We find our heroine where we last left her, disappointed and downtrodden in the Customer Service area of the local
Walmart.
"I'm sorry Ma'am, but the box just isn't here, It's probably on the truck and will get here tomorrow. You should call after 1pm, to see if it's here." They broke the news as gently as they could. She felt optimistic, and lovingly escorted the two boxes she did have home to the cozy garage to await the arrival of their final component. It was during the storing and examining of the two boxes that Shopper Mom realized that the one that was missing was the box that had arrived first, all by itself, a full 7 days ago. That being the case, surely it wasn't on the truck, but somewhere in the store. She detected the odious scent of the evil Incompetence Drone. But it was late and since nothing more could be done, she went to bed.
The next morning Shopper Mom and the Team were heading home from battling the Evil Mouth People, when they decided that stopping by Walmart was a good idea. Surely the missing box was in the store since it had arrived over a week ago. They marched in there sure of their common sense logic. The Walmart employees looked high and low, and Shopper Mom resisted the urge to insist on looking herself, or telling them to try looking with their eyes open. After all the missing box had dimensions of 7x10x80. How do you lose a 7 foot box?
To no avail, they once again left empty handed with the promise that someone who was more likely to know where the box ended up would call that evening. They went on about their day. After a few hours, Shopper Mom realized that in her haste to remove the Team from the store, she had given them her name and number without the area code. Feeling sure that they would not be able to contact her she called them. There was a great deal of angst as she tried to explain the situation to someone new and panic overtook her when the lady on the phone offered to refund a portion of her payment and then Shopper Mom could reorder that part. She quickly explained that as the box was part of a set of bunk beds, she would not be able to reorder the missing part on her own and the lady understood. Shopper Mom was assured that the someone who knew more would in fact call, just later in the day. With exasperation and chagrin she hung up the phone and tried to concentrate on other things. As the evening drew near, Shopper Mom's agitation began to increase due to the fact that she had not received a call from said Walmart employee. Then shortly before her patience ran out, the phone rang! Walmart, at last! Her joy was soon shattered as the voice on the other end of the line informed her that regardless of their best efforts of searching high and low, the box was nowhere to be found. Frustration now took over as the man on the phone offered to refund the price of the box, just as the lady had earlier in the day. Shopper Mom quickly explained why that was a most backwards idea and he offered that she could call and talk to a manager the next day. Feeling defeated she acquiesced and retired for the evening.
With much anticipation and high strung nerves Shopper Mom dialed the phone. Asking to speak to a manager, she went on to explain once again the pickle that she was in through no fault of her own. He told her he would personally track it down and call her back within the hour. A spark of hope flared up as she sullenly agreed. In the interim she and the Team began their day, and tried desperately to focus on the task at hand. A mere 30 minutes later the call came. The box had been found! The joy was exceeding and the gratitude profuse. In a moment of haste Shopper Mom placed LBE in the pack and play with strict instructions for Buster Brown and the Yellow Comic to get dressed, whilst Electro Boy, Skinny Princess and Creator Kid strip beds and fold laundry until she returned from the desperate mission. She flew through the roads to the store. Once inside the Elderly Greeter Man told her that no one would be back to the Customer Service area for at least 15 minutes. This would not do! She hunted for a manager, someone with authority exceeding that of the EGM. The manager was found and the box was placed on the cart and happily wheeled out to the car. She drove home hurriedly full of anticipation for bed assembly upon her arrival. Once safely in the garage, she carefully removed the box from the car and set it on the garage floor. Immediately she realized there was a problem. Shopper Mom had made a terrible mistake. The box rattled with the sound of metal striking metal. O Horror, she thought, but my beloved bunk beds are made of wood. Sure enough upon further examination she discovered that this box was NOT her box.
Unbelievable! Insurmountable! Outrageous!
This box was a brass bed frame for one Kim Palmer. What were the chances that two people had issues with site to store bed orders at the same time. No really, what are the chances? It's got to be like one in a thousand or something!
Feeling crushed she entered the house. Action was needed, but food was needed first. Little Blue Eyes needed a bottle and Shopper Mom in her haste had neglected to feed herself this morning as well. Sustenance was inhaled and plans were laid. She and the Team would storm the store and sort this out once and for all. No more phone calls, no more pointless trips, this would be resolved today! They piled into the Shopper Mobile, and were on their way. Upon arrival, they managed to enter the store with minimal damage to property or life. (You try maneuvering a 7 foot box on the back of a cart through doors that are only 4 feet wide while keeping track of 6 Team members.) The one salvation for Shopper Mom was the employee working at the desk who had previously been a party to this particular issue, so thankfully less explaining was needed. Managers were called, discussion was had. The desk employee called the website people and after 40 minutes of discussion and Shopper Mom reminding the Team to stop running around the Customer Service area, a solution seemed on the horizon.
A new box, the right box, would be sent. But when? and How long would it take? The questions burned on her lips while the desk employee skittered back and forth between the computer and the phone. Absentmindedly, Shopper Mom noted how terribly inefficient it was to have the phone and the computer twelve feet apart. Nonetheless success was imminent. Shopper Mom learned that in order to right this great wrong, the missing box would need to be entered into the computer as received and found wanting or broken. It could then be returned and a replacement box would be shipped as swiftly as Walmartly possible. When she received the information that the computer system would need about 2 hours to process and recognize the return, she opted to remove the Team from the pandemonium that was nearing.
Once safely retired to the secret lair, they waited with baited breath for the phone call that all was well and would bring the joyous news of the box's departure. Shopper Mom picked up on the second ring and followed the instructions to electronically sign an affidavit acknowledging the return of the nonexistent box in order to move forward with the release of a new box. Emails were sent, and speedy delivery was promised. In the meantime, Shopper Mom and the Team scurried off to Skinny Princess's piano lessons and a very brief trip to the park, per the request of Creator Kid for great waiting skills during the morning's excursion. All that was left to do was wait and check email, then check the website and wait some more.
Though victory seems near, Who can tell? Will the bed arrive? More Importantly, will it arrive soon? and Will Skinny Princess ever feel the joy of sleeping in a real bed again?
This and more on the next adventure of Shopper Mom!
