Calling Customer Service! Are you out there? Do you still exsist?

What I want to know is, when did customer service go from a good thing, to a big pile of whale crap on the bottom of the ocean floor?

We decided, or maybe I just decided, anyway...to get a new camera. I spent a while last night searching for a good one (unfortunately it had to be within my budget..LOL!) and finally settled on one. I called the store (none other but good ol' Walmart) and after the girl kept me on hold for about 10 minutes, she came back to the phone and said they had 2 in the back, but couldn't hold one for me. The store was about 45 minutes away, I still had laundry going, floors to vacuum, and emails to check, plus I wasn't planning on going that way till later. I nervously prayed that they would still have this camera when I got there. Maybe anxiety got the best of me, but I just about sprinted into Walmart's front doors and headed to the Photo Lab. My heart was racing, probably cause I was still carrying my 5 year old in my arms, and...I really wanted this camera. Well, lo and behold, who else is propped up against the counter in the photo lab than the meanest ol' bitty I've ever seen! She looked like she was ready to bite someone's head off, and I was scared it would be mine! I caught my breath, and told her that I was there to buy a camera, and she just looked at me like she didn't speak English! I froze as she said in her deep burly voice, "what camera do you want?" I told her, and she rolled her eyes at me!! She asked a girl on the floor to get it out of the locked case, but I told her that the woman on the phone said they were in the back. She asked me, "Well why didn't you tell me that in the first place?" OMG!!! I don't care how big or how mean this woman was, I was about to use all my might and pull her across the counter. But then I looked down at the little face that looks up at me, and took a deep breath and decided I'd kill her with kindness! Apparently it didn't do a bit of good, because she was the same ol' sour puss when I paid for my camera and walked away!

Another situation happened last week to Ryan. We are not really a big TV watching family, but my husband got an itch to get the digital converter boxes, so he and Maddy set out to find one. He called (again...none other than) Walmart and the guy told him they were in stock. When he gets there, there are none. He asked the guy about it and the guy told him that someone must have came and got them from the time he talked to Ryan on the phone until then, which was probably about 15 minutes. He told Ryan, "If you see someone walking around with one in their buggy, just take it out of their buggy. I don't care." WHAT?!?!

Customer service used to mean so much more. Nowdays, it's just about a paycheck. Why oh why can't we live like we did when we were kids? Why do things have to change for the worst? It really makes me sad, because my daughter will grow up experiencing this mess. We try our best to teach her proper manners and how to be nice to people, and then she goes out into the world and sees people acting like they do. It's sickening! I guess the only cure for that is to just stay out of Walmart!!

On another note, I want to say that I feel good! For the past two weeks, I have not been myself. Ever since we got back from Disney World, I have not been motivated to do anything at all. My body is at home, but my mind and my heart is still on vacation. I guess it was the fact that we got to spend every waking moment with Ryan, and then we had to come back to reality, and I just wasn't ready! I felt like a kid about to explode in a temper tantrum lately. Nothing has gone the way I wanted it to, and even though it's getting close to my favorite time of year, I still felt the need to hide like a hermit in my house. I have been dreading Ryan leaving for business, and that's probably the root of this funk I've been in lately. Things have changed, though. We started our Friday co-op back, and I have to say also, that we have some really great friends! I have found that if I put myself out there and actually do things instead of thinking of doing things, I am a much happier person. For the past two days, we have spent with friends and now I know that we all need friends to lift us up. I am so thankful for the people that God has put in our paths, and one couple in particular will be greatly missed when they move. To friends, to family, to Maddy, and to Ryan...thanks for brightening my day...over and over again!

Okay...now I'm gonna go play with my camera!