GRRRRRR!

Oooooh, my blood is boiling right now! I made a grooming appointment for my dog for today and was supposed to drop her off at 8AM. The groomers is in the next town over and while I don't particularly like the woman, my dog does, so we've stuck with her. So I got up early today so I could drop her off, knowing I only had about 10 minutes to get her set up before I had to leave to be on my way to work. I got there at 8AM and found the lights were off and the door was locked. The sign on the door said they were closed until 9AM. Now what? In a bit of a panic, I called Brian to get the number for the place, hoping she was inside and just hadn't unlocked the door yet. 5 minutes later, I got the answering machine. So I left a message telling her that I was there, she wasn't, the sign said she wouldn't be there until 9AM, and I thought she should know. I then proceeded to call work to tell them I would be late because I now had to drive all the way home again to drop my dog off before going to work. While I was on the phone and leaving (now 8:10AM), I saw someone pull in. I wondered if it was her, but it didn't matter...the damage was already done in my eyes. Frantically I drove home, only to find a message on my machine when I got there. The woman said she saw me when she pulled in, she wondered why I left like I did, and that it was only 5 OF 8AM at the time. She said the sign didn't mean anything, it was just an open/closed sign with hours on it and they don't mean anything. Okay, that's news to me...I always thought stores put their hours up and adhered to those hours, but whatever. Anyway, she wanted me to call. Meanwhile, Becky was waiting at the door like she was thinking, "What are you doing, Mom? Aren't we going for a ride??" Her cries as I locked the door behind me broke my heart...how dare this woman do this to her? Normally she isn't this upset when I go to work, but because her routine was all messed up this morning, she didn't understand what was going on. I felt horrible.

I've been known to over-react before, but I don't think I am this time. When you set up a particular time to be at a business, you expect them to be there and ready for you before you arrive. Sure, she showed up as I was leaving, but what good does that do to me? I have a tight schedule in the morning...At that point, I was already supposed to on my way to work, not waiting for the woman to open shop so I could drop my dog off. And yes, I did see her as I was leaving (although I wasn't 100% sure it was her), but it didn't matter to me then. The damage was already done. She was unprepared and unprofessional, neither of which I tolerate. And to call me and make excuses was the lowest of low. Whatever happened to the customer being right, especially since I WAS right. It's not my fault her clock is slow by 10 minutes...mine is set by the cell tower for my cell phone! I highly doubt they are 10 minutes fast, especially since it's the same time we use at work, where I had to be by 8:30AM.

GRRRRRRRR!!!!! Time to find another groomer...