So here I was, relaxing, and getting my nails done, and talking all kinds of good things about the iPhone, and why everyone should have one… and what should cross my iPhone stream… but an article saying that AT&T is getting rid of the Unlimited Data plans for their smart phones… like the iPhone.. and the iPad… Oh REALLY??? That’s a huge reason we’ve stayed with AT&T.. Their smart phone plans made it worth staying with them… that and the iPhone isn’t anywhere else… Well, hubby and I have been looking for an excuse to go android, and this just about settled it…

Then I called AT&T to get the scoop from them directly. I was read verbatim, their new policy, sent via their internal email system. She told me that they are NOT going to be making any existing customers change to the new plans… even though they can do so at no cost to them… They won’t make you sign a new contract. She also specifically stated that if we choose to upgrade our phones, we don’t have to change our data plan either… Keep in mind, something with the new data plans though… Tethering… It’s been something many iPhone customers have asked for.. and now you may have it… IF you sign up for one of their other plans… oh.. and pay extra… Now, she couldn’t send me a copy of this at all.. since it was on their internal email system…but she told me that the news should be all over the internet by now…

Here  are the new data plans that will be available starting June 7th.

Data Plus – 200 MB of data for $15/month. Additional 200MB for another $15.
DataPro – 2GB of data for $25/month. Additional 1 GB of data for $10.
Tethering – Additional $20/month for DataPro customers.

Yea.. love that extra fee for tethering.. Way to go AT&T… really… way to just bleed us for more money… I can not say how much I really dislike AT&T… Their service dies when I hit my driveway.. but dammit.. they have the iPhone.. and no one else does…  Damn…

Drama.. such a funny word… I use it for so many things.

Well, After my little visit with the Ashley Furniture Home Store, they promised me my chaise would be delivered on Tuesday… Yesterday. Apparently the salesman that helped us was “new”… umm didn’t your store open up just 4 days before we went in there?? Yeah, he’s new and so is just about everyone in it… anyway… He somehow messed up someone else’s order too. Someone who happened to order the same exact couch as us, on the same exact day… except he needed the chaise on the side we received and instead GOT the chaise on the side we needed… so hey! How about giving me his chaise, and giving him ours??? Yup.. so that was what was happening. Otherwise I’d have had to wait until sometime after the 15th for it to be delivered… some “rush”… Well, the manager, whose name also happens to be Ashleigh, just spelled differently, told me I would receive a call on Monday to let us know what time our chaise would be delivered… Did that happen? Hell no.

So Tuesday morning, I had already thought they forgot all about me. I had errands I needed to run, and in the hopes that they would at least call me before they showed up, I took to the roads to get things done before our storms on Wednesday. When we were about 1/2 way done with our errands, I called the store and spoke to Ashleigh. She sounded perplexed as to why I didn’t get a phone call. I really wasn’t surprised. She told me that they had me scheduled for between 12 and 4pm… Well, that’s a pretty big window, and I was only 20 minutes away from the beginning of that window. The bad thing was, I still had 2 places to go, and they were 30 minutes away from where I was. I called Daddy and asked him to log in to Vonage and make sure phone calls would come to my cell phone if I wasn’t home. We rushed through the last two errands and ran home. On our way home, we happen to see an Ashley Furniture truck passing us, in the opposite direction. All I could think was great.. we just missed them… I got home and just waited. We waiting until 3:30pm, and I finally called the store. Just as I was getting off the phone with the store, my phone beeps. It’s the delivery guys calling to make sure I was home. They were here within 10 minutes… phew! It was finally here! Now, my couch is complete… Thank goodness.

Lesson from all of this?? While I am extremely pleased with my couch, I am quite dissatisfied with the service I received after the mistake was realized. The salesperson that helped us was very apologetic, and I appreciate that. I’m just upset about the lack of the phone calls I received despite all the promises.

