Day Twelve: Return
After years of retail there are a few things that drive me absolutely bonkers:
1. Rudeness, ignorance and projecting. I'm putting them all together because, from my experience if a customer has an issue with one they have all of them. Yesterday we were at Target (the best store in the world) waiting in line at the Returns desk. I needed to return a shirt that fit funky (in a bad way). I was cheery about the entire thing. I had my receipt and it wasn't anyone's fault the shirt looked ridiculous on me - I just had to return it. Well, before I could do so I had to wait for this woman to freak out. And she really freaked; in front of her toddler. She was cussing and yelling and demanding corporate numbers. The woman did not have a receipt and was returning something that looked really used, like "Hey, my kid used this all last winter and now it doesn't fit him so I'm returning it." used. The sales people gave her the number and did it without stooping to her level, yay them. I sort of wanted to tell the lady she was an idiot, but I didn't want to get my butt kicked on a nice Sunday afternoon so I held back. Besides, I avoid confrontation at all costs - I may fantasize about telling people to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine but that’s the extent of me being a bad ass.
2. Last minute gift shoppers who get mad at sales people for items being out of stock. Seriously? You're going to get mad that they're out of something you want to buy on Christmas Eve? That's just stupid.
3. Returns. The act of returning does not drive me bonkers; it's more Daniel's reaction to it. The man does not like returning stuff and in a way it's sort of endearing. Except, some things need to be returned. Like the ill-fitting shirt. Why waste $15 bucks on something I won't wear? Other things like damaged merchandise. I'm not blaming anyone, but if something is faulty I want to exchange it for one in good condition. I think that is to be expected and I have no qualms about it.
Right now, we're in a rug crisis. We cannot seem to find a rug for the kitchen that I am satisfied with. We got a 5x8 jute rug yesterday. It looked too big and so I told Daniel I wanted to exchange it. "But we've laid it out. We'll just find another spot for it." Not going to do it. We have no other spot for it and I don't see the point in keeping a $70 rug that I don't think looks good. Besides, it's a decorative item! People buy items like these, test it in their homes and return it if it looks bad. When I worked at Bombay (and then Pier One) a day did not go by that I didn’t process a return. That's the way it goes. It's not like we're using it for when my parents come to visit and then returning it so we have money to go grocery shopping. Geez.
So, I took the rug back today and got a little 2x3 rug and a matching runner. These rugs also look stupid so they're back in my car ready to be returned later today or tomorrow. This makes Daniel uncomfortable, but not me. I'll go through ten rugs to find the perfect one if I have to. I'll save my receipts and do it with a smile and they may think I'm nuts at Target for being so hard to please, but they won't care because I'm not a jerk. Returning things is a normal part of the shopping process and is a-OK as long as you're not an asshat.
Rant over.
Phew! I guess I’m a little touchy when I don’t feel well. Ahem.
1. Rudeness, ignorance and projecting. I'm putting them all together because, from my experience if a customer has an issue with one they have all of them. Yesterday we were at Target (the best store in the world) waiting in line at the Returns desk. I needed to return a shirt that fit funky (in a bad way). I was cheery about the entire thing. I had my receipt and it wasn't anyone's fault the shirt looked ridiculous on me - I just had to return it. Well, before I could do so I had to wait for this woman to freak out. And she really freaked; in front of her toddler. She was cussing and yelling and demanding corporate numbers. The woman did not have a receipt and was returning something that looked really used, like "Hey, my kid used this all last winter and now it doesn't fit him so I'm returning it." used. The sales people gave her the number and did it without stooping to her level, yay them. I sort of wanted to tell the lady she was an idiot, but I didn't want to get my butt kicked on a nice Sunday afternoon so I held back. Besides, I avoid confrontation at all costs - I may fantasize about telling people to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine but that’s the extent of me being a bad ass.
2. Last minute gift shoppers who get mad at sales people for items being out of stock. Seriously? You're going to get mad that they're out of something you want to buy on Christmas Eve? That's just stupid.
3. Returns. The act of returning does not drive me bonkers; it's more Daniel's reaction to it. The man does not like returning stuff and in a way it's sort of endearing. Except, some things need to be returned. Like the ill-fitting shirt. Why waste $15 bucks on something I won't wear? Other things like damaged merchandise. I'm not blaming anyone, but if something is faulty I want to exchange it for one in good condition. I think that is to be expected and I have no qualms about it.
Right now, we're in a rug crisis. We cannot seem to find a rug for the kitchen that I am satisfied with. We got a 5x8 jute rug yesterday. It looked too big and so I told Daniel I wanted to exchange it. "But we've laid it out. We'll just find another spot for it." Not going to do it. We have no other spot for it and I don't see the point in keeping a $70 rug that I don't think looks good. Besides, it's a decorative item! People buy items like these, test it in their homes and return it if it looks bad. When I worked at Bombay (and then Pier One) a day did not go by that I didn’t process a return. That's the way it goes. It's not like we're using it for when my parents come to visit and then returning it so we have money to go grocery shopping. Geez.
So, I took the rug back today and got a little 2x3 rug and a matching runner. These rugs also look stupid so they're back in my car ready to be returned later today or tomorrow. This makes Daniel uncomfortable, but not me. I'll go through ten rugs to find the perfect one if I have to. I'll save my receipts and do it with a smile and they may think I'm nuts at Target for being so hard to please, but they won't care because I'm not a jerk. Returning things is a normal part of the shopping process and is a-OK as long as you're not an asshat.
Rant over.
Phew! I guess I’m a little touchy when I don’t feel well. Ahem.
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