What's Up With That, Anyway...

To steal a line from a famous sitcom - What's Up With That??

What's up with customer service? Or, should I say - lack of customer service? The other day, I am at the local 'very expensive organic market' whose brand I am careful not to besmirch as I might ask for cashier position there someday (if the economy keeps this way) and after buying delicious fresh fruits and veggies - I head over to my favorite place ...the cheese and wine department! I could spend hours there...tasting and comparing. So- in the midst of my lactose coma brought upon by my 'would you mind if i have a taste of this?'-ness - I found 6 bottles of yummy wine to pair nicely with the cheeses, and some hors d'houevres that my Chef Du Jour friend Debby was fixing for the evening (more on that later) - I wended my way to the checkout lane.

$195.00 later ( no 2 buck chuck for me!) and I asked for a 6 bottle cardboard carrier for the wine. The response was, "Uh, I think you have to buy those now." I am all -'you're kidding me' and the kid shouts across the checkout lanes to the most tatoo-ed and pierced one (which seems to be a prerequisite to work there) who confirms my disbelief. She (at least I think it was a she as androgyny is the other prerequisite) says "Yeah - I'll give it to you today, but next time you have to buy it." Sheepishly, I accept the offer of the cardboard and leave the store; all the while accepting the stares and glares of other shoppers who, unlike me, have their re-usable thermo shopping bags and bamboo baby slings strung about them.

Now, I might be making a big deal out of nothing...here I am spending $4.99 on organic milk, $5.99 for organic strawberry's, and some serious wine and I am complaining about having to buy a cardboard box. But- what is up with that? The friggin' tree is already dead. I shouldn't have to buy the container I am going to carry home with me and re-use for future purchases. (snarky grin)

So this morning - I went to my local 'large box grocery store' whose name shall also be withheld in case I chicken out on the tatoo and cartlidge piercing , and I need job there- because as much as I like to buy organic and locally grown...there are just 'nationally known' brands of things that I can't do without (Welch's, Skippy and Charmin to name but a few). The music they play may not be as good, but I do weekly shopping there for things like plastic baggies and laundry detergent. Today, Rachel and I are at the store, and the little 'club' key tag thingy that I has been dangling off my keychain is gnarled and doesn't scan. The cashier promptly shouts 'Why don't you get a new one, this one stinks' To that I reply "I have tried 3 times to get a new one (and I have) and nothing has been sent to me yet." She is relentless and tells me how easy it is to do. I say I know and have filled out the transfer request 3 times. She goes on to tell me (or yell me as the case may be) that all I have to do is fill out the request form and she'll give me a new key tag right away. "You just fill out the thing check off transfer and they'll send you a new one you probably will lose your points and stuff blah, blah,blah" She lost me at 'fill out'.

On and on she goes-with each plea her voice getting louder and louder. On and on I say how I have already sent 3 requests...yada,yada,yada. She is still going on as I pack my own groceries (in plastic, not paper , shame on me), pack up my kid, pay for the load and head out the door. Granted cashiers at 'large box grocery store' are not awful people, but some of their people skills are just awful. Was she on commission for card replacement or auditioning for carnival barker or to be the one who calls over the loudspeaker...Irv, cleanup on aisle 5! What is up with that?

I have to get a blood test today. Or, should I say - another blood test. Since the D.A.C. (dumb ass cancer for those who are either new to my postings or need a refresher in swirlgirlese) I have to go every 3-4 weeks to check TSH levels so I can get my new dose of Synthroid. And, as I am still having problems with this 'pins and needles' feeling and my lips are still burning and my hands , neck, stomach and other various muscles keep cramping - this time around the Doc is checking calcium and a few other things. So, last week I went in for my routine blood test at the lab where I always go. We have new insurance, so they have to photocopy everything all over again. I should have recognized that 20 minute process as an omen. I get a call from my Doc's office that the lab called and said that it will take up to 10 days to run the test. 10 friggin' days? It used to be overnight! Maybe it's the new insurance- I don't know. But I do know that I am out of Synthroid and now I have to get a few pills to tide me over. So, as ridiculous as this sounds (synthroid is a $4 prescription), I go to the pharmacy and beg the guy for a few pills to tide me over. Friggin' insurance. He says - "If I fill this, insurance will not let another fill for another 30 days". We're not talking narcotics ...this is synthroid. So, the pharmacy guy 'sells' me 3 pills for $1 each. I am so frustrated, I just take it and leave. Remember, I just spent $6.00 on a pint of strawberries...what's another couple o' bucks?

Now, I get a call from Doc's office that lab did not have sufficient sample to run the tests. Is that code for 'oops, we screwed up and lost it? Is this because new insurance will only pay for blood tested at the same crappy lab that also makes those crappy key tags that can't be scanned? I have to go back to have more blood taken. This time I have to go to the hospital. What a freakin' pain in the neck. Find a parking spot in the garage, go to information desk, wait for 1 hour in registration, go to lab, wait there for 20 minutes...get the stick for 30 seconds. Now, I have to do this each time I need to give blood, which is every month by the way. I hate hospitals. And, this one I hate the most as it brings up a couple of uncontrollable waves (tsunami's) of emotion. I had my gall bladder removed here on Xmas eve '06 with Familla Godzilla , the nurse that would scare the crap out of Nurse Ratchit (a la Cuckoo's Nest) on the ward that night. And, on January 10th of this year, I was here to have my Fine Needle Aspiration to find out I have D.A.C. at the very moment that I got the call my wonderful dad had passed away. I couldn't walk out the door of the building without the wave (tsunami) hitting me. Needless to say, I don't look forward to my monthly visits there. I need to find another entrance and egress route if I am going to do this regularly. The emotional toll is too much for me.

Then, to top it all off, I stepped in some friggin' gum that some cow spit out on the ground. Gum. That crap should be banned. Gum - and discount key tag cards and gummi anything's and D.A.C., and......

What's up with all that, anyway?

Ps- check out my other site http://www.swirlgirlevents.com/ to find out more about my new business venture. I am revisiting SWIRL, Simple Wine Information for Real Life, at the behest of Debby of Chef Du Jour ...she cooks, I swirl - we all have a good time!!

Pss- I am becoming quite the blog-her...click on the link for The Secret is in the Sauce to the right for some Best Of blog entries...I am trying to win a contest here! Humor Me! http://www.thesecretisinthesauce.blogspot.com/