Needless to say, we didn’t purchase the girls’ mattress sets from Ashley Furniture… but it wasn’t because of this situation. It was because they couldn’t tell us when we would get them. They told us 2-4 weeks. We wanted to make sure the girls had them before Christmas. Instead, after an afternoon of shopping around, we purchased them from Rose Brothers Furniture on Bell Fork Rd, here in Jacksonville. The service was exceptional, and they helped us find the perfect sets in our price range… Oh, and we were able to pick them up right away too… The girls are now in their “big girl” beds… but I’ll save all of that for a new post!

At least that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.. Here’s how it went today…  WARNING: This is long as hell, just sayin’… it was truly a bad day…

I got an email a little while back.. like a week ago or so.. saying my car may be due for it’s 40K mile service… I’m at like 38K and change.. sure I’ll take it in.. I always take it in a little early just in case. I called Tuesday and set up an appointment for Friday, today, at 9am at the Honda Dealership here in Jacksonville (Lejeune Honda). Fast Forward to today.. We get up to LH (Lejeune Honda) at around 850am.. I turn in the van, and the girls and I wait inside. I knew I had to pay about $95 for the oil change, but when they came to me about the van needing the filters changed, and all of the fluids replaced… something to the tune of nearly $700, I just about passed out. Just about 8K miles ago, when we were in CA, we had taken our van in to Autowest Honda in Roseville, where we purchased the van, to have the 30K mile service done. That was March 30th. I paid nearly $700 that day..(but I was prepared for that)… Sound Familiar? Well, it should… Every fluid that I had replaced, and every filter that I changed out is on the list once again… Mind you, it took 30K miles for it to need to be changed the first time… How did it only take 8K miles this time? I don’t know, and I can’t get a straight answer from LH. They keep telling me that they don’t have the records showing what the other dealership (AH) did or did not do on the van, so they don’t know why it’s already that bad. I told LH that I know for a fact that AH did this same stuff at the 30K mile service, so I don’t understand how it needs it all over again.. Then the service gal starts rambling off a bunch of mechanical stuff, and believe me, I understood what she was talking about (I used to work on cars when I was younger with my dad).. it just didn’t make any sense.. She said there was nothing mechanically wrong with my car… Well, then why was my transmission fluid black as night when it’s supposed to be clear and pink??
oh.. and here are the vials she showed me:

The first large vial is “my” transmission fluid, and it should look like the far left tiny vial. The second tall vial is “my” brake fluid, and it should look like the second clearish tiny vial. The third large vial is “my” power steering fluid, which should look like the third yellowish tiny vial. The last one on the far right is my coolant.. and that one isn’t much different.  Anyhow… I called back to AH, and confirmed that they did indeed change out all of my fluids last time I was in there, and asked the technician if I could send him the photo.. He said he’d take a look at it and give me a call back. Well, out of fear of my car dying on me somewhere in the middle of NC, I agreed to let them change just the transmission fluid, since it seemed to be the worst, and a super important part of my car just working. There was no way I could get all of them done… seriously… Honda trying to take away all of my Christmas money.. not nice. Oh, and did I mention one of my girls was having a meltdown while all this was going on… because she wanted my iPhone, and I said no… really… both of my girls brought in their Leapsters and a huge bag full of books… no she wanted my iPhone. That was all slightly embarassing.

We had to run to Sears after this to go pick up my jewelry box that I had put on layaway.. no it wasn’t full of jewelry.. it’s a standing one that I have always wanted so I could hang my necklaces instead of them getting all tangled in the bottom of my table top box… more on this later… Anyway, we stopped at the automotive section just so I could ask them about their fluid service. They told me they could do everything but my transmission fluid since Honda kinda has the monopoly on that. I guess it’s some special Honda fluid or something… He did tell me that they could change the fluids for $250 rather than Honda’s outrageous estimate. When I told him the situation, he told me that since it wasn’t at the recommended time, Honda should warranty it. I explained that it was 2 different dealerships in two different states, so I didn’t think there was a warranty here. Then he told me I should call Honda corporate and see what they said. So. I did.

