TMBTC: After 20+ support tickets, I lost my cool

Issue 10 • June 3rd, 2026

Behind the Counter, Literally

“Sorry, our card reader is being finicky today…I’ll have to take your card and type it in.”

‘Oh no worries, I can just tap it if that’s easier?’

“nervous laugh No, haha, the whole thing isn’t working. I’ll just have to type it in. It’s not you, it’s us.”

‘Oh, of course, that’s fine! Here you go.’

Have you experienced this recently at Colorado Baby? How about, say, the last 5x you’ve been in?

The amount of times I’ve had to call in the IT department to try and fix the overloaded bluetooth sitch with our register is unfathomable. And it’s especially unfathomable because…I AM THE IT DEPARTMENT. Hence the gif above. In case you’re missing what I’m putting down.

There is no IT department at Colorado Baby. It’s me.

I’m also the hiring department. The product buying department. The marketing department (thoughhhh my lovely team has started helping with the social media side of things, woohoooooo!). And thankfully, I’ve never had to be the firing department.

One department I really hate being, though, is the IT department.

I don’t like trying to solve the technology woes that come with printers, ipads, landlines, routers, wifi, receipt printers, barcode scanners, card readers, and probably more things I can’t think of right now because my brain is quickly leaking out of my head just recounting these pain points.

OUR BLASTED CREDIT CARD READER has been a massive thorn in my side since AT LEAST November, but really, it’s been having issues since late last summer.

Amuse me for a moment while you listen to me drone on about the intricacies of a part of my job I really despise.

Our “register” is on the iPad, like most small shops nowadays (running a register through a tablet). Our POS system (hey now…watch it, POS = Point of Sale) is Shopify. Within the POS system, you have a card reader, barcode scanner, and receipt printer that all connect via bluetooth.

Long story semi-not-long, we’ve had issues for over a year getting these three items to all hold a connection successfully at the same time.

It had been the printer disconnecting continuously. So I shelled out 400 bucks last summer for a new receipt printer, thinking that would resolve the issue.

Well, it solved it for the printer.

The printer would stay connected (mostly).

But the card reader got booted off the bluetooth waves.

Turns out the printer was a bluetooth hog.

Overall, I’ve been happy with Shopify for the last 10+ years. But this past year…boy, I’ve lost my cool a LOT of times. An embarrassing amount of times.

I would take it out on their chat support. And I’m pretty sure the chat support is primarily AI at this point.

I’ve had probably 20+ open tickets over the last 6 months trying to resolve this ongoing issue. And they literally would just walk me in circles, asking me the most insulting-to-my-IT-intelligence questions ever.

“Have you tried ‘forgetting the card reader’ from the bluetooth connection?”

“Have you tried pressing the pinhole reset button?”

In an effort to not mar my honorable status in your eyes, I’ll not share the thoughts running through my head EVERY SINGLE TIME they asked me this. Like I never thought to do that?! R U KIDDING ME.

So yeah…recently I BEGGED to talk to a real person.

Ok, I’m actually going to share the recent messages with you 🫣

Did you all catch that? Right after I asked if Luna was a real person, Luna mysteriously disappeared…and Sam showed up.

Sam, in all his shining armour.

Finally, after countless hours. Days. Weeks. Months. A solution was found.

By me.

Not chat support. Not Shopify.

My own in-house IT department found it. That’s me.

And just like that, within 2 days, Sam had escalated my case up the chain of command and Shopify sent us all brand new hardware that will function properly together. No more bluetooth!

We have a hardwired system now. And guess how many times it’s gone down since the IT Department (yours truly) hooked it up 4 days ago?

Zero.

(Ok, truth be told, today—the day I’m doing the final edit on this email—we did have one hiccup with the hardwired system. But your trusty IT Department figured it out. A simple unplug-and-replug did the trick.)

I don’t even have words. I could cry. My staff could cry. You all could cry.

If you are reading this newsletter and have shopped with us in the last 6 months, there’s a 76.82% chance you’ve heard us say, “Sorry, our card reader is being finicky today…I’ll have to take your card and type it in.”

Hopefully…no more, my friends. No more.

If you broke up with us over this, please give us another try. We can take your money easier now. It’s great!

Sidenote: We always love cash. Cash is king. Cash is the lifeblood of a small business.

