The Big K stands for Krappy Kustomer service

Posted by Aaron:

So today I went out to run some errands for my business. Stop by the bank, Sams Club to get some shelving and Kmart to pick up some Western Union money from a customer. I kind of dislike Kmart for a number of reasons:

1. The aisles are all WAY to narrow
2. It's very cluttered
3. It's like stepping back into time about 15 years
4. Martha Stewart

Anyhow, Kmart is the only place that did Western Union that was close to where I would be this morning. I've picked up money there before without to many problems. Today, I walk in at 8:13 am. I'm the only customer in sight. I walk up to the customer service counter where a Kmart Kustomer Service worker is busy counting some Kash. I politely say hello and grab a Western Union money pickup form to start filling out. She ignored me and kept counting money. I started filling out the form and all of the sudden she looks up at me starts searching around for something and pulls a sign out from under the counter. Without saying a word she sets a sign on the counter that says:

"Western Union Closed: Hours - 8:30am - 6:30pm."

I looked at her waiting for her to laugh and insert her punch line. Then she just kept counting money. So I said "ok, then - I'll come back in SEVENTEEN minutes!" As I'm walking out the door she says "you can fill out a form now so you don't have to when you come back." Thanks, lady.

So, I finished up my other couple of errands and went back to Kmart at 8:45. I walked in and there was a guy being helped at the service counter, so I got in line behind him. The same customer service lady finished helping the guy in front of me and he left. I walked up to the counter and rather than helping me right away she took about 30 seconds to clean some things off the counter and organize a few things. After everything was neat and tidy she came back to the counter and I gave her my filled out Western Union form and ID. She started processing it and then stopped to check out some old folks who were in line behind me.

"I'm just going to help them while this processes."

Ok - apparently they use dial-up at Kmart still. So, she finishes checking out the old folks (apparently Kmart doesn't have checkout lanes open in the morning? Just the customer service counter for checkouts?). She comes back to me, fumbles around with things on the computer a bit more shaking her head and mumbling to herself. Then she hands back my form and ID and says:

"You'll have to come back at 10:30. My password is expired and the ONLY person who can reset it doesn't come in until 10:30."

AHHHHHH!!! At this point I was pretty hot. I just said "OK" as politely as I could and walked off pretty irritated. As I'm walking out the door I hear her yell after me:

"Or you could go to the one downtown!"

Thanks Kmart, for giving me a reason to never go to your store again. I unintentionally avoided your store before, now I'll intentionally avoid it.

Reason 5. Poor and incompetent kustomer service

Life continues

It seems as though Aaron's post had quite the readership! I can't compete with his comedy, so I'll just do a brief, boring update.

As you'll see, we are now number 43 on the list, so that's exciting! :) We started clearing out the soon to be nursery this week thanks to family coming up for Thanksgiving and us needing to have someone sleep in there!

Last weekend Jo and I surprised Aaron and Jon with a weekend in the Twin Cities. We had always planned to do one last trip before we have kids, but, that just didn't happen. We did go to a few fun restaurants and sent the guy to a Timberwolves game while Jo and I shopped. We ended up staying in the same hotel as the Oakland Raiders which was kind of fun because we would periodically ride in the elevator with some of the players. They are HUGE. I brought my camera, but unfortunately I didn't take a single picture. Oh well, I'll have pictures in my heart. (ha!)

Jack Bauer

Jack Bauer is my hero.
The end.
Posted by Jen.

Calling all men....

Posted by Aaron:

Alright. Time for a little change here. Katie usually posts on the "Peterson family" behalf and that's great. I really appreciate it and I know those of you who keep up with us this way do too. I read a number of people's blogs from time to time and it seems like blogging is largely done by women. Topics usually revolve around:

1. My child learned how to poop in a toilet
2. My pregnancy is going well
3. Here's a cute picture of my kid dumping sand on their head
4. So, we bought a REALLY cute outfit for little Suzy this weekend!

Now don't get me wrong. Those topics are all EXTREMELY interesting to read about, but I think some of the men out there may get a little bored with the narrowness of the subject matter. That said I thought I'd do a post on some macho topics.

1. Macho Man Randy Savage:

Today is his birthday (Nov. 15) - happy birthday Randy!!

Interesting facts about Macho Man Randy Savage:
- His signature finishing move: the Flying Elbow Drop
- Two time WWF Champion, Intercontinental Champion
- Notable quotes: "Oh yeah, dig it!", "You're gonna feel the big elbow brotha"
- Notable Victories: Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Big Boss Man, Jake Roberts, Crush

2. Caber tossing:

Also known as "telephone pole throwing." Yes it's done by men wearing skirts. Normally I make fun of men wearing "kilts" but honestly, a guy who's confident enough to wear a skirt is a guy I don't want to mess with.

3. Monster Trucks

What says "macho" more than the Grave Digger smashing the crap out of a bunch of cars?! Well, Randy Savage is first, but a close second is...the Grave Digger smashing the crap out of a bunch of cars. Oh yeah!

Interesting Grave Digger facts:
- Created by Dennis Anderson. Could this be the SAME Dennis Anderson who is also our most beloved local newscaster here in the Northland?
Maybe not, but it could be....
- 10,000 lb weight, 66 inch tires
- Fact: Custom graphics are SWEEEEEET.

4. Macgyver

Macgyver. Where to begin? Given a swiss army knife, some dental floss and a used kleenex, Macgyver could single handedly defeat global terrorism. Let's be honest people; Jack Bauer is a novice compared to Macgyver.

Interesting facts about Macgyver:
- Macgyver was born in Minnesota (so was the actor who played him)
- Disarmed a missile with a paper clip
- Made defibrillator from candlesticks and electrical cord

And last, but certainly not least, we can't forget about.....

5. Mr. T:

Mr. T is a founding father in the pop culture movement. Acting, pro wrestling, music; you name it, Mr. T either has done it or could do it if asked. How many people do you know who have done literally nothing noteworthy in over two decades who are still world-famous simply by three letters? Not only is Mr. T one bad mother, but he also teaches kids to do the right thing as shown in this hit video from 1984:

And Katie said there wasn't much exciting going on in her last post...

Well, that concludes this post from a man's perspective. Men - show your support! Leave a comment if you're in favor of more macho posts.

Miscellaneous things

There hasn't been too much going on in our lives, so, here are some miscellaneous things to keep your attention until something more exciting happens.

*Jen boiled brownies last night. Which is hilarious, because Jen and I are the only two people on the face of the planet that have each boiled banana bread.
*Jen and I are #1 and #2 on our Fantasy Football league. Aaron is #8
*We have a Christmas tree up in our basement. It has been up for 2 weeks. Buddy licks the tree and then burns his tongue on the lights.
*We started season 5 of 24 last night and watched 4 episodes in a row. LOVE IT!
*I guess that's all for now. See? Pretty lame!

49

I just wanted to say that after being on the waiting list for three months we have moved from #50 to #49! Who knows - maybe we'll be even further up by the end of the week!