I spoke to a wonderful CS agent at Honda Corporate. She listened to my dilemma and told me that she thought something sounded funny too. Long story short, she created a case, and is getting the Regional Liaison involved. I’ll know more by next Tuesday. Phone call back from AH in Cali, he thought the vials were very interesting and told me the only way my Transmission fluid would’ve been that dark, this soon, was if something was mechanically wrong with my transmission and they’ve already said there wasn’t. Sooooo… we’ll see about all this.

Ok, so on to the jewelry armoire.. yes.. so we went to Sears to pick that up. The girls know the mall very well. They know there’s a cookie store and a pretzel store… and today, they wanted a pretzel. I already told them no, because there was no way I was going to treat them after the scene at the dealership. Oh goodness, that just caused a huge scene in Sears. I picked up the armoire and went straight to the car.. Crying, more fits… I was ready to go home. Ah, but it wasn’t time yet…

We stopped at our new Ashley Furniture home store.. A few weeks ago, we bought a  new sectional. Well, delivery day came, and they brought the chaise for the wrong side. I was so sad… Anyway, they said they’d order a new one, the correct one, and it would be here by the 7th… ok, so a little over a week.. no big deal Well, I got a call on Monday asking how the delivery went, and the lady I spoke to said she was going to call someone who was in charge of orders and make sure it was ordered… Apparently she didn’t see the order in the computer. She said she’d call back and let me know the details. I never got a call back. I waited 2 days, and called back on Wednesday, spoke to someone else who promised me the manager would call me back as soon as she got off her phone call… Nothing. So today, I went in. I found out that the chaise was ordered on Saturday, but it now wouldn’t be in till the 11th, and then delivered sometime during the week after that.. Um.No. I didn’t pay that much money to be without my couch. I was promised it would be rushed and here by the 7th. It is explained to me that their “rush” is asking the manufacturer “We need it asap.. pretty please” and then they do it in the order it was received.. UGH! I’m so upset. I think we might be taking our money elsewhere to buy the girls’ new beds….

So we did have to go back to LH for a bit so they could reset my oil life gauge. It still said 20%… ummm really?

Ok.. you’d think I was done.. but no. When we got home, I got the girls some lunch, and told them they needed to take a nap. All this fighting and fussing today… they had to be tired.. Once I got them upstairs, I started to unpack my Jewelry Armoire. I was livid. The corners were splintered. The front doors were totally off. The tops of the doors touched it was almost impossible to close, and the bottoms of the doors had a gap almost a 1/4 ” wide. No lie.. I wanted to cry. I called Sears back and they told me to just bring it back.. of course

Hubby got home around 530p and we took off down to Sears. I turned in the jewelry armoire, and went back to that section to look for another one. It was between getting another of the same one, or one that had a totally different look to it, but more hanging space for necklaces. I chose the second one because I was afraid that the doors on the new one would have problems too. Guess what.. They were all out of the one I wanted. It truly wasn’t my day. Hubby knew I wasn’t up for cooking dinner… so we opted to go out that night. I needed it. Everyone was happy, and we had some good laughs…

I’ll have to update as the week goes on to let you know what comes of the van, and the couch situation… We’re going to be shopping around for the girls’ beds this weekend too…

