Sears almost brings me to Tears.

Here is a sample of the letter I plan on sending some big wig , when I find out who he or she is.

Dear Mr./Ms.________

I am writing to you with a deep sense of frustration. I feel as if my needs have not been heard and therefore not been met. I am the property manager for a Rental units and the Landlord has always turned to Sears for our servicing needs. It is with much regret that after this final repair, we will no longer be using your services. That also means that we will no longer be purchasing your appliances for personal or professional use.

On October 2 a phone call was made at around 9:30 am. Our Kenmore side by side fridge was not working. The customer service agent informed us they wouldn’t be able to get some one out to see it until monday. An appointment was made for Monday October 5.

On Monday October 5th a phone call was received stating that due to overbooking, our appointment was now being moved to the following day October 6th

On Tuesday October 6 the technician arrived in a timely manner and was able to diagnose the problem with in 22 min and quoted a charge for the compressor fix (part still under warranty) for ~$450. As I had to confirm with the landlord as to what he would like to do, the job was closed and the technician left. One half hour later I phone the 1-800-4 My home to set up an appointment because the Landlord agreed to have the fridge fixed because the part was under warranty. I was told the next available date was the 19th of September. I asked if there was any way she could move it up and after some discussion an appointment was made for the 9 of October.

On Friday October 9th I received a phone call that my technician would be coming between 12-4. 4 o’clock came and went so I called to find out what happened. I spent an hour on the phone being tossed from department to department. At around 5:20 pm I received a phone call from the technician saying he would arrive at 5:30 pm. He did, but he couldn’t do anything as there was no part ordered and he wasn’t able to fix it even if there was a part. He said he would do what ever needed to be done to get the process moving.

Thursday October 15, at 9:00 am I phoned to inquire as to the status of the job. I understand there was a holiday so I know things don’t get done right away. That is why I waited till thursday. I got passed to customer service and they informed that nothing had been done. They were going to call me back when they knew what was happening.

Today Friday October 16th, at 9:30 am I phoned to inquire about the status as I hadn’t heard anything. According to computer records I needed to be contacted to set up an appointment. The next available date was October 27th. The appointment has been made.

So these are my questions for you. Do you think 4 weeks is too long for a person to go without a fridge? Do you think that errors made by two of your employees leading to the delay are acceptable? Do you think that when a person is told they will be contacted, the Customer Service Agent should contact that person? What are you going to do to make this right?

I look forward to hearing your response and hope to receive it in a timely manner. I have been nothing but courteous and patient because I believe people deserve to be treated that way. I expect you will do the same.

Thank you,

Alyson **************

Please let me know if you would change anything.

“For The Love of Pete.”

I truly believe I came up with that phrase. I remember saying it when I was very young and every one else was saying “For the love of God.” I being young thought that was a swear (as in taking the lords name in vain) and most of me still does.

Now why Pete. Well there is some logic to that. When I was younger there were a lot of St. Peter jokes so I thought some one else that the world thought a little Holy should be substituted so I started saying “For the Love of Pete.”

Unfortunately I never “coined it” and therefore don’t receive any credit or royalties. I would prefer the credit though money would be nice. I’m sure the person who came up with the Childhood poem “Alyson and Wonderful sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G…etc.” feels the same way. I would like to know who made that up, just as I am sure there is someone out there who would like to know where the phrase “For the Love of Pete” came from.

This however is not the point of my post. The phrase came out a need to express ones frustration with undesirable situations that befall them in life.

Well friends, I am so there. As some of you know I am a property manager. I look after 8 units. I get a monthly commission and a break on my rent. Part of my job is dealing with people, the other part is books. Lets just say I prefer the books.

I find the older I get the more I don’t want to have to deal with people and their baggage, filth, whatever. Especially people I would not choose to associate with under any other circumstances. Its one thing to choose to be exposed to their junk, its another to be forced to deal with it.

I am already looking forward to the day that I can pack it all in and move away to a far off remote Island where no one will bother me and I don’t have to clean up after anyone, referee their petty fights, or have rotten fruit thrown at my window because I was there bearer of bad news. Wait I’m a mom. I guess that won’t go away entirely.

O how I wish I could say more. Maybe one day I will write a book. “The Moment I Became A Cat woman (A Property Managers Diary).” Get it Cat Woman, an old lady alone with cats. I think the play on words would be enough to sell millions. If the phrase “Cat Woman” catches on for Hermitish old women surrounded by cats, then you know where you heard it first and give me the credit I deserve.

