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Livid!!! (Part-self-sighting)
I am still so angry about this. I'm also angry that they got me so mad that I temporarily became a sucky customer
My friends moved house recently, and being as I'm usually a really nice person and not a SC-type-person, I made a house-warming gift bag full of goodies and started making a drawing for them, depicting good-luck images for the home (gargoyles, pentagrams, black cats, that kinda thing- btw, they are goths too
). Its taken me weeks to finish it, but finally, yesterday, I made the finishing touches.
Little over a month ago, I bought a clip-frame for it. I had intended on getting a card mount instead, but there was nothing in my local Hobbycraft that fit it well, except for these very cheap clip-frames. I bought one of those.
And so, yesterday, having finished this drawing I had poured hours of work into, I unpacked the frame and tried to put my drawing in...only to find the clips refused to clip into place and every time I tried, it damaged a bit of the back-board. And then...with horror...i realised a hole had been made in my drawing!!!!
THANK GOD that it was a pin-prick sized hole that I was able to disguise by drawing the distant silhouette of a bird in the sky over it, but my god, it was really damn lucky it happened in that spot! If it had made it in a place where I couldn't have hidden it I think I would have cried! The frame was obviously a crap product and I decided I'd take it back.
In fact at THAT point I had been livid. But as I got my crappy frame (in its terrible shitty packaging) back to the store, I had calmed down a lot, and while I had told my parents last night that I would proclaim this frame as a "piece of shit" to the staff, I had decided not to say anything like that at all as it would have been hostile and unfair to them. Its not their fault after all! We only sell the crap, we don't make it!
Thing is, I also work in retail and I know that even though I was a little over the 28 days, had this had happened at my shop, or something similar, a refund would have been negotiated. The fact of the matter was, the frame was not fit for purpose and had damaged a peice of artwork I had been working on for weeks (actually, due to having not a huge amount of time free to work on it, its technically gone on for months).
I tried looking for a replacement first (not of the same type) but nothing was quite the right size, so I went to the till. I told her what had happened and that I couldn't get the clips back into place, therefore I would like a refund please. She said ok. She started doing stuff and then a supervisor approached and wordlessly started putting in stuff into the computer. She then looked up and said "As this was over the 28 day period, I'm going to give you a credit note, ok?"
I said that I didn't think that was fair as the item was not fit for purpose. She first argued that outside of the 28 days she could only give a credit note. Hmm...really? Because I've always been told that you give longer time for an item that is faulty- and I work in retail too (eg, you buy a pair of shoes, you don't expect them to last 28 days and then just fall apart!). She then argued that the item is not faulty, and this is where she became belligerent.
I pointed out that the receipt does not state the policy, so she indicated a sign that even then I couldn't see, as it was hidden among clutter. I said I also work in retail and I didn't think this was fair. She asked where I worked, I told her, and she actually said "Well [Peahens] has the same policy!" How would you know? And by the way, no we don't! And then she got worse!
I tell you what, I can barely remember what she even said now, but I just remember her tone was confrontational and rude. My tone had been displeased but I had remained polite (as I already said, I had no desire to attack the staff over this, it wasn't as if they made the crappy frame!). But she spoke to me in a way that was actually quite lairy and made me furious to listen to. I really felt she was talking down to me as well. I said that this was not acceptable and asked to speak to a supervisor and she said she was a supervisor. I said "Then I want to speak to whoever is above you" and she said- NO. And continued being a bitch.
She then went to rub it in a bit further by demonstrating how to put the clips on. She actually suceeded in putting them on easily, but when I attempted to, I had no luck whatsoever. This is probably down to the fact I have weak hands, and suffer from tendonitis in my right hand and wrist. (My dad had to pull the plug out of the kitchen sink for me earlier due to the fact I have trouble with this, and I also have a medical note that gets me out of some duties at work that exacerbate my symptoms). She was insisting that the item is not faulty and perfectly fit for use and therefore I can't have a refund. The damage to my artwork was totally irrelevant to her.
Perhaps she saw my jaw twitching with anger, perhaps I was glaring at her, because her tone softened after that and she seemed to regain her own composure and spoke much more nicely from then on. But as far as I was concerned, the damage was done. I think its quite likely that it was plain to see that I was furious. But I still remained calm at this point. I mean, you can be rightly pissed off and still be polite, right? Even though I felt not only spoken to in a very poor manner and even humiliated by the way she was putting these clips back and I was totally unable to (I tried again right in front of her, and still couldn't), I knew full well that this woman was just not going to budge, and that if I tried to push harder I was going to end up acting unreasonably. I DON'T want to be THAT sucky customer. I sighed heavily and said "Fine, give me a credit note then".