This has been weighing on my mind, and I’m sure it’s not the first time this has happened in the world, but it’s bugging the hell out of me.
Since our move to NC, I’ve had a helluva time trying to find someone that lives up to the guy that cut my hair back home… If you’re in Sacramento, CA go to see Brett at Salon 701… He’s amazing! Anyway, just like having to find new doctors and dentists, you have to find a new hair dresser and for me, that’s hard. I’m so picky, but after several haircuts that made me cry while in Japan, I think I have the right to be! I’m the one that has to walk around with my hair! LOL
I’ve been to a couple of salons here in Jacksonville, and didn’t quite get the results I wanted, so I kept looking. Well, just before I went to BWE, I decided to check out a salon not too far from my house called J Thomas.. It’s the only Aveda concept salon in the area.. Well, I went in on a Saturday morning, and it didn’t seem busy at all. I figured if the lady did my hair well, I’d be happy!
When I went in at my appointed time, I found out that they had given me the wrong time when they called to confirm my appoinent and I was actually late.. Lovely. Well, they got my haircut in, got me in for a couple of other services and shifted things around for me.. All in all I ended up spending a couple of hours there. BUT I was very pleased with my haircut! She got it just about spot on. Woohoo!
Ok so now you’re wondering why my title says what it does. Well, I called yesterday to get appoinents for my girls to get haircuts. I figured, if my hair was done well, she’d understand how I like the girls’ hair too… Daddy is going out in the morning with a couple of guys from work, so I figured it would be a good time to take the girls out for some pampering. I learn differently. When I called I was informed that they no longer accept children appointments on Saturdays. Their reasoning? Because the higher value customers come in on Saturdays, and they don’t want children to interrupt their spa services (that are all upstairs).. Really?? What if Saturdays are the only day I can bring my kids in? They asked me, “well can’t you bring them in after school?” Well, first of all, what if I worked outside the home? What if I couldn’t bring my kids after school? They’re closed on Sundays, so that day is out.. Anyhow, I’m certainly glad that’s not the case, but what if it were? I just wanted to treat the girls to a fun morning out while Daddy went out too…

What’s your experience?  Have you ever been told something like this? I’m just curious…

** Update**

Ok, I can quit whining.. I called back this morning and spoke to someone else. They told me the same thing, and playing dumb, I asked why they have such a silly rule. If all the spa services are upstairs, how would a child getting a hair cut interrupt spa services? She told me that if the child cries, they could hear them upstairs. I told her that my children were no stranger to getting their haircut! They love being pampered, and especially love getting their nails done LOL. Yes, I’ve taken my girls for mani/pedi’s a few times. It’s fun… and they feel so grown up… I love it… Anyhow, after assuring the gal that my girls will most definitely not cry, she scheduled them for a 9am haircut appointment with Jennifer.. the same gal that did my hair.. Thank goodness…

I’m still curious if anyone else has ever heard such a thing though.. It really stuck on my mind all day yesterday and was one of the first things I thought of this morning while I was getting ready…

photo from Gizmodo.com

Well, maybe not HATE, but seriously dislike for sure…

Usually Fridays are my favorite day of the week, but one Friday in particular does nothing but drive me crazy… Please, if you have a different opinion, let me know… but frankly, I’m sick of Black Friday.. I’m tired of all the secrecy, the crowds, the madness… all for what.. to save a few dollars off of a laptop, or some clothing? It’s just ridiculous..

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for saving money. Really, who isn’t? But to deal with the pushing, shoving, fighting… It’s just too much for me.. and it seems to get worse and worse every year.

Before I had children, I did brave the crowds, albeit smaller ones, at a Military Exchange, on base in Okinawa, Japan. That was bad enough. I had fellow military wives ripping shopping carts from my hands, calling people names, and pushing and running to grab the Coach Purses, or cheap radios… You would think, on a military base, people would be a little more civil.. nope.. I’m not saying everyone was rude, or totally out of their minds… but the ones that were really stood out. Now that I have children, I don’t even want to take them out. First of all, if it’s a popular store, there’s no way I’m keeping my kids out all night. Second, to get them up at 3am, or whatever time, that they’d lost sleep all for a few dollars off, is not something I’m willing to do. It’s going to be cold, they’re going to be bored and cranky… and then so will I. Third, if there is any pushing, shoving, etc, I don’t want them to witness that…  or even be caught in the middle of all of that. That image above, I’m sure was meant to be funny, but in light of events that have truly happened, it’s really not that funny anymore..

