The hunt for an adapter plug in downtown Toronto

I live in downtown Toronto, a couple blocks from the tourist's paradise that is Yonge and Dundas, home to three major electronics stores: Future Shop, Best Buy and The Source, which has two locations inside the great bastion of consumerism known as the Eatons Centre.  The other day, I was looking for an adapter plug from a quarter-inch (old-school headphones/musical instrument patch-chord) to what I believe is one-sixteenth of an inch (new-school headphones/computer output jack).  I figured that with three stores within a short walking distance, this plug would be easy to find.  Boy, was I wrong!

I started out at Future Shop, which is located in the shiny new Toronto Life building after moving from its old location on Yonge north of Gould St.  They didn't have what I was looking for in the computer section, so they told me to check out the audio/video department.  There, I was able to find the plug that I needed.  Only one problem: it was packaged with a 25 ft. headphone extention cable, which cost $19.99.  I didn't want to pay for 25 feet of cable that I'd never use, so I decided to move on.  The 5'2" Pakistani sales associate recommended that I try The Source, but since the Eatons Centre makes me sick to my stomach, I figured I'd stop by Best Buy first.  That turned out to be a mistake.

Entering the Best Buy store at Bay and Dundas, I headed straight for the TV section.  Clearly, the TV salesmen, in their button-down shirts, wouldn't help a long-haired ***** like me even if I were to spontaneously combust in front of a 52" Sony, and I didn't see any adapter plugs while browsing through the section.  I headed over to the audio aisle, which was focused on Ipods, and couldn't find what I was looking for there, either.  A sales associate pointed me to a rack of plugs, where her co-worker told me that he didn't have what I was looking for in his section.  He suggested I check the computer section, or head on over to The Source.  Well, I didn't see any adapter plugs in Computers, and their salesmen were more interested in hawking laptops than helping me, so I figured I would have to try my luck at The Source.  It was starting to become obvious that today wasn't my lucky day.

One thing I hate about the Eatons Centre is that you need your own personal navigation system to find your way around the place.  I thought I knew where The Source was, but when I got to where I thought it would be, it turns out that it wasn't there.  The mall has three floors, and the only maps in the place are positioned at its exact epicentre, which means that you'll have wandered across half the building before you even see them.  When I eventually found The Source, which actually has two locations within the same mall, I was hoping that it would live up to Future Shop Man and Best Buy Guy's recommendations.  I was sadly mistaken.

After looking around for a few minutes, I was approached by a saleswoman who asked me what I was looking for.  Now, I had brought a one-sixteenth to a quarter-inch adapter plug with me, in anticipation that the sales associates wouldn't know what an adapter plug is.  Throughout my journey, I would show it to salespeople and tell them that I was looking for a plug that was the opposite of what I had.  Well, Source Lady led me to the back of the store, where there was a rack of cables and a rack of accessories.  She then told me to check the cables while she looked at the accessories.  I had no need for a cable of any kind, but I decided to humour her, as she went over to the accessories rack, and came back with... a ***** phone jack!?  She told me that was all they had, and the store didn't carry anything close to what I was looking for, to which I replied, "Well hey, I saw the *****thing at Future Shop, but it came packaged with a cable that I don't need!"  Since The Source was of no assistance to me, I decided to head back to Future Shop, and see if I could maybe steal an adapter plug without anybody noticing.

As I made my way to the Audio/Video section, I ran into my vertically challenged sales associate, who told me that he could give me a deal.  Apparently, there was a bag with a cable in it that had been removed from the box, and I was under the impression that he was going to sell me the adapter plug that I was looking for without the unpackaged cable.  The sales guy told me to wait for a minute, then spent at least 20 minutes talking to men behind at least two different counters, during which time I discovered that I could buy Johnny Cash Live at Folsom Prison, The Ramones' Greatest Hits, and the latest Ozzy Osbourne album for the combined sum of 25 dollars.  It was at that time that the short salesman returned with some bad news.

Apparently, he could not sell me the plug that was in the bag because the cable was broken, and they're not allowed to sell damaged merchandise.  I didn't give a ***** about the cable, but since it was broken, I couldn't buy the perfectly fine adapter plug that came with it.  In the end, he offered me a discount on an unbroken cable with the adapter plug I needed, but after taxes I ended up paying $19.77, so I still paid 20 bucks for a small part that should've cost me no more than five.

Now, I love Toronto more than any woman I've been with, and I've always told people that by living downtown, I'm within walking distance of anything that I could ever need, but after this adapter plug incident, I might have to retract those words.  It almost makes me wonder if I would've had an easier time adapter hunting in my old hometown of Calgary, or if the quarter-inch to one-sixteenth of an inch adapter plug is truly an endangered species.

By the way, if you're looking to buy 25 feet of headphone extention cable, and have no need for an adapter plug, drop me a line at gruesomegreg@toohightogetitright.com