But that was when she tried to "give [me] an alternative". AFTER talking to me like utter shit. She decided then to ignore the fact I had resigned to defeat and start suggesting I put another piece of paper in the frame behind my artwork to protect it, etc. Completely ignoring the fact I had already agreed to what she had stubbornly insisted upon in the first place, and the fact that I am physically unable to put those clips back on!
It was then that I lost my temper. I just wanted to leave. I was thoroughly annoyed. She had not listened to me and was not listening to me now. So thats when I snapped at her:
"I SAID FINE!"
I didn't shout, but I WAS rude, and I was very snappy and mean. I admit that. I had lost my temper. Her eyes went VERY wide and she looked like she was struggling to keep a look of anger from her expression too. I continued by saying "I don't want to use this product, I don't trust this product, if all you can give me is a credit note, then give me a credit note!" She icily filled out the note, asked for my details, I stiffly gave them, and as I was leaving, I awkwardly, politely, pointed out that the packaging on those frames was not very good, to which she said that the packaging had now changed. I left.
I was just...SO ANGRY!
It wasn't even the fact she wouldn't give me a refund- I'm sure some people will feel I was in the right, and some will feel I was in the wrong, I can actually see both sides but I wasn't angry at her for having a policy (apparently, I still haven't seen that sign at the counter
). If she had been damn nice about, I would have eventually relented with only just being frustrated about that- I'm not gonna lie, it was frustrating, as from my point of view, the product was unsuitable for its purpose. But because she had been so damn rude and acted like she was squaring up for a fucking fight from the get-go, it put my back up, made me furious, and I just lost it.
I deal with that sort of thing a lot. I can't give the customer quite what they want. So I don't sit there trying to make them more angry by being unhelpful and belligerent. In fact, I like to adopt what I like to think of as my "geisha" voice...I like to imagine this how one might speak to an elder or an important client. I speak softly, sweetly, and with deference, apologetically, and then make my suggestions of alternatives. Had it been that way, I would have just been like; "oh grumble grumble, ok then, lets do that." I would have grumbled at worst. I would have even said thank you and been quite nice about it. I would have been thinking "Well, what a shame, but at least they tried to help me out!" But that isn't what happened.
I'm just so mad, and ashamed of myself for snapping like that. I try to make a point of treating people in menial jobs like mine nicely, because thats how I want to be treated. I know I wouldn't have copped if she hadn't been such a bitch, but then again, I should have known better.
I don't actually know if this credit note will even get used. Between me being too angry to want to even take my custom there, and feeling to ashamed to show my face there after the way I acted, I don't see me going back any time in the near future
My friends moved house recently, and being as I'm usually a really nice person and not a SC-type-person, I made a house-warming gift bag full of goodies and started making a drawing for them, depicting good-luck images for the home (gargoyles, pentagrams, black cats, that kinda thing- btw, they are goths too
). Its taken me weeks to finish it, but finally, yesterday, I made the finishing touches.Little over a month ago, I bought a clip-frame for it. I had intended on getting a card mount instead, but there was nothing in my local Hobbycraft that fit it well, except for these very cheap clip-frames. I bought one of those.
And so, yesterday, having finished this drawing I had poured hours of work into, I unpacked the frame and tried to put my drawing in...only to find the clips refused to clip into place and every time I tried, it damaged a bit of the back-board. And then...with horror...i realised a hole had been made in my drawing!!!!
THANK GOD that it was a pin-prick sized hole that I was able to disguise by drawing the distant silhouette of a bird in the sky over it, but my god, it was really damn lucky it happened in that spot! If it had made it in a place where I couldn't have hidden it I think I would have cried! The frame was obviously a crap product and I decided I'd take it back. In fact at THAT point I had been livid. But as I got my crappy frame (in its terrible shitty packaging) back to the store, I had calmed down a lot, and while I had told my parents last night that I would proclaim this frame as a "piece of shit" to the staff, I had decided not to say anything like that at all as it would have been hostile and unfair to them. Its not their fault after all! We only sell the crap, we don't make it!
Thing is, I also work in retail and I know that even though I was a little over the 28 days, had this had happened at my shop, or something similar, a refund would have been negotiated. The fact of the matter was, the frame was not fit for purpose and had damaged a peice of artwork I had been working on for weeks (actually, due to having not a huge amount of time free to work on it, its technically gone on for months).
I tried looking for a replacement first (not of the same type) but nothing was quite the right size, so I went to the till. I told her what had happened and that I couldn't get the clips back into place, therefore I would like a refund please. She said ok. She started doing stuff and then a supervisor approached and wordlessly started putting in stuff into the computer. She then looked up and said "As this was over the 28 day period, I'm going to give you a credit note, ok?"
I said that I didn't think that was fair as the item was not fit for purpose. She first argued that outside of the 28 days she could only give a credit note. Hmm...really? Because I've always been told that you give longer time for an item that is faulty- and I work in retail too (eg, you buy a pair of shoes, you don't expect them to last 28 days and then just fall apart!). She then argued that the item is not faulty, and this is where she became belligerent.
