I won't give up

I like to give my students a book for Christmas.  I overanalyze the decision heavily because I want it to be a book they would like and that is their correct reading level but doesn't seem like a baby book.  It's tricky.

Because I'm a pre-crastinator and because I heard rumblings among the teachers about Scholastic orders taking forever (supply chain...the pandemic is the gift that keeps on giving), I ordered in mid October.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Scholastic that my order was on the way.  It was a happy day!  I had considered the possibility that they would be Valentine gifts rather than Christmas gifts if they weren't delivered in time, but it looked like I would have them!

Camie brought in the white Scholastic book box.  Hurray!  I stowed it under my desk and schlepped it home after school.  I feel like I always have ridiculous armfuls of stuff to and from school but at least I don't have too far to walk.

I tore open the box and pulled out...books I hadn't ordered.  Confusion reigned.  My name was clearly on the outside of the box.  I pulled out the invoice and it was not my order, but the order of a woman named Theresa who lives in Pennsylvania.

I called the customer service number and made my way through the automated system.  Finally, I was in line to talk to a live person and the voice warned me that the wait time was 45 minutes.  45 minutes?!?  How is that even a thing?

I put the phone on speaker and ranted to Adam about how I wasn't going to have Christmas presents for my students.  He suggested I email and also found an email address for me to use.  I hung up the phone because the hold music was awful. (Which apparently is a prerequisite, but I don't understand why.  There is actual good music in the world.)

I emailed and felt no hope that anyone would email me back.  (And they haven't.)

The next day, the other secretary, Rachel, came in with another Scholastic book box.  I opened it immediately and it had my books!  I told Rachel the tale and told her that I was still trying to get in touch with someone at Scholastic.  She said, "If you get ahold of them, will you tell them to CALL ME?"  She has also been trying.

So my story has a happy ending, but Theresa's doesn't.  I'm still trying to get ahold of Scholastic to iron out the mix up. 

I won't give up!