This day has gone to the dogs

Today was the day for dogs. Nearly every email complaint I read had something to do with dogs.





"The food was so greasy, I wouldn't feed it to my dogs." Uh, are you breeding some type of vegan dogs?!?!





"It was so bad my dog wouldn't even eat it." Wow, I hope you aren't as picky as your dog. Last time I checked all dogs love all people food. My dog eats brussel sprouts for crying out loud.


Well, Gretchen is loving having a houseguest for the month. They just run and jump and play. . . and it's just adorable when they sleep! :)

Gretchen and Blake: Pals for Life

I've Never Considered Divorce. . . .

Finally home from Nebraska. It was a long trip, but good to see my Grandparents again. Though there is not really that much to do in Stratton. Ryan had to work since it was Race Weekend, so I flew to Denver and then met Andy and drove the three and a half hours to Stratton.
While most of the weekend was depressing watching Grandfather hardly get around and not speak at all and Grandmother so confused.
At the reunion with all of the Leagues, I got to chat with some, shall we say, forceful old ladies. They were sweet. I was talking to Marie, the wife of Bob (who is my Grandfather's older brother) They live in California and have been married for 65 years.
I asked Marie what the secret to such a long and happy marriage was. She put her bony little arm around me and said smiling slyly: "Well, in 65 years, I've never once considered divorce. Murder, yes, on a monthly basis. But never divorce."

Uhhhhh. . . .Wiings?

So, I'm the Corporate Manager of Guest Relations.

Which, on some days, means that I get to speak directly to our guests and apologize for all types of sorted situations.
In the past 2 months I have apologized for long wait times, incorrectly prepared food, Claw Machines that "stole" money because the guest failed to win an animal, and that a manager's stomach hung over his belt by an inch.

So I thought I'd heard it all.

(Which I should have learned by now to NEVER say)

I spoke with a very delightful lady today who was intensely upset that we have chosen to serve Red Bull Energy Drinks in our stores. I apologized and told her I would be happy to forward her comments to the persons in charge of the menu. She proceeded to tell me that Red Bull was tantamount to alcohol, weed, and cocaine, but actually legal. She educated me on the evil buzz that Red Bull evokes and let me know that it is actually the same buzz achieved by the aforementioned substances. She went on to inform me that the FDA has not approved Red Bull and demanded it be removed from all of our stores (yes, all 470 of them) Immediately. Yes, Immediately. She inquired when she would receive a call back from the person in charge of what was on our menu letter her know the date by which they would be removed. Oh, and of course, that she would refuse to patronize our stores until it was off the menu. I stopped her before she enlisted my help for a charge on Capitol Hill.

Uhhhhhhh. . . . .

So while I was polite, telling her that we had received much positive feedback on the drinks and that I would forward her comments on and they would review them. What I really wanted to ask her was:
Do you refuse to patronize all gas stations, grocery stores and pharmacies that serve Red bull?
Is all caffine is evil? Or just caffine in large doses?
Should Green Tea be labled evil as well? Because while it doesn't have caffine, it is used as a substitute for many people who want coffee but opt for tea.
Do you support a legal age for consumption of coffee and carbonated soda products?


My only regret is that only those who know me well can truly sense the amount of feciousness dripping from the letters. . . . . .

But in all seriousness, I've had red bull. And I've had alcohol. And I can assure you. They are not similar.


Red Bull gives you wiings.