Shambolic

A couple of years ago, my usual brand of shampoo was replaced by a 'new' formula.

Same name, different actual liquid inside the bottle.

The new formula is thinner, requiring more regular purchases of it. The new formula's lather dries up much quicker than the old. The new formula is harsher.

I have no objection to any of this. My only objection is to the company's removal of the original product.

So for the last couple of years I've been keeping my eyes peeled for the odd unsold bottle still to be found in out-of-the-way convenience stores. This week I struck a job lot of them in Poundland. Result!!

So today I walked in and bought 50 bottles of shampoo, for exactly fifty pounds. An incredible bargain. As Poundland is a clearance stockist, I may be wrong, but I don't think any of my fifty squid will be going back to the manufacturer.

In fact, even if the company does bring back the original formula that I was so thoughtlessly committed to, and even if I were to somehow know that this had happened (still the same brand name on the bottles remember), I will hardly be able to buy it again, for several years at least. I have my own much cheaper supply now, thank you.

Well done manufacturers. Which business college taught you to turn away customers who had committed to regularly buying the same product from you, for the rest of their lives, with no advertising? Well, if it makes you happy.

Here's hoping that my bulk purchase today lasts a long time, but not so long that it outlasts my hair.