Vent

I took the little kids to Chuck E. Cheese this morning. I know everyone hates it, but I don't really mind it. Of course, we go as soon as they open, stay an hour, and flee before the rest of the world decides to join us. Today, we were the only customers there the entire time. It was nice. I could plug coins into the casino slot machines and not worry if my kids were out the door or eating off a stranger's table.

Except.

The casino slot machines weren't giving tickets. Oh, the tokens would fall and I'd land completely within the Spongebob block but instead of the fifty tickets I'd earned, only one would pop out. I changed machines figuring I'd found a busted one, but everyone of them did that. When I brought it to the attention of the serviceman/token counter/black-light-number checker because OH. MY. GAWD my world will quit turning if I don't have a paper ticket in which I can trade in for, oh I don't know, crap, he told me he'd get to it. I know for a fact there are no buttons to push in the back that fixes those things, I've chased Elizabeth back there plenty of times, but apparently, that's where you go to fix those things because I never saw that dude again.

So I scrapped the gambling because, really, gambling in a kid's joint sucks especially when the machines are tight.

I found Adam and Elizabeth on the rides in the bitty-kiddy section and joined them. I watched for a bit and realized that Bob the Builder was only singing about a quarter of the song he used to sing and the Teletubbies it only went as far as Tinky-Winky and shut right off. I remember her riding that back at Adam's party in January and going round and round while they sang about all FOUR of those crazy creatures and today she made two revolutions before the thing just stopped. In fact, the more I noticed the more I realized, the rides are a lot shorter, the tickets are a lot sparser, and the crap costs more.

Boo.

Fifteen dollars worth of tokens were gone in no time. I guess if I'd done what the company was expecting me to do, I'd charged another cup full, but instead, we cashed in 80 tickets on a tootsie roll and a small tube of lip gloss.

At least that got us out of there before anyone else showed up.

So then I went to the Tar-Jay right next door. I wanted to use the coupon book they'd mailed me on some household items I needed. As usual, I got not only my cat litter and laundry detergent but also a Little Mermaid swim suit, a bunch of pool toys, and the cutest little pair of shoes for Elizabeth that she so totally did not need. So after the cashier rang up my purchases I handed her my seven coupons and watched while each and every one of them rang up 0.00 and then listened in confusion as the employee explained to me that it was just the way Target coupons do. When I brought to her attention that the total wasn't changing she tried to show me where it was, but no, it wasn't. And then she didn't know what to do so she called someone over to push a few buttons and then supposedly it took my coupons off but after further inspection, it only took a portion of each one. My $1.50 coupon turned out to be 57 cents and my dollar ones were 50 cents.

Boo. So that's how Target plays now huh?

Interesting, because it's the exact same way HEB has been playing as well. For years I could show up there and EVERYTHING would ring right and they'd take all my coupons and send me on my way. Now they make their own coupons for free things if you buy other things which I do LOVE but I've recently noticed that when I should be getting free sliced cheese at $1.99, my coupon will only take $1.50 off so, really, I'm not getting free cheese, I'm getting 49 cent cheese, which is still okay, but NOT the free cheese they advertise. This has happened every week for the past eight so I'm not thinking it's a random mistake.

I haven't been to Kroger in 2 months. I'm afraid to set foot in there.

You shouldn't have to bring pencil and paper and calculators and research your way through your weekly chores, but that's what it's become. I know all these companies are feeling the money crunch, but the dishonesty on their loyal customers is disgusting.

Vent over. Thank you. I will now return to my regularly scheduled Treasure Isle programming. Geez, don't get me started on those rock paths. Energy robbery.

FOUR posts in one week. I am back ya'll.