I have often wondered what the deal is with going into a store looking for some help, only to find that all the employees of said store have gone to lunch/gone on break/mysteriously disappeared/were never there in the first place. Recently I went to a major home improvement store to buy some light fixtures. After a long dialogue with myself and my daughter about which fixtures to buy and a lot of putting things in and taking them out of my cart, I finally made a decision. Then I realized that the last one I needed was on the VERY TOP SHELF.
I looked around and up and down the aisles and alas, there were no red vests in sight. I pushed the button that says, “Press for Assistance”. And I waited…and waited…and waited. I could hear the automated voice over the intercom repeating “sales associate needed in indoor lighting” over and over. Meanwhile, my children were chasing each other around and around, I had totally lost control of that situation. Another customer came down the aisle and I told him I had already pushed the button, and then he said “if someone comes to help, tell him I’m next!”
When it became all too apparent that no one was going to respond to the page, I took my cart to the checkout counter to ask the cashier to find someone to help me. Of course the only line open was at the customer service desk (oh, and the self-checkout, which is another story altogether). After telling her what I needed, the cashier picked up the phone and dialed, and when they answered, she said “Hey, whatcha doin’?” ????? and then “Oh, really?” ????? and then “Mmm hmmm” ??????? and then finally “Can you get something down for a customer?” and then “Oh, okay, well if I can’t find someone else, I’ll call you back”!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lucky for her, at that moment another woman came in the door and the girl asked her to help me and we went to get my item off the shelf. On the way I unloaded on her all my frustration about the situation without taking a breath. When we got to the car, my daughter said “Mommy, I wanted to tell you this in the store (we had just had a long conversation about what is appropriate to say in public), but you sounded a just a little bit crazy in there”. “Well,” I told her, “I was just a little bit crazy”.
In honor of this WHAT’S THE DEAL? Weekend, I give you my favorite roasted potato recipe, Oven Roasted Dill Potatoes. Something easy and delicious to make when you’ve had one of those days. You can use any dried herb that you like, I just really like the way dill tastes on these. Lately I have been finding bags of small mixed varieties of potatoes, like red, purple, and white fingerling. If you see these where you shop, pick up a bag and use them for this recipe.
Oven Roasted Dill Potatoes
from Shortbread
serves 6
Ingredients
- 1.5 to 2 lbs. small red potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
- Wash and dry potatoes. Cut into quarters. Place on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
- Drizzle oil on top of potatoes and sprinkle with dill, salt, and pepper to taste. Toss to coat thoroughly.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, tossing once, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.
Shortbread 