And now, the exciting conclusion to my incredible misadventures getting some frames made at Aaron Brothers. Special thanks go out to all the people who left comments (mostly on Facebook) wishing me well and especially my friend Marjorie, who wondered what I might have done to deserve bad customer service karma.

The big day

In action movies there's often a montage scene where the hero is shown training for that inevitable big moment. I imagined a montage all last week where Mr. Clean-up was busy building my frames while "Eye of the Tiger" or some equally corny rock anthem was playing in the background. At first, it was very difficult for him and he almost quit. But, through determination and hard work, he got better and better at it until finally he was ready to take on the forces of poor customer service and deliver my order.

Ring!

My phone rang on Friday afternoon. It was Mr. Clean-up. I held my breath.

"Your frames are all ready for pick-up," said Mr. Clean-up. I could hardly believe it. Are you sure? "Yes - they're ready to go. We close at 9, so you can pick them up this evening if you'd like."

Plot twist?

My wife, Sally, and I headed down to Aaron Brothers later that night to pick up our frames. In the back of my mind, I was anticipating a plot twist. The kind where you think the super villain has been vanquished, but suddenly he comes back to life for one last-ditch attempt at chaos. When we walked in, we were greeted by the Ball Dropper, that fiendish customer service villain who shirks responsibility and never seems to get things dong. Aaaaarrgh!

Bracing ourselves for the inevitable conflict, we were surprised to find the Ball Dropper contrite and eager to please. He brought out our frames (they were all great) and apologized for the hassle. A few minutes later we were walking out of the store with our frames in hand. Somehow, this really was the happy ending we had hoped for.