I mentioned hating the secrecy. There have been so many times a Black Friday ad has been “leaked”.. and by the time I even bother to look at it, all that sits in its place is a scanned cease and desist letter threatening legal action if they don’t remove the ad. WTF? REALLY? Why? Because you don’t want consumers to see the great sales you have going on? Oh .. I know.. Because you don’t want other stores to see and lower their prices to beat yours? Last time I checked, print ads had to be submitted WEEKS in advance, if not earlier. Am I wrong?? Please correct me if I am! I’ve been told before by a few stores that suddenly are out of product the morning an ad comes out that very same thing, so I’m only assuming it’s the same for Black Friday ads. If I knew what store were having what sales, I could plan earlier on what I’m going to do. If I’d need to bundle the kids up, or if I don’t need to bother getting out of bed at 2am…  All great information to have.

What I don’t get is, why don’t stores just have amazing sales from now until Christmas Eve? Why throw all of their eggs into one day? An associate at The Children’s Place here in Jacksonville, NC told me today, that they usually do an entire MONTH’S worth of sales in just one day. I can’t imagine that many people in their tiny store. Not all at once, I’m sure, but all in the same day.. No thank you.

I know, I’m just rambling at this point… I’d really like to hear your thoughts about all of this. Agree? Disagree? Are you a Black Friday Shopper??? Why or Why Not???

Seriously!?!?!

I just do not get it. I worked for several years in customer service. I started out as a lifeguard at a local water park in high school, moved on to a laser tag arena, then to retail at 3 stores at the mall, and finally to a customer service call center for FedEx. That’s all before I got married. At FedEx, i heard stories about how a package should have reached its destination, regardless of that tornado, flood or hurricane that hit the area that it was going to. I once got a call from a shipper that was mad the package didn’t make it because the FedEx station wasn’t operating… The ROOF was torn off in a hurricane!! I didn’t expect them to understand because to everyone, their package is super important, and needs to be where it needs to be when it needs to be there. If they got to a point where no amount of explaining by a “lowly customer service agent” would do, and they asked for a supervisor, we politely obliged, placed them on hold, and called our Manager Assist Group. It wasn’t difficult, and the “MAG” as we liked to call them, were always willing to help out.

More and more these days, I call a customer service call center to deal with an issue. Sometimes the CSA is able to help me out, and sometimes the call ends with me more confused than when the issue first started… I ask for a supervisor more often than not, and rarely get one. I just don’t understand it.

Case and point. We had received a call from a telemarketing company on behalf of Comcast Communications, offering us the fastest cable internet speed they have along with their basic cable for less than what we were paying for the slowest internet speed alone… We got an appointment scheduled for the following Thursday and were pretty excited at the prospect of a faster internet speed. The next Tuesday, we got a phone call from Comcast offering us a different deal that was more expensive. I told the agent that we already had an appointment scheduled, and we were good. Then I hear.. “Yeah, about that.. it’s been canceled.” No further explanation. I was livid. So I call back and ask the agent that answered the phone what happened. He said he didn’t know why it was canceled or who canceled it, and there was no way to get that particular deal again. End of story. I asked for a supervisor, and was told he would send a request through, and I’d receive a call from a supervisor within a couple of hours. No call ever was made so I called the next day and again asked for a supervisor. The agent gave me the run around and kept trying to dodge getting me a supervisor by offering me other various deals they had going on. I wasn’t having it…

After almost an hour of holding and declining any other alternative, I was finally passed to a supervisor who made all kinds of promises. She ended up offering me a deal that was comparable, and promised to call me back the next day when all the changes had been made to my account.. I never received a call back so I tried calling her back several times, and left a voice mail for her each time. She never called me back.

Finally after 2 weeks, I called back and asked for another supervisor. This time, I refused to tell the agent anything until I got a supervisor. At this point I was tired of repeating my story time and time again. Why didn’t they just get my account number and pass me on to a supervisor. If they really wanted to know what was going on, they could read all the notes that had been typed up in my account from every other person that I talked to.

