Thoughts from Saturday

Saturday was errands day.  I ran one with the family, then I got to go out by myself.  John told me, "Go.  Have fun. Take your time.  I've got it." Which I did and I'll get to that in a minute.  That day of errands really got me thinking about some things that I need to share on my little blog.

First, I would like to talk about returning things.  The family errand wasn't intended to be a family errand, but John asked that I go because he needed my "return mojo."  We were returning our second faucet and going for a third.  Our original one broke, so we went to buy another one.  We got it home and I didn't like it, it was too low.  Since I spend a lot of time at the kitchen sink, I wanted it to be perfect, or close to it.  I called Home Depot told them that I bought a faucet, installed it and didn't like it.  I asked if I could return it and get another one.  They allowed this.  They even honored the coupon that I used on the first transaction to buy the second faucet.  I didn't like the second faucet, and neither did John (low quality), so we got a third one.  Third one's a charm.  We're keeping it.  

On the way to return it, John kept asking me how I was going to return it.  He was afraid that they weren't going to honor it.  I've been in retail for over 13 years and I've learned a few things.
Here they are:

1. Be polite and nice.  That will get you a long way.  In many situations we would be more willing to help customers who were nice and friendly than people who acted like we owed them something.

2. Be honest.  Don't try to lie or be sneaky.  Just come out and say what you need to: "I used this faucet and I didn't like it.  Can I return it?"  My brother just bought the wrong size climbing shoes, went to the store, told them that he made a mistake when picking the size and they returned it without any problems.  Honest wins over sneaky every time.

3. Respect the rules.  Many times the policies that a store has is not written by the people who are working in the store.  The policies are written by someone far above them and they can't change them.  It's ok to ask if they will make an exception this one time, or even to ask to speak to a manager because managers can sometimes bend the rules.  However, be willing to stop and respect the rules.  Even if they are ridiculous.

4.  Know that people make mistakes.  Sometimes a sign is left out, sometimes things are labeled wrong, and that's ok.  If it was really misleading, then it's ok to ask them to honor their mistake. However, it's also ok to let them make a mistake and let it slide.

Second, I would like to talk about gay people.  I know just reading that sentence might get hearts beating faster and blood pumping, but please hear me out.  On my way out my neighborhood to run some errands alone, I passed two boys who looked like they were in middle school.  They were holding hands.  When they saw my van, they let go, and as I drove past them, I looked in my mirror and they started holding hands again.  It made me very sad and I called John and started crying for those little boys.  I know that there are a lot of strong opinions out there in this matter, and I would like to ask for one thing: be kind.  Society (and I think Christians mainly) have treated gay people very poorly, to say the least.  My tears for those boys were for the shame and secrecy that has been placed on them.  Can we please start being kinder to people who say they are gay?  Jesus loves them, this I know.

Third, those errands I ran?  They were amazing. Saturday at 3 is about the craziest time to go to the mall, but I did it.  By myself.  I experienced some crazy people and I experienced some kind people.  Mainly, I got stuff done.  I ran into someone that I knew in college and they asked me what I was doing?  I explained that I was having a great day and enjoying time by myself to exchange a nursing pump, get Burl a birthday present, and go to the fabric store to browse.  And I have to say I was beaming when I said it because I was having a blast!  If College Meg could hear Mama Meg, she might just laugh just like that person did as I was saying all this...but deep down College Meg would get it.  This is good stuff. 

Fourth, yep, there's a fourth.  It's warming up.  I hope it is for you as well.  It's about that time when winter is starting to feel like it will never let up.  Soon we'll be trading our boots for flips.  I promise.

Thanks for reading the crazy thoughts of Meg.  I appreciate any insight or thoughts on any of these things.  Feel free to openly leave a comment.