"You Suck"

A few years ago, my wife and I were preparing for my oldest daughter's 1st birthday party. We had planned a small get-together with our new church friends, my wife's family and some neighbors. The morning of the party and my little girl's birthday, something tragic happened. The monitor on our computer died. This was not the first time we had problems with our computer purchased at Best Buy. The computer and maybe even the monitor had actually been worked on before. This was the worst possible day for the monitor to die. We had to download pictures off of our camera so it would have plenty of room for all of the pictures that would be taken at the party. We would have to be able to check our email in case ...well, in case we received an email. How could we possibly get by without the internet on, of all days, my daughter's 1st birthday.

So we made the trek across town to Best Buy. Now, I should probably explain somethings about myself: 1) I DO NOT like to pay for something and get bad service or quality in return; and 2) I WILL NOT BACK DOWN, IF I KNOW I AM RIGHT. The stage was now set for a showdown like no other. I would be forced to convince Best Buy that my monitor was broken beyond repair, and they must replace it now. When we bought the computer, we did something we rarely do, we bought the extended Best Buy warranty. The salesman who sold us the computer told us specifically that if something was broken, all we had to do was bring it in and they would tell us to go pick out another one. In fact, two different guys came up while we were paying for our computer with broken computer equipment. Each time the salesman would say, go ahead and pick out a new one and then he would say to us, see this is how it works. What a novel idea. A warranty that actually made sense.

Unfortunately my friendly salesperson was no longer with Best Buy and neither was his wonderful concept of the Best Buy warranty. I went through a salesperson, a computer technician, an 800-number customer service person that they connected me to in the store and finally the smug sales manager, who I had asked to see originally. Everyone had the same story, the monitor must go back to the manufacturer to see if they can repair it, if it can't be repaired we will replace it with a new one in 4-6 weeks. Do you know anyone who can go 4-6 weeks without their computer? Much less not have their computer for their first born's 1st birthday. Oh, yes, of course, it was my daughter's 1st birthday, as my wife reminded me just as the store manager was approaching. Well, I gave it all I had. I explained to him over and over about the guy kept saying, See this is how it works. Bring it in and pick out a new one. And the manager kept saying. I'm sorry that is not how it works and we will have to send the monitor off to be repaired.

By this time, I was seeing how ridiculous things were getting. It is my daughter's 1st birthday and I am coming close to making a complete idiot out of myself. I am now a little fuzzy on what happened next. I think my wife took my daughter, the birthday girl, out to the car, so that her first memory would not be her father getting carried away by the police at Best Buy. I knew this was stupid, but I just had to give it one more shot. OK pal, let's go over this one more time. I explained again, how it happened when I bought the computer, I stressed how many appliances my family had purchased at Best Buy, I reiterated how poor the customer service was that they were providing, I pointed out how the salesperson blatantly lied to me when I bought the warranty. Sorry, I can't help you. The monitor has to be shipped out to be repaired. Then came the most brilliant strategy that I could muster at this point. I looked at the sales manager and said, "You suck." I think I did shock him a bit, but still his zeal to turn me down shown through. He would not be defeated and I felt like an idiot. In essence, I sucked.

So I went down the street to Circuit City and bought a new monitor. And we went home to have a birthday. But even at the birthday party, I could not stop talking about the incident at Best Buy. I knew I should just shut up, but I kept on talking. By trying to make sure that we had a monitor to use with the camera for the party, I missed a lot of the fun I could have had just enjoying my daughter's birthday party. I missed an experience that will never happen again. (Sorry Emma)

As I tried this week to get some Christmas shopping done, I was continually reminded of the Best Buy fiasco. All of this effort to try and make things as good as possible for our kids, our spouses, family members, co-workers and little if any thought put towards the actual purpose for celebrating Christmas. At Christmas we celebrate the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ. Not only was the manner in which he was conceived miraculous, but the circumstances surrounding his birth were incredible; the presence of angels, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, the birth of a child who would become the most important and influential individual of all time.

According to the commentary in my Bible, Christ himself let us know that we should not get lost in the details of service so that we are totally devoid of devotion to God.

Luke 10: 38-42 (NIV) As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into their home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me."

But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it-and I won't take it away from her."

Even while typing this blog, I acted like an idiot because my wife needed me to do something I preferred not to do at the moment. (Sorry Amy) I suppose I will never get too far away from being an idiot, but it helps to be reminded that a person should focus their thoughts and attention on what is truly important, whether it be celebrating the 1st Birthday for my sweet little girl, or celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

Lord, forgive me for my selfish ways and self-centered motives. Allow me to focus on the gift that you gave to me and give me the courage to share it with everyone I meet.