Long story short, it took a whole lot of time and a whole lot of calling to get something worked out with a supervisor…

Just today I had an issue with Apple that was really getting to me, until I finally got a supervisor who restored my faith in customer service! Last Thursday, I bought an iMac, and then Monday they upgraded the iMacs. I called yesterday and spoke with an agent that told me the various options that were available to me. We ultimately decided on me just refusing the shipment so Apple would refund me as soon as they received my order back in the warehouse. He told me to just call back to Apple once the shipment had been refused so they could note my account and start processing… So this morning I called, and was then informed by another agent I spoke to that I HAD to go through the returns process which would then take 3-5 business days before I could get a refund. I was confused about the correct process so after I ended my call with this person, I decided to call back and speak with a supervisor.

I called back and yet another agent asked for my info, and when I asked for a supervisor, she continued to go through my order and tell me that everything was going through ok for delivery today. I advised her that was not the reason I was calling, and she asked me to explain… so I did. Then she told me that Apple requires the customer to go through the proper returns process, and that she would send a mailing label through to me. I asked her why the different messages, and she began telling me that she and her colleagues are very sincere to the customers, just that sometimes they get their information mixed up. Basically telling me that the first agent I spoke to was wrong. She was ready to release me from the call, but I insisted that I speak to a supervisor. She didn’t sound happy. All I could think was “Well, if you would’ve given me a supervisor to begin with, like I had asked, you wouldn’t feel like you wasted your time with me.” I didn’t say it, just thought it.

Finally I was put through to a supervisor who told me he was a little confused as to why I was calling. I explained everything to him, and he then told me that he understood why I was so confused with the return. He told me that the first agent was indeed correct, and that the way we had chosen (refusing the shipment) was actually better in my situation. The return label route is taken when the customer has already taken possession of the shipment, and since I have not, just refusing it works better. Finally, someone that could understand what I’ve been flustered about.

He was actually really great. I told him that this was my first time ever purchasing an Apple computer, and I really had heard a lot of great things about Apple, that this just couldn’t have been this difficult to exchange the computers out after their upgrade! He helped me out with the whole situation, and let me know that he was personally going to watch the account and the current shipment, and as soon as the RTS tracking number was placed on the package, he was going to credit my cards, and give me a call so I could re-order the new iMac…. WOOHOO! I’m so happy now!!! So Thank you Apple, and Thank you Arturo for finally restoring my faith in Customer Service..

Well, I guess I should say “WE” are getting an iMac!!!!

Last Thursday, we finally received our tax refund, and we have just been itching to start out with an Apple computer… We’ve drooled over the Mac Book Pro’s. We’ve gone into the Apple store and oogled over the iMac’s.. . We even got the girls playing games on the ones at the kid’s table. They liked it so much that they didn’t want to leave the store… but we had to.. They wouldn’t let us stay there all day, or spend the night there with the computers… Other people had to have their turns playing with the computers. Shucks!!!

We really have had so much trouble with all of our computers, and just didn’t even want to bother with Vista after all of the scary things we’ve heard about it… Daddy’s been using Ubuntu/Linux, and I’m still using my Windows XP… but We wanted something new… Plus I’m working on learning more about Graphic Design.. so Apple is definitely a good thing..

Anyway… I called Apple on Thursday morning, and ordered our 24″ iMac with all the bells and whistles… and we got a great price since we went with the refurbished model. We’ve been so excited , just waiting for it to arrive to our house. We got our tracking numbers Friday evening and they showed it would be delivered on Saturday… Well.. Saturday, they didn’t have any scans… so I called, and they told me that FedEx didn’t have possession of the boxes yet. NOOOOO… *sigh*