We’ll even take your ol’ fashioned checks if you want. Just make sure they’re good 😉 We trust you. Checks are such a novelty now, aren’t they? When you really think about it, they’re basically just an IOU. That’s kind of cute. Kind of novel. I like it.

I also like pennies. We still take those too.

So, we are celebrating our card reader working. And the barcode scanner working. AND the receipt printer working.

ALL THREE OF THEM ARE WORKING.

We are celebrating by inviting you to come in and shop your heart out. No barriers. No apologizing that we can’t take your money. We promise we’ll take it. We’ll make it easy.

You can tap that chip ‘til your heart’s desire.

Tap, tap, tap.

Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching.

Now let me tell you about some things I’d be happy to help separate you from your money for:

Things My Kids Actually Use

​Air Toobz​

I know. I’ve yapped about these in two newsletters already. I won’t belabor the point, BUT…I wanted to let you know we just got a “big” (for us!) shipment in, and we’ve already sold over 2/3 of them. (We literally sold one online while I was writing this.)

So I guess I’m putting in another reorder. Again. Just two weeks after this shipment arrived.

Y’all are loving the Air Toobz, and for good reason—they’re awesome.

I’ve shared videos of my kids playing with them before, and well, I’ve got a NEW video for you. My big-brained (as his brothers call him) 6-year-old is always concocting new ways to play with this toy. He’s the same kid I shared in a previous newsletter who turned the Air Toobz into a leaf blower 😂

​Here’s his newest invention.​

If you have Air Toobz yourself, you’ll really appreciate how he manipulated it to do this. My grown-adult, lacking-imagination brain is just mind-blown by his creativity.

(Also, pay attention to how he solves it when it doesn’t work right. I tried to butt in and fix it, but he knew exactly what needed to be tweaked to make it work again. Just a friendly reminder—to myself, too—to step back and let kids solve their own problems.)

​Good Toys for Travel​

This is a useful subject this time of year.

Here are some of my favorite toys for anytime you need to keep the small people entertained: car rides, plane rides, waiting rooms, restaurants, etc.

And look, I could make this list go on and on. But I really wanted to limit it to things I’ve specifically used with my own kids. You can always trust that if it’s in Colorado Baby, my staff or I personally stand behind the product. But for this list, I’m specifically highlighting items I have used, would use, or that would be my top choice. All of these items below are available at this link.​

• ​Indestructibles Books
  ​Always a favorite. They’re lightweight and super easy to travel with, especially when flying, because they weigh practically nothing. They’re also inexpensive at just $5.99. You can wipe them clean, and it’s easy to grab a new title before a trip (there are TONS of them). Great for ages 0–3yrs.
• Fat Brain Toys – PipSquigz Loops & Whirly Squigz
  ​These have strong suction cups and are fantastic on airplanes. Also great in restaurants. I’ve personally used them when flying with babies and toddlers. I’d say they’re best for ages 3 months to 2 years.
• Fat Brain Toys – Oombee Cube
  ​I love this fun take on a shape sorter, and best of all, it’s ALL ONE PIECE. No chasing pieces under restaurant booths or digging through the backseat of the car. Great for travel, especially road trips. I’d say ages 12 months to 3 years.
• Magna-Tiles – microMAGS Travel Kit
  ​This is a great option for older kids. They can scratch that building-and-creating itch with a much smaller, travel-friendly set of Magna-Tiles. I’d say ages 3–10yrs, depending on the child. I’ve personally bought these for my older kids for travel.
• Fat Brain Toys – Suction Kupz
  ​I especially love these for airplane travel. Here’s my hack: I take 2 or 3 of them (they come in a pack of 6) and suction them to the airplane tray table. Then I drop one Cheerio, puff, Goldfish cracker, etc. into each Kup. My toddler with widdle hands can then work on digging out one treat at a time. It’s a great little time-passer during a flight. They also double as bath toys, pool toys, and beach toys while you’re traveling. Great for ages 3 months to 3 years.
• Petit Collage – Magnetic Play SetsWe have lots of options for these, and they are AWESOME for travel, especially for older kids. Think paper dolls, but magnetic. Everything stays contained inside its own magnetic case. Really…these are genius. I’d say ages 3–10yrs, depending on the child. We even have a sample open in the store if you’d like to see one in action. And yes, they’re great for both girls AND boys.
• Jaq Jaq Bird – Erasable Books
  ​I love these, and one of my kids owns one. They’re reusable drawing books that aren’t messy, which is basically every mom’s dream. You can wipe them clean with a wet paper towel, rag, or even a baby wipe in a pinch. Great for ages 3–10yrs. Honestly, some of my older kids (11+) would probably use them too. Anyone can draw in them.
• Bright Stripes – SplashTastic
  ​There are several things I love about these. They’re simple, reusable, inexpensive, not messy, and have very few pieces. We brought one on a VERY long road trip last year for our newly 3-year-old, and he played with it a lot. Officially, they’re recommended for ages 3+ because of the brush cap being a choking hazard. But if you’re actively supervising, I think they’d be wonderful for many toddlers starting around 18 months. I’d personally say 18 months to 5 years is the sweet spot, though my 6-year-old would still enjoy it. All you need is water.
• Bright Stripes – Paint Pages
  ​These are another favorite for travel. I’d say ages 3–10yrs. In fact, I’m thinking about sending one with my husband in a few days as he and my 9-year-old embark on a 16-hour road trip. They’re low-mess and only need a little water to paint.

