Kleenex Hand Towels

I saw an ad for this completely unnecessary product in Parents magazine:

http://www.kleenex.com/handtowels/

I can't believe this product.  Who would introduce such a terrible thing into our already crowded waste stream?  Why would you need this?  If your towels are dirty, WASH THEM.  You don't need to replace them with throw aways.

I sent the following quick rant to Kleenex:

"I cannot even believe the irresponsibilty of this product.  In a world already overburdened with trash, you have the audacity to suggest that people shouldn't even use washable towels in their own homes.  This is a disgusting product.  We need less waste in the world not more.  And how is one's immune system supposed to function if it never meets any germs anyway?  This is a terrible product, a blot on our Earth, and I be holding Kimberly Clark responsible for it. "

Want to do the same?  Go here:  Let them know that this isn't a product the world needs or wants...
http://www.kleenex.com/contactus.aspx

And send a message to Parents magazine telling them you don't appreciate them selling advertising for a product designed to scare parents about a non-problem and pollute the world at the same time.

Address your message to :

Quentin H. Walz 
National Advertising Director
Phone: 866.781.6405
Interactivesales@meredith.com

Or the publisher:

Carey Witmer
Senior VP/ Group Publisher: Parents Magazine
Carey.Witmer@meredith.com

Everything has it's price

Garage sales are the coolest.

Our whole family looks forward to the warm weather when garage sales bloom like dandelions.  They are everywhere in our town, and even our two year old can't help but call them out as we drive by.

We stop at many.  Sometimes, yes, they look so awful from the street that we pass, without stopping.   Sadly, sometimes we are too busy to stop-  urgently heading home to make dinner, or to pick someone up.

But we stop often.
And we find great deals.

One thing we love is that we can stop and spend two dollars and get and whole bagful of stuff.  Our youngest has collected many Hotwheels and dinosaurs, and today-  two Star Wars vehicles for a quarter each.  He loves that he gets to hand over the money and receive the change at most sales.  Each sale is an adventure, even if there is sometimes nothing worth buying.

Our nine year old love haggling.  She looks forward to negotiating a 'good' price for the stuffed animals, dolls or SCORE-- a $20 guitar!!  She can't haggle at Target.  There is much more sport in garage-saling.

Sure, we sometimes end up with stuff we don't necessarily need, but it's a fun way to spend an afternoon together.

Look for garage sales in Craigslist or in your local newspapers.  We also have great luck just driving around our neighborhood and looking for signs, but that might not work for everyone.

Have fun!

Hip-hop, don't stop!!

We recently had the pleasure of attending a free hip-hop concert at the Overature Center in Madison, WI.  Here's what happens when people really put thought into what makes a concert scene work for kids and parents:  It was Awesome!!

This free concert was set in a carpeted rotunda area, safe for kids to crawl around in.  There was food, coffee and clearly marked bathrooms.  The organizers of the concert gave a great intro explaining where everything was located, so all the kids would feel comfortable.   The concert, featuring music by Milwaukee hip hop artists, The Figureheads, was fun, empowering for kids, and at a very comfortable volume.

This is how it is done.  We look forward to many future concerts here.  We will also be eagerly awaiting future chances to get our groove on with the Figureheads!

Red Roof Out

Sometimes we end up staying in hotels we are not very familiar with, especially because we travel with our dog, and this limits our options.

We recently stayed in a Red Roof Inn, and found ourselves perplexed by their fee structure.  They are an expensive hotel for us, a step in cost above the La Quintas we frequent.  But, we were left with few options in the Albany area, so we went in knowing we'd be paying a bit more.

Maybe we expected to get a bit more too.


We were disappointed.  In addition to giving us a room that was poorly cleaned, when we left they tacked on a charge for having a safe in our room, even though we never used the safe.  It's little hthings like this which push us over.  We don't mind paying more for quality.  We mind paying more for less.


If we land in the Albany area again, we'll seek different accommodations. 

Pah-Pow!

Mr. Steinhafel-

I have been following the story of Target's contributions to the Minnesota Governor's Race.  I read your message at Pressroom.target.com.

Your company's decision to contribute to MN Forward is disappointing, to say the least.  I find it hard to believe that you cannot see the duplicity of claiming to support the gay community, or women's rights, and then making a contribution supporting political candidates that are endorsed by MN Forward.  It is shocking to us, who have long noted Target's social conscience.  It is not just your employees that are saddened to hear this news.  I cannot in good conscience continue to shop at your store until you reverse this decision.  I urge you to call MN Forward and ask for your money back.  There are many ways Target can use its corporate muscle to help create jobs and improve the business environment without getting involved in these social issues.  

You need to rethink, not just contributions in the future, but this one as well.

As soon as I see the announcement that you have withdrawn the contribution, I will head out to one of the three Target stores located within a few miles of my home.

Swim with the Fishes

We had quite an experience at the Rainforest Cafe recently.  We'd gone down to Chicago and stopped in Schaumburg to go IKEA, and went to Rainforest Cafe for lunch.  Jack and Avery were very impressed with all the live fish circulating in huge tanks all around us.  Though the mechanical gorilla was a bit terrifying for our youngest.