We took care of all the things we needed to take care of over the weekend, all the while, checking our tracking number online just in case there were any updates, and nothing. So this morning, Daddy got up, and got ready for work. He came in to wake me up and told me he had good news and bad news. In my groggy state, I don’t think much was registering, until he told me “Apple released a new iMac this morning, and they dropped the price of the one we bought by $300″. WHAAAT?!?!? I was wide awake now. He explained to me how the new ones are the same price as the one that we bought just 3 days ago, but they have a better processor and graphics card. Ok, now this was just not cool. But the good news… There was finally some activity to our tracking numbers and it should be delivered tomorrow. Well… I don’t want the one I ordered now… I want the new one! If we’re going to drop that much money on a new computer… then why not get the new one.. it’s the same price anyway right?!?!

My job today, after my yoga class was to find out how we can return the original computer and buy the newest one… and get it here before 30 days… HAHA… This is going to be fun.

I tried getting a hold of the sales agent that originally took my order, and it kept going directly to his VM. Sooooo I called back to the general number and spoke to another agent… The best he could give me was either a refund to my card for the $300 difference, or we could send back this computer, wait for the refund to clear on my credit card, and then go through the ordering process all over again. Well POOP! I wanted my computer NOW! UGH… I guess I understand, but gosh darn it… I was so excited and now this…

I called Fedex with my tracking numbers and just asked them to return the packages to the sender, in hopes that it would arrive back to the warehouse quicker.. We shall see… I just really hope everything works out and I can get the new computer here soon! The girls are so excited about it. They want to play their Ratatouille and Dora games. I just want to start making graphics and learning how to use the Mac.. It’s literally been years since I’ve seriously tried to use one, and last time I got flustered just trying to check my email in computer lab at the college… I sure hope this time around isn’t as bad…

I got an email and a phone call from the CCM!! She told me that she did speak to the two girls, and apparently, they told me that Monkey Do got out with the parent because they honestly didn’t know when she got out, and they had just assumed that she had followed the other kids and the mom out. Basically, they were not doing their job and watching the kids, thus allowing my 2 year old daughter wander out of the “secure” child care area and to the front doors. Isn’t that wonderful? There has been some disciplinary action for the two providers that were there that day. There’s a work order in for the innermost lock to be changed over. There’s also lots of mandatory training scheduled for everyone that works there.

In any case, I don’t think we’ll be taking Yoga on Saturdays any time soon… which really sucks because Daddy actually really liked it…

I was up early today, hoping to get a phone call from either of the two people I left messages for over the weekend… and nothing… So at 8:30am, I started calling Gold’s Gym to find out who the Gym Manager was, and when he would be in. The gal gave me his name, and told me he also manages the Elk Grove Gold’s Gym, and he doesn’t give anyone a set schedule. I was able to leave him a message at both gyms in hopes that he’d get it at some point that morning. My parents showed up around 9am, and I waited around to see if the GM would call me back. I finally decided that I’d at least talk to the Child Care Manager and bring it to the GM later if I needed to. So, off I went with a couple of letters all printed out, and a list of questions that Daddy and I had come up with the night before that we wanted answered. I was a Mommy on a mission!

When I got there, I was happy to find out the GM had arrived! I caught him while he was running around, and asked if I could speak with him and the CCM together about an incident that happened on Saturday. We got the CCM and sat down at a table in the lobby. I was ready. I had my letters out for them, and just explained everything that happened. The shock, the realization, the fear and then the anger. They were both very receptive, and visibly upset that this had happened. The CCM was extremely upset that she was not notified that it had happened. She told me that there would definitely be some disciplinary action, and that she was going to work on the lock issue, and she was going to speak to the child care providers that were there that day. The GM told me he was going to speak to the Front Desk Agent that said she was the one to grab Monkey Do before she ran out the front doors and get her side of the story.

All in all.. I think the meeting was productive. I was promised a phone call with answers to some of our questions either today or tomorrow… I really hope that something happens that renews my feeling of security when I take my girls there. If it wasn’t for the Child Care there, I wouldn’t be able to go! It’d be a huge waste if I couldn’t bring them there any longer…

I’ll update when I find out more!

