I just never understood this (article included)

[TheHappyBurgerMeister]

I've thought about this many times before this article came out, but whenever I'm at the mall shopping either by myself or with my mom or friend I see these poor men waiting around for their girlfriend/wife to finish shopping. I would NEVER bring my boyfriend/husband clothes shopping like that with me. Why are they there? Is the woman afraid to go out alone? (maybe feels safer with her guy around) Is it the man who wants to come along? It just seems weird to me. Woman are capable of shopping alone and if they DO want to be with someone- why not go with a girlfriend of yours? Does anyone here go with their girlfriend/wife when they shop or if you are female do you have to have your guy come along?

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=555294

Men in chairs
Malls make room for those whose job it is to wait and watch
By LORI PRICE
lprice@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Jan. 22, 2007

They sit.

And they wait.

Some wait for a few moments; others for an hour or longer.

A few sip, eat or read while they wait. Most just people-watch or some, when the waiting gets the best of them, nod off for a nap.




With all the waiting men do at the mall, they deserve more than some crummy little chair. Check out what a few guys warming seats at Mayfair Mall one recent Saturday said they would want in the ultimate man-chair lounge.
"Bigger chairs." -Rich Bohannon, 53, Galena, Ill.
"I'm an outdoors person, so something that brings a little bit of that inside would be nice." - Harvey Makos, 56, Delafield
"A nice comfy couch that's quiet and away from all the loud stores." - David Steinhardt, 49, Sheboygan
"Not a tavern type of environment, because then we'd never leave, but certainly something nice and comfortable with refreshments." - Bob Ondishko, 54, Genesee Depot

"Oh, yeah, I've gone to sleep, in this very chair," said George Evans, 74.

Evans, a Milwaukee resident, sat near Macy's upper level in Mayfair Mall one recent Saturday, eating fries and waiting on his wife, Margaret, who'd been shopping for a half-hour.

He didn't wait alone. He never does. On a couch next to Evans sat another waiting man who yawned while watching a baby stroller.

All through the Wauwatosa mall sat dozens of other waiters - men who kill time in the chairs, sofas and benches known as the "man chairs" in shopping areas and department stores.

Men in man chairs are as much a fixture of shopping as mannequins, their gaze almost as unmoving as they wait for wives, daughters, mothers, girlfriends or other significant others who shop.

And shop.

As the men sit.

And wait.

"She said she'd meet me at 12," said Ken Laplender, 72, checking his watch. The Oconomowoc resident was waiting for his wife, whom he hadn't seen for an hour.

"But she's always late," he added.

To passers-by, the men may look, well, pitiful, like unwilling waifs dragged away from their cocoons with television, sports and beer to be hostages among a buzz of shoppers.

But on the contrary, said some of the men, they don't feel like captives. They're fine with waiting. They accept their roles in the shopping process as chauffeurs, baby-sitters and human shopping carts.

"I carry the bags," said Harvey Makos, 56, of Delafield, waiting for his wife and daughter.

And Evans' wife doesn't drive, so "somebody has to take her. It may as well be me."

Then, there are guys like George Tsouflias, 54, and Jonathan Klein, 27.

The two, sitting and waiting on opposite ends of the mall, kept watch over their children while their wives shopped.

Klein sat in a leather club chair on Mayfair's lower level, feeding a bottle to his 9-week-old daughter, Lauren. He was 10 minutes into his wait for his wife, her mother and sister.

"I'm here to kind of provide relief while they shop," said Klein, who lives in the Madison area.

But there are limits to how long he will wait.

On this day, he forewarned the shopping ladies: "I am leaving in an hour to watch the Badger game. That was made clear at the beginning."
'A little oasis'

Retailers don't track the number of men who wait while the women in their lives shop. But they know they're there.

Sitting.

And waiting.

So many retailers try to make the sit-and-wait chore more comfortable for the men and anyone else who needs a place to wait, rest or take a shopping breather.

CBL & Associates Properties, which owns Brookfield Square, recently announced renovation plans for the local shopping complex that will include "improved soft seating areas," said Deborah Gibb, a representative for the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company.

Completed renovations, scheduled for 2008, also will include gathering spots with lounge-y touches such as fireplaces.

Macy's recently redesigned many fitting room entrances into den-like foyers, with comfy sectionals, muted lighting and small, overhead flat-screen televisions.

Many of the 10 sitting areas in Mayfair are much like little living rooms: enclaves of leather sofas, club chairs and end tables on large patches of carpet. The gathering points are in the midst of chaos, but somehow, they offer peace to patrons who don't want to shop.

"We do want to create a little oasis, a place for people to rest, and we've found that just a simple wooden bench doesn't do it anymore," said Susan Stearn, director of planning and design for General Growth Properties, the Chicago-based company that owns Mayfair.
Waiting and watching

But no matter how comfortable the waiting areas are, said Rich Bohannon, 53, there is only so much a guy can take.

Bohannon sat in a Macy's chair with a blank look on his face. The Galena, Ill., resident had been waiting on his wife, Paula, for, oh, who knows how long.

"In this store or all day?" he replied when asked how long he'd been waiting. "Oh, about 10 minutes, but we went to some other stores before coming here."

Other stores, he said, where he sat.

And waited.

Bohannon has waited for his wife quite a bit in the last few months, accompanying her as she shopped for dresses for the weddings of their son and daughter.

"Yeah, I've done a lot of man-waiting lately," he said.

But it's part of the process, Bohannon and others said. Sometimes, the shoppers - the women - rule the clock. When that happens, waiters should come with a plan, said David Steinhardt, 49, of Sheboygan.

Moments after arriving at the mall and splitting from his wife and daughter, Steinhardt went to Barnes & Noble and bought a book to read while waiting.

"I knew it would be a marathon day," he said.

And, he said, he knew he would sit.

And wait.

[Chocoholic]

I can't understand why women make their guys do that, and I am a gal.

[TheHappyBurgerMeister]

Originally Posted by Homeriffic

I can't understand why women make their guys do that, and I am a gal.

I am a gal too (I'm not sure if anyone got that vibe when I made the original post), but I thought I'd mention it now!

[Ireneparalegal]

They're hoping their man will buy them something. I guess.

[Seinatra]

I have been in that position alot. Usually we stop there and I just can't take it anymore and end up sitting somewhere. Also happens when we are on vacation somewhere and we go shopping.