There is no better way to test a company’s customer service than by having a short-notice trip across the country. So without further ado, the Golden Cookie Awards!

The Stale Flaxseed and Prune Cookie with Anchovy Frosting Award goes to…Wells Fargo! After sneaking in a little ‘fee’ that turned out to be a program we didn’t agree to (and only reimbursing us one month, and then trying to sell us the same program at a reduced rate), Wells Fargo was really on thin ice with us anyway. The final straw was, three days prior to Marmot’s grandfather passing away, the reduction of our credit card limit from $7,000 to $1,700 leaving us with $150 of available credit. So glad we had them to rely on in case of emergency, like the sudden death of a family member! According to Wells Fargo customer service, the Obama administration is responsible for the credit limit reduction, although the ‘official letter’ said no such thing. Too many strikes Wells Fargo! After opening my first account with Wells Fargo in 1990, we’ll be banking with the local credit union from now on.

The Oreos (But No Milk) Award goes to…Hampton Inn! We reserved a room for four nights, and got to enjoy the unbelievably comfortable Hampton beds, the amazing free breakfast every morning, and the friendly staff. However, we also got to enjoy a 6hr power outage, which then resulted in no internet for the rest of our stay, a desk clerk who told my husband she had no idea when or if the internet was going to be fixed, another desk clerk that almost canceled our reservation because someone else with the same name checked in the day after we did (Marmot’s Dad), and we had to get our key cards re-activated after being locked out of our room. Twice. So it was a good pretty good stay, but not stellar.

And finally, the Sugar Cookie with Frosting and Sprinkles Award goes to…Hertz Car Rental! We called at 5pm on Tuesday for a rental to pick-up at 7pm, and the price started at $268 for a one-week rental of a compact car. She asked about corporate affiliations and memberships and we found two of them, added in another coupon she gave us for $35 off, and a free upgrade- bringing the total for a full-size car to $189 for the week. And she said she’d be praying for us to have a safe trip and blessings to the family during this sad time! And it gets even better- the guy at the rental desk gave us another free upgrade, so we got a 2010 GMC Acadia (with 4500 miles) for a week. For $189. I am officially a loyal Hertz customer.

And thank you everyone for your kind words to Marmot and I. While it was for a very sad reason, we did have a great trip to the Deep South, visiting with extended family from far-off places (or in my case, meeting them for the first time!), and reliving lots of good memories of Papaw! I read your Twitter and blog comments to Marmot on the way down, and it made us both teary. Thank you!!