Oh My God… I think today was one of the scariest days of my life as a parent. Daddy and I decided we’d go to Yoga class this morning at our Gold’s gym. We took the girls to the daycare, just like I do during the week without problem. We dropped them off, and went upstairs to class without a worry in our mind that the girls were in good hands. I kept an eye towards the glass doors, just in case one of the care providers came to get me for a diaper change… but we were able to go through the hour long class without interruption. We came out feeling totally zen..

Daddy and I were ready to pick up the girls and go to the grocery store to pick up a few things for the weekend. We walked in to the day care room, and we saw Monkey Do sitting on a chair, in front of the tv, watching Scooby Doo, wearing a Lady bug costume. Monkey See was talking to one of the providers at the desk. She was happy to see us! Well, one of the providers (there were 2 in there) came up to the desk and told me in a very nonchalant manner that “she had gotten outside”.. I was like “She, Who?” and the lady told me “the girl in the costume”, indicating it was Monkey Do. I was in shock. I don’t even remember much, but I was mad as hell. They told me that another member came in to pick up her kids, and Monkey Do just followed her kids out and almost to the parking lot, when the lady realized she was with her, turned around and brought her back into the daycare room. I was LIVID. Why weren’t they watching my children… LIKE I PAY THEM TO DO! They kept telling me how smart the girls were since they already figured out how to unlock and open the child door they have in the day care room… Well.. DUH! It’s not rocket science… and since the girls used to go every day… of course they know how to open it..

I don’t think I said anything else to those ladies as I walked out with Daddy and my girls. Just held my girls tight. We got to the car, and put the girls in their seats, all the while, talking to the girls about how dangerous it is to walk out with a stranger, and what happened if someone took them and then we’d never see them again… I don’t know if they truly understood.. I mean.. they’re only 2 and a half… but they did realize that when I was talking frantically to them, and then started crying, that Mommy was upset. I told them NEVER to go anywhere without Mommy or Daddy… I just don’t know what to say that they would truly understand at this point.

Anyway… it hit me, and now I’m just pissed.. I called the gym to talk to a manager.. and of course, it’s a weekend, and there’s no manager there except the Front Desk Manager… and he’s some young guy that told me he has no pull whatsoever. So he sent me to a couple of the managers’ voice mails so I could at least leave messages. I did that, and now I wait. I know the manager of the Day Care area, and I see her every time I go in there during the week. She just came back from maternity leave. I know I’ll talk to her on Monday.. but there’s just something about almost losing your child that makes you want to fix the problem NOW and not 2 days from now.

There are so many why’s and what if’s going through my head right now.

• Why wasn’t someone paying attention to the kids, and the gates.
• Why didn’t anyone notice that my child was gone BEFORE the person she walked out with brought her back in?
• Why was she able to walk through 3 .. yes 3 sets of doors before she was noticed?
• Why wasn’t there some sort of write up for this?
• Why didn’t someone come and get me WHEN IT HAPPENED?
• Why did they wait until I was in there to pick them up to tell me that it happened?
• What if the lady didn’t know my daughter was there with her and her kids?
• What if the lady didn’t bring my daughter back into the daycare?
• What if my daughter just disappeared?
• What if … oh man I don’t even want to think about any more of these…

I’m mad, and scared, and thankful, and lucky. Nothing happened to my baby. I’m going to talk to the highest authority possible there, and if nothing is done about it, I’m going to take it up the corporate ladder. They did not follow their protocol. They did not watch my children. They have made me COMPLETELY scared to leave my children in their facility. I pay them for this service, and I expect them do their job. They’re supposed to be checking ID’s when you pick up your kids.. They’re accredited and supposed to be able to handle large amounts of children… Granted during the week, they do just fine, with a bunch a kids.. and only 3 or 4 of the providers in there.

UGH. And no child harness could’ve prevented this… go figure..