It is quite a process to get a table at this place, but we were seated without too long delay, and checked out the menu.  Veggie burgers are $12?!?!  And they don't even include fires.  All kids menu items are also a la carte.  Well, okay.  It's not like we come here all the time, we're all tired.  We adults order our veggie burgers, and they arrive within the twenty minutes that our server had said was the likely wait time.  But the twelve dollar burgers are cold and mushy, like baby food.  After a bite or two, in a rare move for us, we decide that it is inedible.  

We flag down the server to tell her this, and she apologizes, and brings out the manager.

The manager hears our complaint and says: "Well, those are handmade here, so that's how they come out."

What!?!?!

The Manager's explanation is that since they are hand-made, they taste terrible?!?  And are therefore cold???  Aren't handmade foods supposed to taste BETTER than factory made?  We were amazed that the manager made NO ATTEMPT to say the veggie burger shouldn't normally taste like that, no attempt to suggest that if it were redone, it would come out better.  He took the price of the burgers off our bill, but gave us ZERO reason to think that if we came back to the Rainforest Cafe, we would have a better experience.

It is shocking that this passes for customer service at this chain.

The kids enjoyed their meals of spaghetti with sauce and chicken fingers with fries.  But it is not an inexpensive meal.

The Toaster Sketch

Hard to believe this really happened.  It is John Cleese and Michael Palin away from being hilarious:

Dear Wal-Mart Managment :

I would like to express my unhappiness and disappointment stemming from a recent trip to your Walmart Supercenter # 3857, located at 2151 Royal Avenue, in Monona, Wisconsin.

I went to your store on Sunday, July 11, 2010 with the seemingly simple task of returning a $29.99 Hamilton Beach toaster oven which I had purchased a few days earlier (on June 27th).  The toaster didn't work correctly, and so I wanted to return it.  I have just moved, so I had accidentally thrown out the box and accompanying papers, but I had my receipt, so I figured everything would work out fine.  I have never had a problem returning any recent purchase to any store I have shopped in, provided I had the receipt with me.

And yet, Wal-Mart managed to make this simple task a frustrating and difficult process.

I was told that since I didn't have the manual with me, I couldn't make the return.  The employee explained that she needed both a bar code to scan and the paper manual in order to complete the transaction.  She suggested that she could use the bar code off another toaster oven of the same model, if I could go get one from the shelf.  But she would need supervisor's approval to do the return since I didn't have the manual.   

I told her I thought that was ridiculous, since I had the receipt, but that she should call her supervisor while I went with my daughter to find the toaster oven on the shelf.  When I returned with the product, the clerk informed that her manager said I could do an exchange, but I couldn't get a refund without the paper manual.  

I told her that was unacceptable.  Why would I want a new copy of the same device, if the one I bought a week ago doesn't work?   She said she could get the supervisor to come down to the counter to explain it to me.

The supervisor arrived, and told me the same thing: I could get a new copy of the malfunctioning appliance.  They would take the manual out of the new one and keep it with the one I was returning.  I explained to her also, that I didn't want another Hamilton Beach Toaster Oven, as the one I had didn't work correctly.  You would sell me an item without the manual?  I was unwilling to accept that as a solution.  

Then the supervisor said she could arrange for me to receive store credit.  I also found this an unacceptable response.  After all this time, the best the supervisor could offer was store credit, when I had a receipt?  Unbelievable.

I asked her to call her supervisor, she walked off saying she would.  I never saw or heard from her again.

While we waited for a possible response, another supervisor happened on the scene.  The first clerk again explained the problem:  I wanted to return an item without the paper manual, but I had a receipt.  The second supervisor said: "It's our policy that you need all the paperwork that comes in the box."  I began reading out-loud the "Wal-Mart Returns Policy" poster hanging on the wall behind her. (http://www.walmart.com/cp/Returns-Policy/538459#37440 )  It stated quite clearly that items could be returned within 90 days, provided the receipt was present.  None of the exceptions listed pertained to small appliances, nor did any of the exceptions mention needing the paper manual.

This second supervisor walked out of the room, without another word to me.  She did not return. 

Shortly after that, a store manager arrived, perhaps called by the first supervisor.

He heard the explanation from the Returns desk employee, and said, "You should do the refund."  She said she would do so, but explained that this was contrary to her training.  

It is simply unbelievable that you have policies in place designed to complicate a simple return.  I also find it hard to believe that your managers and supervisors are all so powerless or disinterested, or both as to let a customer remain in such an unsatisfied state.  I can't imagine another store where not one but TWO supervisors would walk away from an unhappy customer without saying another word, without coming back to see if my problem was resolved, without caring one way or another how it turned out.  This is what passes for customer service in your store?  I find it appalling.

Why would anyone want to shop in your store when they are treated this way?  Is it by treating people with such little concern that Wal-Mart became the successful retailer that it is today?  

I look forward to your response.  Is this typical for Wal-Mart customer service?  Is this how you train your supervisors to help people?  As this was one of my first experiences at Wal-Mart, your response will help me determine if I shall continue shopping with you.