now we only have one store.
ReplyDeletejudy, I had never seen a half umbrella before now.
evelyn, yes!
bettyann, I like to sit out there in the summer, and the bbq is out there, too.
michael, oh, the embarrassment! lol
mary, I wanted the green, I think, because the old umbrella is green. Change is our friend.
chm, ha! He is often out there, but he's probably waiting for warmer weather.
emm, I didn't get the half-moon base. They didn't have one. So I got a round base, but it works fine for the deck.