Boiling point

We were all given a discount card to the official Flagship store here in Shanghai. Pretty fancy I reckoned as I planned my purchases.
The card was all in Chinese, so I had to read the email that escorted the card that informed me it was only for running products.
Fine, I need to update my running gears I thought, and jumped into the cab.
Took a good hour before the little Chinese had done his laps to the storage and back to provide me with the just right shoes to match my, also soon to be bought new Nike+ -thingie.
Wanted a new pair of tights too, but those things were only hanging in the women sections, so half-embarrassed I briskly waved it off, “haha no, I didn’t mean those tights…aa oh gosh no”.
Then we came to the register. And after ten-or-so different clerks later they managed to interpret my discount card – and then declined my shoe-purchase.
Whatafuck you think and so did I.
A huge argument and a bigger lecture from me followed. I tried to educate them about which products where included or not, until I slammed my hand on the counter and walked off with a silent ‘fuck off’ in my head.
I wanted to shred the card to pieces and scream as I walked out but came to my senses and decided that, the discount for this new technology of running is worth the humiliation of returning to the store.
So I did, smiled and asked which shoes I was ok to buy.
He presented me three shoes and one of them was the exact same pair as he just denied me.
To avoid any further misunderstanding I kindly informed them that these shoes are the e x a c t same as my rejected ones; same model, same stitches, same sole, same, same, same - everything - is the same, except for the swoosh being orange.
But his smug face just chuckled, “it's different pair” and that, “I was wrong”.
Ok fine I capitulated and bought the damn boots on my discount card.