Summer Stuff We Love

​Summer Essentials​

While we’re on the subject of summer, I’ve pulled together some of our Summer Essentials for you to peruse.

We have a really good selection of UV swimwear this year, and I’m so excited about all the options we were able to bring in. Last year, we sold through our swimwear pretty quickly (I ordered conservatively since I wasn’t sure how it would do), so this year I ordered about 3x as much.

There are traditional swimsuit styles, but also several long-sleeve and more-coverage styles. All of them provide 50 SPF sun protection for your little one’s skin.

I personally love this because it means less sunscreen I have to put on my kids.

You also HAVE to feel how incredibly soft the material is on these suits and rash guards. It is unbelievably buttery. If I could push it through your screen and into your hands right now, I would. But alas, the technology isn’t there yet. (I’ll talk to the IT Department about adding this feature 🙊)

So you’ll have to come into the store, and I’ll push it into your hands in person 🙂

While you’re at it, be sure to peep our sunscreen, sun hats, sunglasses, water toys, and water shoes. They’re ALL included in that link together.

I also included wet bags in the collection. They’re waterproof bags that are awesome for holding wet swimsuits, swim diapers, water toys, and all the other soggy little treasures that seem to accumulate during summer.

Worth the "Splurge"

​Veer Wagon​

The perfect way to get around for all your fun summer adventures!

This wagon…isn’t any wagon.

We’re all familiar with the old red Radio Flyer wagons. Did anyone else sit in one as a kid, hold the metal handle backwards (toward you in the wagon), and have your friend push you really fast from behind while you “steered” the wagon? 😂 Wild times.

Well, nowadays you see ALL SORTS of wagons out in the wild. Just pay attention at the next Farmer’s Market you attend.

All those wagons you see out there? They’re spin-offs of the wagon that started the whole modern wagon movement: Veer.

Yep. The Veer—the one we carry in the store—is what really kicked off the premium wagon category around 2016 or thereabouts. It continues to be one of the leading designs in the industry today.

Let me quickly share my favorite points, but really…come into the store and let us show it to you in person.

• Shock absorption. Smoothest ride ever. Hop in, and I’ll pull you around so you can see what I mean. (I’m not kidding. Check out this video of me pulling a grandma around in it.) 😆
• Folds flat. It can fit in the back of a Mini Cooper. Really. As a mom of 8 (hi, me) who drives a Honda Civic (I kid you not, we own four Hondas between my husband, me, and my two driving boys), I appreciate how compact this wagon is.
• Can be hosed out. Again, hi, mom of 8 grimy children. I LOVE that this wagon can literally be hosed out. So simple to clean.
• Low sidewalls. This is a feature most modern wagons are missing. It makes it incredibly easy for kids to climb in and out on their own, and you don’t have to heave them over the side every time they want in or out. I especially love this feature for pregnant moms (on kid #2, 3, 4…) and helpful grandmas.
• Make it what you want. The wagon isn’t sold with a million accessories attached. You buy the accessories YOU want and will actually use. It’s more economical that way, and a little more minimalist too.
• Built to last. These wagons are solid, heavy-duty, and designed to live through years of adventures. You truly get what you pay for with a Veer.

One of my local friends, and a new mom, recently bought one for her little 18-month-old girl. Look how cute she is in her new ride! I’m so excited to see them using it at downtown events, concerts, sporting events, outdoor adventures, hikes, and more.

A truly worthwhile investment.

