Customer Service ???? at Wal Mart

So the van is WAY overdue for an oil change… I decide that “sliding” over to WalMart the morning after Christmas is the way to go. The auto service department is scheduled/ advertised to open at 7 AM. The weather is pretty crummy (see the upcoming post on that one) but I make it with no problem. I arrive at 7:05 an find that the sliding glass door entryway of the department is not open. I look inside to see two service reps getting the cash register ready and they signal “just a minute” to me. I stand and wait for several minutes I begin to deal with a bit of personal frustration.
After several phone calls and one of the service guys walking to the front of the store, a manager arrives and unlocks the door at 7:23… yep almost 20 minutes standing outside. This just after seeing a report on the news before leaving the house abot how the stores are looking to drum up any business they can. The very worst part was that the manager, who could see my impatience and frustration I a sure, quickly turned and left the area before the door was even opened. GRRRRRRR
Then after the wait I step to the counter to order up my oil change and find out that the price of the oil change (basic/ value package) I got just a few months back has now increased in price approx. 80%. Double GRRRRRRRRRR. At the old price it was about $3 more than I could do ti myself, well worth it. Looks like I’ll be going back to changing my own oil. Out of options for the weekend, I bit the bullet and payed the price. Other than getting my mother’s grociries, this trip to WalMart was as frustration as they come.
In a world where companies are supposedly vying for my loyalty and dollars is it too much to ask that at the very least the doors get opened when advertised. And when a mistake is made, that someone at least say, “we’re sorry”? I know that this was just the beginning of a few things that God was trying to teach me on this particular December 26th … but man it was maddening.

A grilling we will go... Part 2

As promised, here is the update to the saga of the cracked grill. Yesterday morning I loaded all the parts/ boxes/ foam on a drywall cart a proceeded into the store. After receiving an odd look from the young lady at the returns counter I explained the situation and provided her with my receipt.

I became a little nervous about the situation when she called a guy up from the grill section to "look at this before I return it". Upon his arrival I repeated my story and he proceeded to simply agree that the unit was in fact damaged and quickly retrieved another unit and loaded it on a cart for me. I walked out of the store with my new grill and a grill cover in less than 10 minutes! Way to go Lowes. This is how customer service should work.

I was able to assemble the grill (it took about 90 minutes instead of the 50 listed in the manual) and we officially christened the grates last night with bratwurst. Looking forward to something else today. We love to cook on the grill, this will make for a fun rest of the summer.

A grilling we will go...

We decided to go ahead and get a new grill. We love to cook out and the one we have has seen its finer days for sure. So after looking around a bit we decided on a grill from Lowes. This is where the customer service portion of the program takes off. We got a great deal (20% off) and got a little nicer grill than we might have for the money.
After making the purchase (my wife was by herself) an employee helps her with getting it to the van (good service!). Then it is discovered that the box will not fit even with the seat folded down, so a decision is made to unpack the grill from the box and place everything in the van. Upon getting it home and preparing to set it up my wife discovers that the grill lid id damaged and cracked. UGH!
As of typing this all of the parts have been re-loaded into the van and will be returned to the store in the morning. I'll give an update on how Lowes handles this customer service opportunity. I have the receipt, all of the parts, but no box. I am hoping for an easy exchange.

Another "time to get a clue moment" -- Little League International

I just added Google Analytics this past week. It tracks all kinds of cool stuff. The thing that I and many others are finding interesting and fun is the feature that tracks the searches that people did that led them to your blog. In the past week I have had 13 people visit my site due to searches involving the Little League rule book. The sad thing is that you will never find this book online. If you do it will be for a short time because if LL finds the site they will sue to take it down. They have done it in the past. You cannot just call Williamsport and get a copy of the rules either. You have to get one through an approved source (like your ballpark). It makes me frustrated to see that volunteerism is at it's all time low at our local park and it appears others are struggling as well. Why are the rules almost treated as secret? Organizations who act this way tend to slowly die. I love baseball; I love most of what LL stands for; I hope they wake up before it's too late.