I pointed out that the receipt does not state the policy, so she indicated a sign that even then I couldn't see, as it was hidden among clutter. I said I also work in retail and I didn't think this was fair. She asked where I worked, I told her, and she actually said "Well [Peahens] has the same policy!" How would you know? And by the way, no we don't! And then she got worse!
I tell you what, I can barely remember what she even said now, but I just remember her tone was confrontational and rude. My tone had been displeased but I had remained polite (as I already said, I had no desire to attack the staff over this, it wasn't as if they made the crappy frame!). But she spoke to me in a way that was actually quite lairy and made me furious to listen to. I really felt she was talking down to me as well. I said that this was not acceptable and asked to speak to a supervisor and she said she was a supervisor. I said "Then I want to speak to whoever is above you" and she said- NO. And continued being a bitch.
She then went to rub it in a bit further by demonstrating how to put the clips on. She actually suceeded in putting them on easily, but when I attempted to, I had no luck whatsoever. This is probably down to the fact I have weak hands, and suffer from tendonitis in my right hand and wrist. (My dad had to pull the plug out of the kitchen sink for me earlier due to the fact I have trouble with this, and I also have a medical note that gets me out of some duties at work that exacerbate my symptoms). She was insisting that the item is not faulty and perfectly fit for use and therefore I can't have a refund. The damage to my artwork was totally irrelevant to her.
Perhaps she saw my jaw twitching with anger, perhaps I was glaring at her, because her tone softened after that and she seemed to regain her own composure and spoke much more nicely from then on. But as far as I was concerned, the damage was done. I think its quite likely that it was plain to see that I was furious. But I still remained calm at this point. I mean, you can be rightly pissed off and still be polite, right? Even though I felt not only spoken to in a very poor manner and even humiliated by the way she was putting these clips back and I was totally unable to (I tried again right in front of her, and still couldn't), I knew full well that this woman was just not going to budge, and that if I tried to push harder I was going to end up acting unreasonably. I DON'T want to be THAT sucky customer. I sighed heavily and said "Fine, give me a credit note then".
But that was when she tried to "give [me] an alternative". AFTER talking to me like utter shit. She decided then to ignore the fact I had resigned to defeat and start suggesting I put another piece of paper in the frame behind my artwork to protect it, etc. Completely ignoring the fact I had already agreed to what she had stubbornly insisted upon in the first place, and the fact that I am physically unable to put those clips back on!
It was then that I lost my temper. I just wanted to leave. I was thoroughly annoyed. She had not listened to me and was not listening to me now. So thats when I snapped at her:
"I SAID FINE!"
I didn't shout, but I WAS rude, and I was very snappy and mean. I admit that. I had lost my temper. Her eyes went VERY wide and she looked like she was struggling to keep a look of anger from her expression too. I continued by saying "I don't want to use this product, I don't trust this product, if all you can give me is a credit note, then give me a credit note!" She icily filled out the note, asked for my details, I stiffly gave them, and as I was leaving, I awkwardly, politely, pointed out that the packaging on those frames was not very good, to which she said that the packaging had now changed. I left.
I was just...SO ANGRY!
It wasn't even the fact she wouldn't give me a refund- I'm sure some people will feel I was in the right, and some will feel I was in the wrong, I can actually see both sides but I wasn't angry at her for having a policy (apparently, I still haven't seen that sign at the counter). If she had been damn nice about, I would have eventually relented with only just being frustrated about that- I'm not gonna lie, it was frustrating, as from my point of view, the product was unsuitable for its purpose. But because she had been so damn rude and acted like she was squaring up for a fucking fight from the get-go, it put my back up, made me furious, and I just lost it.I deal with that sort of thing a lot. I can't give the customer quite what they want. So I don't sit there trying to make them more angry by being unhelpful and belligerent. In fact, I like to adopt what I like to think of as my "geisha" voice...I like to imagine this how one might speak to an elder or an important client. I speak softly, sweetly, and with deference, apologetically, and then make my suggestions of alternatives. Had it been that way, I would have just been like; "oh grumble grumble, ok then, lets do that." I would have grumbled at worst. I would have even said thank you and been quite nice about it. I would have been thinking "Well, what a shame, but at least they tried to help me out!" But that isn't what happened.
I'm just so mad, and ashamed of myself for snapping like that. I try to make a point of treating people in menial jobs like mine nicely, because thats how I want to be treated. I know I wouldn't have copped if she hadn't been such a bitch, but then again, I should have known better.
I don't actually know if this credit note will even get used. Between me being too angry to want to even take my custom there, and feeling to ashamed to show my face there after the way I acted, I don't see me going back any time in the near future
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