Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies! Welcome to another (hopefully humorous) rant! :)
So... I have a young friend here with a newborn. The baby began running a fever and was taken to the Emergency Room (can you say "nightmare?") Thursday night. The baby was tested and admitted for further observation. She should be going home today (Saturday) if her fever stays "gone" for 24 hours from Friday afternoon about 1:00ish. That's the good news. None of this is relative to my rant except this is WHY I was going where I was going. Got it? I knew you could stay with me. You are an extremely astute group!!
I texted my young friend Friday afternoon and discovered she was in the hospital with her newborn. Her husband had been there during a good portion of the day but was gone for a while, returning later. I know sitting in a hospital room with very few friends available can be extremely frustrating. She and her husband are here as he is stationed at Fort Polk. Family is in faraway places like Maine and some other where up north where the Yankees exist.
Alright. The main point here. I asked my friend what she would like me to bring to her as I was heading her way to visit. She asked for such a little thing... a large coffee, cream, no sugar. How hard could that possibly be?!? You have no idea, my Blogging Pals. You have no idea. Sigh. She specified the location from where I was to retrieve the simple item. It was not a place I frequent... in fact, I believe I have not been there since relocating here in May of 2009. But my friend was in need and I was going to do the best I could to help her out.
I figured the drive-through should be a breeze! I pulled to the ordering point, placed my very simple order, and was advised to continue. Got it.
I rounded the back corner of the building, heading toward the window where the coffee should be waiting for me, and came to a screeching halt when I heard a female voice saying "Hey!!!" Oops. Guess my drive-through experience is limited to the point I didn't KNOW this particular facility had a "first window" where one hands over the cash before proceeding to the "second window" where one retrieves one's order. LOL!! So... I back up, place my vehicle in the appropriate spot to hand over my $1.62, laugh heartily with the young lady at that window, then press forward toward the goal... a large coffee, cream, no sugar.
When I reach the "second window", a very nice young man (approximately Senior-in-high-school age) smiles and tells me they are having to brew the coffee and would I mind parking until it is ready? Alright. I haven't encountered this situation before so I ask, "Where do you want me to park?" thinking there may possibly be a "designated parking" area for those of us who place demanding orders that will require an extra effort. He politely points all around, indicating I can park any darned where I so please. I inquire "Will you be bringing the coffee to me when it is ready?" to which he responds, "Oh, yes!" No problem. I will be right there (in the parking spot I can pull into by making a slight right from the window). Fine.
Having had some less-than-stellar experiences here, I make a mental note of the time on my vehicle's clock. It is 5:59 p.m. Got it. Leaving the vehicle running and the A/C blowing (c'mon, folks... it's 137 degrees out there!), I view the exit door for the facility via my rear view mirror. I expect I will see a properly-uniformed individual racing out with my cuppa' Joe any time now.
It is 6:02 p.m. Assuming "brewing" means an army's worth (it IS a restaurant, after all), I'm going to give them another minute or so for it to finish, my cup to be poured, and my "runner" to arrive.
It is 6:06 p.m. I'm over this. I know I am not in a rocket-science environment here... but I think 7 minutes might be a little over-the-top for a cup of coffee. Is it me? Am I too impatient? Are my expectations too high?
I place my fine, gas-guzzling Suburban into Reverse, back myself (and said Suburban) up the exit driveway, ooch (yes, that's a word... at least here it is) my vehicle over toward the building, and roll back up to the "second window" to check on the status of my clearly impossible-to-fill-easily order. The very nice young man, apparently having seen my maneuver and figured out what was happening, blushingly looked at me and stated "I'm so sorry! They're making it now." Huh? My question: "Are they just now making the coffee?!?" Nope. The coffee was brewed... but no one seemed to manage to actually POUR a cup to get it to me. Sigh. Lord help me.
The young man pushes a bag toward me (still without coffee) and says, "Here. She wants you to have two apple pies." There was no real clarity in my head regarding "she" (who?) or "why" (is this supposed to keep me from losing it?). Immediately following the bag came the prized cup of coffee. Based on my experience thus far, I check the bag for the cream. None there. I ask if there is cream in the coffee already. Yeppir. Turns out there is. My friend had specified the number, which I had specified during my order, and apparently these folks actually put it in the cup with the coffee rather than force me to open itty-bitty plastic containers that typically splatter all over me. Bless their hearts!
So... about 10 minutes after pulling into the parking lot, I am finally exiting with my lone ordered cup of coffee... and a couple of unrequested apple pies. LOL!! Could not really do much but laugh about this one. I mean... the little fella' behind the window was really nice... and he seemed really embarrassed about the situation. I did actually manage to get what I had ordered... and a couple of "freebies" thrown in. No harm, no foul, I guess. Sigh.
Customer Service. An oxymoron in most environments. If apologies were what I was seeking, I would have been extremely pleased. Guess they were better than nothing.
Oh... and if you haven't checked lately, the
little eagles are now big birds. They have begun stepping out onto limbs around the nest, testing their wings!! They will be flying soon. Don't miss your chance to see them do so!
Until next post...
