Customer service

My journeys will continue. I've got trips to Marquette next Thursday (sportswriters meeting) and also either Friday or Saturday (football playoffs, after Forest Park won its regional title last night).

I've also got girls basketball disticts next week, with games at Crystal Falls Tuesday and Thursday (maybe) and at Norway Wednesday and Friday (possibly). So far the weather has been un-November-like, with no snow to deal with. Does the term "borrowed time" come to mind?

The week after--possibly a trip to the Silverdome? Let's not get excited about that, but Phil is already on notice. For Forest Park to make that trip, they have defeat one of two 11-0 teams that will be playing today. That's the state semifinal game. It definitely won't be a walk in the park, as it was the last three weeks, when the team wasn't really tested.

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I had a fun time at Westwood Mall in Marquette yesterday, before the game. I had gone to Target earlier, but only after leaving did I remember the last item on my checklist--replacing the battery on my watch.

I had to go to Westwood anyway (Festival Express DVD), so I went to the new Kohl's store there. "Did you buy the watch here? Then I can't replace the battery. Go to the two jewelry stores in the mall. Isn't that awful?" "Yes, it IS awful."

So I went to the first jewelry store. "Sorry, we don't replace watch batteries here. Go to our other store."

There may have been another store by the company in the mall, but I figured they had lost their chance to have my business, so I walked the other direction to the second jewelry store. "Yes, we replace watch batteries." But then she looked at the back of the watch. "But there's screws. I don't do screws." Whatever.

I left the mall, went to have supper at Hardee's and saw a Shopko store nearby. They had the inclination, the equipment and the intelligence to replace the watch battery. At last.

Where customer service isn't just a slogan. It's a phrase.