The Veer comes in both a 2-seater and 4-seater option. There’s the All-Terrain version (the most common choice here in Grand Junction) and the City version. We can easily explain the differences in the store, and you can test drive the demo we have.

And I’m not kidding…I will absolutely ask you to climb in so I can pull you around, just like this fantastic grandma-to-be let me do (see the short video clip here—it’s worth it!). 😆

Wedding Gift

Say what? Summer is usually filled with weddings. In fact, we just got back this weekend from my cousin’s wedding. And Colorado Baby happens to carry my go-to wedding gift. (No, not a baby onesie 🙊)

Saranoni XL blankets.

My mom has been giving these as gifts for years, and she’s gotten rave reviews for it. So I jumped on the bandwagon with her, and for this wedding (and the previous one) we both pitched in to get the bride and groom EACH their own blanket.

If you want to give a nice, bougie blanket as a gift, this is definitely the one to give.

We currently have three colors in stock: Buttermilk, Fern and Mineral Blue.

Don’t shy away from the price. These are truly worth it.

They’re not like the blanket you buy at Sam’s Club on a whim because it felt unbelievably soft in the store and then, after washing it a few times, it becomes crusty with whatever random cosillas (Spanish for “little things”) that seem to accumulate on cheap blankets. They start off soft and quickly turn crunchy. *gag*

These aren’t like that. I’ve had mine for more than 10 years, and I still drag it around like I'm a small child. And they’re BIG. My blanket covers about two-thirds of our king-size bed.

I kid you not when I say my mom has probably purchased a dozen of these over the years to give as gifts. They’ve become her signature wedding present.

And honestly? She’s onto something. 😊

Before I Close This Out

And now, onto a few last announcements:

Announcement #1 - Hiring from the Newsletter

If you remember, a few newsletters ago I announced we were hiring. Our newsletter readership is SO AWESOME that I’ve been able to make the last 5 hires here at Colorado Baby directly from the newsletter.

That’s special.

There’s nothing quite like reaching out to your own rad customer base to find someone…and then actually finding them.

Please join me in welcoming our newest team member, and avid newsletter reader just like you, Allyson!

She’s currently in the training stage, so be sure to stop by and say hi. And be an extra difficult customer.

Just kidding. Be nice.

(Of course you’ll be nice. I don’t let the annoying, mean customers join the newsletter. I kick them out promptly.)

Announcement #2 - Writing a Book (Not Quite)

I’ve also been working on a separate spin-off writing project called Just Me. It’s wildly personal and raw, but it has become an incredible creative outlet for me. It’s also been a really interesting way to grow my writing and storytelling skills. Perhaps most unexpectedly, it’s become incredibly meaningful to many of the readers. The replies I receive after each entry are often thoughtful, vulnerable, and deeply personal. It’s been a reminder that sometimes the things we’re most hesitant to share are the very things that help someone else feel a little less alone.

For those of you who enjoy these newsletters and want an even more behind-the-scenes peek into my life, hop on over to my newly created Substack.

I haven’t posted anything there yet, but I will shortly.

I’m hoping to use Substack to “expand my writing career.” Har har har. I use that term very loosely. But for those of you who have asked me numerous times to write a book, this is at least a step in that direction.

I’ll share more as I figure out what I’m doing over there, but for those of you who like to be first in line and are natural early adopters, you can subscribe now. There will always be a free level of readership, and for those who want more, there will be paid options to help support the time and effort it takes to put the entries together.

Your support means a lot.

So thank you, ahead of time.

Announcement #3 - A Sale (you heard it first)

In the last newsletter, I announced a sidewalk sale. It went great!

Now I have some items I’m going to put into an Instagram Stories Sale. For those of you over on the ‘gram, this one’s for you.

That sale will take place on Friday 6/13 or Saturday 6/14. I’ll announce the official date on Instagram once I have it nailed down.

Until then, Instagram users or not, you can get a head start on a few sale items. Click the links below, and when you add an item to your cart, it’ll automatically discount.

• ​40% off​
• ​30% off​
• ​25% off​

Those are just some of the products we currently have on sale (online only, not in-store). Then when I do the Instagram Stories Sale in a week and a half, there will be a lot of additional items and different markdowns.

Yo-kay.

I think that rounds it out for this issue of The Mom Behind the Counter. Dun dun dunnnnn.

I hope you enjoyed it and maybe even learned a few new things along the way.

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Over and out,

Megan