Join Me in Snarkville

You know there are times when the world around you seems way too full of things to do, things to get done, and places that require your presence?  Well, I’m in one of those places.  You wouldn’t know by the fact that I only have a desire to sit in my chair and stare at the walls perhaps with drool forming at the corners of my mouth, but I’m there.

I see things piling up around me and feel overwhelmed with the need to do them all right now.  Yet, I know that none of them will get done while I’m contemplating the ceiling.  Yes, it has been one of those days, ok, maybe a week.

Anyway, yesterday, I decided to start to do something about it all.  Of the many things on my list was a need to call a few places to get information about various after school activities for Duke (there are doctors and dentist appointments too — but I am ignoring those for right now).  So, I placed THREE phone calls.  I left messages at all three places regarding what I discussed.  As of this typing, one place has called me back.

One.

Yes, I said one.  That was 24 hours ago.

Now I wonder, do I call the other two back and leave more messages or do I wait, it has been only a day, afterall, or do I call other places since it has been a day. So, I was in this customer service funk, when Prince arrived home yesterday and declared that we were going shopping that evening.  (Seems we need a handsfree bluetooth something or other for our car before July 1st, since there will no longer be talking and driving allowed in the SnarkState (which is fine really, since there won’t be any roads soon enough, with all the state on fire — but still.)

So, we head off.  Place one gave us what I term “typical service”  in other words there was a child (maybe 14) who spoke to us, gave us bland answers to our questions, and never gave us the sense he cared.

We go to place number 2.  We find that they have the peg for the thing we want, but no items of it and the price is about $200 cheaper.  Yes, I typed that correctly.  So we wandered a bit and left thinking we’d return over the weekend.  On the way out, Michael Jackson’s “Pretty Young Thing” was on the music and Duke and I were dancing around a bit.  This guy who worked there walked by and remarked “Never too young to enjoy Michael.”  Which stuck me as totally funny and a little weird.  Well, we got to joking on our way out with him, not thinking anything of it.

In the parking lot, Prince and I discussed the sign and wondered if it was a weekly special maybe we should ask for rain check or something.  So back in the store we go.  We wander to the corner where the item’s sign was and there was NO one to be found.  I stood for a second raging that customer service in the US stinks beyond reason, when ‘Eggo’ (his name from his nametag — no, seriously) rounds the corner and says, “Back so soon?”  It was the same guy from earlier.  I pull the peg with the sign off the display and hold it out to him and say, “I want this.  Well, not the peg, but what the peg was for.  That price is a bit high for just a peg.”  He giggled and said, “but that’s a great peg, totally worth the $200.”  “You price match right, because I can go down the street and get the same peg for $5 and I’d still be over paying.”  Everyone laughed.

So, Eggo and I bonded (I may have suggested that I was going to put him in my pocket and take him home with me and suddenly the price jumped — don’t know why) and Prince and I bought, um, a receipt. (The kit is arriving Friday and will be installed this weekend, so we left with a receipt.  I declare that customer service is NOT dead, yet.  However, it is on life support.