The many faces of Allison and some ranting

It's amazing how a laundry basket (does laundry EVER end?), some books, and some blankets can make for so much fun! I loved capturing so many of Allison's funny expressions today. She is just too much fun. "Mommy, take a picture of me looking funny", "Mommy, take a picture of me reading my book", "Mommy, take a picture of me making as silly face". Mind you, she never asked me to take a picture of her just giving me a lovely smile. How boring would THAT be? And of course she didn't ask me to take a picture of her from behind, getting into the basket, but I couldn't resist.

Today we ran errands, and I feel like ranting a bit about customer service. I really pay attention to this because I will choose shops to frequent based on how they treat me. I had two completely different experiences just a day apart at a local children's boutique. The first day I went to shop for shoes. I'm tired of Walmart shoes. They seem inflexible, and they never fit Allison right, so I decided to start splurging for nice shoes. The lady was SO friendly. She welcomed me into the store, complimented Allison repeatedly, asked me questions, asked Allison questions, helped me find the right shoes, smiled the whole time, told me to come again, yada, yada. It was great, and I enjoyed spending way too much money on 3 pairs of shoes. I had to return to the store today to return one pair that just didn't work with her wardrobe, and I was hoping to pick up another pair. A different lady was behind the desk. She did not welcome me into the store. I had to say hello to her first. She did not say anything to me or make any comments about my child. Do these people not get that I will spend much more time and money in their store if they are nice to my sweet child? I had to ask her where to find things because she never asked what I was looking for, and she never came out from behind the counter. She was checking email and seemed bothered when I asked where I might find socks. "The only ones we have are right over there", she said, barely pointing in the general direction of the socks. If that was my first visit to the store, I would not have returned. I asked the lady, "Who was working here last night?" and she told me, "Ellen". Well, the next time I need to visit the boutique- and it will be soon- they had CUTE stuff- I will call ahead to make sure Ellen is working. :) Okay, rant is over- is anyone else fed up with the lack of customer service these days? UGH! I'm just glad there are still people like Ellen who enjoy their jobs and enjoy helping people shop! :)