On November 2 the kids had a day off from school. Our exchange student Tim had never been to the Mall of America so we thought this would be a way to make a day of it. Because he is new to our country I was more aware of what we were seeing and experiencing as we walked through the mall. There is definite evidence that we are odd Americans. I spent most of the day thinking, did that really just happen?
After shopping for about an hour we decided it was time for lunch. The kids chose the food court so they would have a bigger selection. I was relieved because I thought it would be cheaper than a “sit down” restaurant. Wrong! I ordered one chicken quesadilla and a lemonade…$12.85! The sign read $7.99 but then I was charged $2.00 for chicken and 50 cents for peppers and onions. What would have been on the quesadilla without these additions I haven’t a clue. And to top it off I still had to buy lunch for four hungry kids. Yikes….did that really just happen?
Next we shopped for T-shirts for school. After finding one on a rack I stood in line for several minutes only to have the clerk rudely ignore me and walk away when he was done checking out the customer in front of me….Hello? I want to give you money. He then told me I must be checked out by the clerk who assisted me. Um, seriously…I just took the T-shirt off the rack and brought it to the register…no real help needed…please take my money so I can go. Only later did I realize he double charged me for the shirt. Rats! Did that really just happen?
The kids decided to show Tim the Flying Dutchman Ropes Course. Hands down this is the best deal at Mall of America. The kids can climb along “gang planks” as long as they want and then it ends with a huge 56-foot slide. I stayed firmly on the ground and people watched. There was a little girl about four who didn’t want to climb but she really, really wanted a bottle of water from the machine. Her dad refused to pay $2.50 for a bottle of water so he went to the food court and bought her a cherry slushy instead! Hmmm…..let’s give our preschooler a super-high-calorie beverage with tons of sodium, food color and 15 teaspoons of sugar—this is true, I Googled it—but not the water she is begging for. Seriously….did that really just happen?
To top off our day we went to Dick’s Last Resort for dessert. This was my first trip to Dick’s and it is entertaining. This is an interactive restaurant. If you don’t know what that means, let me fill you in—you pay to be humiliated and insulted, to have napkins and straws thrown at you. You must wear embarrassing hats with phrases on them the staff has written about you. Yes, my kids loved it and had a blast! My hat said I would “Flash for Wal-Mart Gift Cards.”
If you dare ask for water they throw a paper cup at you and tell you it’s in the bathroom…..yup….that really just happened!
All in all we had a lot of fun and it was a very good day, but I worry how these situations are perceived by an “outsider.” We overspend on food. Polite customer service is not a priority. We’d rather fill our kids up with sugary drinks than give them healthy water and we pay to be insulted!
It really just happened and I have the stories to prove it.
The more I see,
the less I know for sure.
John Lennon
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
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