Something's fishy

I hate shopping and I really hate shopping at very large stores, therefore a trip to Meijer is so much less than a joy for me. However the deals at Meijer call to me in my dreams and I must follow! So I made my list and took my littlest man to the store with me this morning to chase from one end of Meijer to the other in order to snag all our needed items. Needless to say I was none too pleased to find that there was only one bag of fish left in the freezer for the best deal of my trip! Not too worry, though, for they were stocking the shelves and I figured I could always make another trip later in the afternoon after phoning them to make sure they had replenished their frozen fish cooler. But here is where the whole thing takes an odd turn.

I looked up the number for my neighborhood Meijer in my yellow pages. They conveniently listed the numbers for each department individually, so I ran my finger down to "frozen foods" and dialed the number. It rang. And rang. And rang some more. Finally a nice chap named Ryan answered the phone at the service desk and said he'd find out the answer to my question. Next thing I knew it was ringing again. For five minutes. So I hung up and thought I'd be smart and dial the general store number and talk directly with the service desk. So I dialed the number, answered their automated questions, finally talked to a nice lady who was apologetic for the incessant wringing, and put back on hold. When she returned she said she had three bags and would I like her to hold them for me? I thankfully answered, "Yes" and told her I was coming right away.

So my children and I arrived at the Meijer service desk and made our request for our reserved fish and the lady across the counter looked at us like we were nuts. She asked for the name of the woman I talked to--of course I was so excited I didn't ask--and said she's been the only woman answering phones there since 2:00. She also asked if I was sure I called that particular store. I told her my story and said that I dialed the number listed as the local store general number. Suddenly the lights went on.

It seems that Meijer uses a call service somewhere in Michigan that all the general store numbers pour into. The woman who answered the phone could have found out if a store in Timbuktu had any fish in stock! So sorry lady, wherever you are, about the thawed fish on your service desk counter. And word to the wise, if you ever call Meijer, ask the person who answers exactly where they are located or you could be making an extra long trip for a one dollar bag of fish.