Service with a Smile

Today was a day for Beth in Lafayette!

First stop - Arnett on Greenbush. 


 Reaching the clinic was an adventure in itself.  Smooth sailing until I turned from Sagamore onto Greenbush and saw that the intersection just before the first entrance to the clinic was closed.  The detour through the residential neighborhood showed that the streets leading to the back parking lots were closed.  Lots of meandering, but I finally walked into the lab.  First stop:  registration desk.  All ok until the needed insurance change.  Smooth as silk!  Then the blood draw.  No pain, vials filled, tech talked all the time about wanting to become a nurse and how she had applied to various nursing schools and we chatted about Ivy Tech.  In and out!



Second stop - VS Nails for a mani/pedi   The place was packed!  Only one chair was available for the pedicure and all the techs were busy, so my feet were soaking in a gently rolling foot bath. The hostess checked often for correct water temperature, re-setting the back massage timers, and preparing the work area for the tech.  The tech herself was so nice and worked quickly and efficiently.  During a conversation between the customer next to me during the manicure portion (she was a teacher at Tri-County and she had asked me where I lived), the tech said "Francesville????  You know Ruth?  Ruth Overmyer?"  Ruth regularly visits the same tech (when she is home) and the tech loves her!  She gave me her card and asked me to contact her for my next appointment.
  
Third stop - Burger King!

 

The best greeting of the day was when Cooper spotted me.  He was sitting in the booth, watching Mommy waiting for the food and Daddy filling the drink cups.  Suddenly his face lit up and he yelled, "MAMAW!  MAMAW'S HERE!"  Made my day!  

 
Cooper voted too! (either for Mickey Mouse or Paw Patrol!)

Oh yeah....the chicken sandwich was ok.  Hold the mayo, add mustard.

Stop 4 - Target



Mmmm...grapes are on sale for $1.49 a pound.  Not too bad.  So I picked up a bag and continued shopping.  At the checkout, the guy weighed the grapes, then made a little Hrumph sound and I looked at the down-turned grimace on his face.  I looked at the register and it read $11.63.  I thought that must be the total thus far, and I chose NOT to discuss it at the time since there were customers lined up behind me.  When I checked the sales slip, the price for the grapes was $4.99.  And that was PER pound.  WHAT????  So I marched with my cart to the produce area as Cassie was pushing a few empty carts to the empty cart area.  I explained the situation and asked if she would check the price at the grapes.  She did.  $1.49.  She directed me to customer service.  After trying several things to charge the correct price for the grapes without a scale to weigh them, the service desk lady clicked a few buttons, stapled the refund slip to the original sales slip, and said "Take them.  They are yours.  I put the refund back on your card and you can have the grapes. Sorry about that!"  On my way out I saw Cassie working at the self-checkout area and motioned her over so I could thank her again for her help.  I don't care about their bathroom policy - Target gave me free grapes because they made a mistake.  Target will remain one of my favorite stores!

Stop 5 - Meijer
  
Fruit! Fruit!  Fruit!  And the first thing I notice after I pick up a cart is that there are NO strawberries!  WHAT?????  What shall I do for breakfast?  I eat a fruit bowl of strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries with granola and Light & Fit vanilla yogurt EVERY morning for breakfast until smoothie season begins and the frozen stuff comes out.

While I was stunned at the empty strawberry shelves, I picked up two containers of red raspberries and two of blackberries.  I rounded the corner and saw a produce assistant re-stocking the red grapes for 79 cents a pound.  Remember the price I thought was great at Target (before they became free)?  This was SO much better.  As I reached for the first bag, Tiffany (the friendly stocker) mentioned that she had just brought the bags on the cart from the cooler and they were the fresh stock so might be better than those that had been on the shelves.  After I selected two bags of red grapes, for 79 cents a pound, I asked if she would be re-stocking the strawberries soon.  Her response was that she could go to the cooler and pull out some for me if I would like.  Well, of course!  After about a 10 minutes wait, here comes Tiffany pulling a large pallet full of boxes of strawberries.  Price?  5 boxes for $5.00.  Did I happen to mention that the grapes were on sale for 79 cents a pound?  I was hitting pay dirt with the fruit today!  I thanked her profusely, checked her nametag again, and moved to the deli. When I checked out (and I double checked to be sure Miss Perky Chatty was not working the line I selected), the checker asked if I found everything I needed.  I told her the story of Tiffany.  Before I left with my bags of groceries, Miss Checker had called the manager and told him the story of Tiffany too.  Just from hearing one side of the conversation, I could tell that this was not the first positive review Tiffany had received.   

The only other stop was at JoAnn Fabrics.  No real complaints and I did find what I wanted.  The store was crowded, and the staff seemed to be helpful to those in need.  When I checked out with my solid colored fat quarters, which were on sale,  the cashier asked if I received emails and I said yes. What she neglected to ask was if I wished to use my 'additional 20% off total purchase" coupon which had come into my message box while I was shopping but I hadn't seen.  Usually the workers know about the coupons and they are so plentiful that she should have asked if I had one to use.  Not a big deal, really, since I spent under $20 on the fat quarters I plan to use with Owen's quilt.

Service with a smile.  That is what I encountered today.  Maybe I was more relaxed.  Maybe it was because I didn't have a time schedule to follow and anyone to meet or a time I needed to be home.  Maybe it was because I FINALLY found the time for the mani/pedi that I really needed.  Whatever---the day was good.  The service was great. 

And I would be tickled pink if we saw Tiffany named as "Employee of the Month" sometime soon!