Dear Dollar Giant Employee,

I understand that your concern for shortage isn’t high on the priority list. You are just a body so the store can be open from 6-9. The fact that it took me more than 5 min to find you tells me this. And where did I find you… squatting on the floor playing with sunglasses. I know you would rather be somewhere else. I get it. I’ve been there. Its a pay check. My complaint however is not really about your lack of service.

When a parent takes the trouble to come down to the store to make their little one apologize for stealing, the reaction they are looking for isn’t one of laughter with a side of “thats so cute.” At least you could have feigned disappointment.

We are trying to teach our son that stealing is a big deal. When you tell him he is cute (a comment he has heard far too often in his life from retail people) it undermines us. Then we have to be harder on the child than we were in the first place. This is a less affective method as we look like crazy old people who don’t know what we are talking about because really, what is the big deal, they weren’t mad and stealing doesn’t hurt anyone. Besides I’m cute I can get away with it.

So next time when you see a parent pleading with their eyes for you to say something that will emphasize the seriousness of the situation say something like the following:

“Oh man.” and make a serious face rubbing chin might be good. “This is very serious. I can’t have people who steal coming in my store.” Fold your arms a get at eye level with them too. “Stealing is wrong, it is against the law. People go to jail when they steal. Is that what you want to happen? Do you want to be taken away from you mummy and you daddy and go to jail.” Then stand up and appear as if you are thinking. “I could call the police, but you did come back so I think I will just ban you from the store. You cannot shop here for at least a month.” Use your discretion I would have been fine for a whole year. “And when you come back, if you do steal again I will phone the police.” Then it might even be good to say “I’m also going to tell my other shop owner friends about you and if they see you stealing they will call the police too.”

You don’t have to follow this word for word, but at least do something other than laugh.

Tomorrow I will be coming down again and hopefully your manager will do something more. I don’t want to have to send him a letter too.

Sincerely,

A Parent Who Is Really Trying

Exposed and Mad

Last night I was watching a news report on the Listeria outbreak. It was the first time since the recalls on maple leaf read to eat meats were made that I had a chance to watch a whole story. I had been naively thinking that if I didn’t buy maple leaf products I would be ok. 

Rewind to 3 weeks ago. Three weeks ago we came home from camping. I decided that we had had enough junk food and that we (me and the boys) should be eating less fast food (burgers and nuggets). Camping can do a number on your system and we were gone for 8 days so our systems needed home cooked meals. Top that off with Tim deciding that taking a lunch was better and he couldn’t have anything that needed to be heated up. So Sandwiches it is. I hadn’t bought lunch meat in months but we are a bit carnivorous so I said what the hey.

Being the responsible mom that I was as soon as I heard maple leaf products were on a recall I read labels and made sure I wasn’t exposing my family to the danger. To my surprise Maple leaf has a corner on the market in the ready to eat meats department. Turns out for the last 3 weeks I have been giving my family their daily dose of Listeria. My fridge contained the recalled meat purchased this past friday at the Safeway on the corner of Elbow and 5th street south west. Turns out the retailer can, at their own discretion, CHOOSE to pull the substandard product. Thats right folks they aren’t required to remove it, they have a choice.

I admit I should have looked at the list sooner. Maybe I should have been feeding my kids and husband peanut butter instead and shame on me for relying on someone else to do the checking for me. Yes we can all agree that I wasn’t on top of it. I am a mom of 3 kids who manages apartments and was busy making appoints to have my son assessed and coordinating family reunions and food storage preparation for this weekend (salsa). Plus under the pediatritions request I have been trying to reduce the amount of screen time (TV, Wii, computer) to 1-2 hours a day. So your right Safeway managers I should have been on top of things, but what gets me is you are working 8 hours+/day to manage a store. I’m sure you received a list from your head office that stated what the recalls were and you couldn’t even post it next to the 3ft x 6ft section or removed the meats all together. Nope business as usual when peoples lives are on the line. (20 -50% death rate right now depending on how you look at it)

Now I have to make another appointment in my already busy schedule to rule out Food poisoning with my doctor for I have been experiencing flu symptoms since Sunday. I’m also going to lose sleep for the next 90 days as that is the outer limit in the incubation period and my kids aren’t showing symptoms yet. Not to mention that the longer it incubates the worse it will be. In the past I haven’t been an abuser of antibiotics, but I would just like everyone in my family to get some just in case.