Wednesday, May 13, 2009

A Rant

First, a little background: we use WIC. Okay, now that that's out in the open, I'm going to vent.

I went to Safeway today to get some milk and eggs and other WIC stuff. The pertinent items for this story are 2 gallons of 1% milk, 1 gallon of 2% milk and a 1/2 gallon of whole milk. We always get it this way because Littler still drinks whole milk but the rest of us drink 1%, and when the rest is gone, we compromise at 2%. I had two WIC checks, this one:



And this one:



Unfortunately for me, the cashier decided that Check 1 was saying that the kind of milk I had to get was whole milk, because it says "pasteurized" and it doesn't specify that I can get any kind of milk like Check 2 does (nonfat, 1%, 2%, or whole). "No'" I told her, "both checks say pasteurized and nowhere on Check 1 does it specify whole milk." (Okay, I don't really talk that way, but I wish I could on the fly! That's the gist though.) She called the manager over to settle the situation. I happened to know that the manager was a reasonable woman who has cleared up some cashier WIC mistakes for me in the past, so I was relieved. The managercame over and proceeded to tell me exactly what the cashier had told me, and when I tried to explain their mistake, she wouldn't even listen to me! She told me to talk to my WIC office to figure out what I could get with each check. I told her that every time I check, they're wrong and I'm right and I pointed out the word 'pasteurized' on my disputed jugs of 1% milk but they didn't care. I told them all of this milk is pasteurized. As she was turning and walking away, I'm only somewhat ashamed to admit, I yelled at them. I was so upset at them that I was shaking and flustered. And I still get riled up now when I think about it. I know it doesn't make that much of a difference besides that the whole family will have to drink more fattening milk for the next two weeks. But still. They were WRONG and unreasonable and they treated me like I was the one who needed to get things sorted out. And in case you're wondering I, and everyone else I know who uses WIC, get non whole milk with that check ALL the time. This is the third uncomfortable WIC scenario at this Safeway in a row. I think I'm going to start using another.

8 comments:

brittney said...

ugh!! That story gets my blood boiling every time I hear it. Also it makes me afraid to go to that Safeway with WIC. I vote for writing their supervisors a letter.

Martie said...

YOU yelled? WOW, Manda. That's pretty amazing. I can't even imagine!

I have an almost-the-same story that I hope to put on my blog today or tomorrow.

Sorry! We did WIC for years, and people consider it to be a free ticket to be rude to you and insult you, like you;re a lesser being or something. GrrR!!!

Jessie-Bessie said...

What is WIC?

Martie said...

Hey. I have a question for you. I have been following your workouts on your side bar. What do you do with your girls when you run? Surely you don't push a double stroller when you run 8 miles?

Great job, by the way. I am really impressed.

MandaMommy said...

I go before Peter leaves for work in the morning, while it is nice and cool. I do NOT like running with the stroller (though I will for a shorter one if I need to--never for a long one, I promised myself after pushing a stroller for a short one). I have a friend who runs up crazy hills with her two kids in a double jogger. She is amazing.

Martie said...

TEN miles! I am really proud of you and your hard work and your dedication. Are you feeling pretty great? How has all of this working out changed how you feel? Do you have more energy? Bigger or smaller appetite? More or less tiredness? Great job, sis!

MandaMommy said...

It's funny but it's been so gradual that I barely even notice. The biggest difference has been that my legs hurt for most of the day after our long runs, but that's to be expected. And it's not incapacitating or anything. Just sore and tired. I also have a few places that seem to have tendonitis, but while I'm running it doesn't kick in very much until after mile 5 or so. I feel it before then, but not so badly, and it never gets bad enough that I feel like I need to stop (but close by the end). That makes it all sound bad, but really it feels AWESOME and I'm loving it, and most of all, it is a BIG self-esteem boost. My appetite is only different really the day after long run days, and then I think I probably just end up replacing most of what I lost. I don't know. My weight isn't any different but Peter says I look different in a good way. Less than 4 weeks to my big race!

Redford Writes said...

What country do they think they're in over at that Safeway? All milk sold at Safeway is pasteurized as well as their oj and some other stuff. I think check 1 actually gives you more flexibility than check 2. But you should try asking the nutrition lady at WIC to make them all read like check 2 since that's what they like at Safeway. The WIC people have that flexibility and it just depends on which selections they make at their computer. I would also make a call to Safeway Corporation to complain. I have the same kind of problem with coupons. It's like some cashiers have a personal problem wih people saving money-- they think it's coming directly out of their paycheck or something.