Or of course choose a middle path I suppose.. but that was definitely not an option for me today.
Went to pick up some of D's uniform stuff which is bulk-made for their school by Adidas.. should have expected a distributor type of outlet instead of a posh retail one.. but I guess that was just the first stumbling block..
Got the shoes, socks without much ado.. last on the list was a white t-shirt.. now clothes - especially the children's are something I am very particular about - if I'm paying for something new, it should look new.. I pride myself on being able to spot any marks or issues with what I'm buying.. This guy brought out a t-shirt from his godown - without any packing material on it - checked my daughter's size and gave it to us. I of course had to give it the once-over - it was a white t-shirt after all - and found some dust marks on it. When this happens in a standard shop, I ask for a different piece in the same style and take it if it's there or leave it behind. In this case I didn't have an option of not taking anything, so the guy was trying his best to palm off the piece on us, excusing the dust marks as having come from his hands which were dusty!! According to him, he had just 2 pieces in that size - one was taken that morning and this was his last remaining.
I totally lost my cool - told him if he was supplying the whole school how could he make an excuse of not having stock of pieces. When a couple of hundred children of the 1st standard would ask for that size, he would have just 2 of them handy - nice try, but no way it was true. Also they started issuing the stuff on 9th April, so not that we had gone at the end of the time (end of May) when this excuse might have actually made sense.
As if to prove his point, he took my hubby to the godown which was a bit counter to his case, as they apparently found a piece of that size. There was also a further sarcastic exchange when he cautioned me about taking the t-shirt out of the packing to check the size, as he wouldn't be responsible for it being dirty, and I responded that I had faith in the cleanliness of my hands unlike his!!
Phew.. at the end of it all the thing that most surprized me was hubby's rejoinder that we can't "afford" to behave like that and that there would have been a more polite way of getting things done.. also about how the guy was obviously uncomfortable being at the receiving end by a woman... Now I'm usually on the other end of the bargain - pacifying hubby against getting irritated - believe me - I am usually polite, but this situation just seemed to push all my buttons (maybe in trying to be more patient with my children I don't have much left over for anyone else) - because the guy at the outlet was totally taking us for granted and I ended up getting all the more irritated with hubby for not being "supportive" ! Also has to do with having been naive and non-confrontational and taken for granted in such transactions for much of my life, and having come out of that mould with great difficulty.
Did feel a little bad later though as I know people who deal with customers all day have a tough time of it, but why should I be at the receiving end of their frustration? I hope that I was just standing up for myself, and not being petty :(.
Wow that felt good to get off my chest.. !!
Went to pick up some of D's uniform stuff which is bulk-made for their school by Adidas.. should have expected a distributor type of outlet instead of a posh retail one.. but I guess that was just the first stumbling block..
Got the shoes, socks without much ado.. last on the list was a white t-shirt.. now clothes - especially the children's are something I am very particular about - if I'm paying for something new, it should look new.. I pride myself on being able to spot any marks or issues with what I'm buying.. This guy brought out a t-shirt from his godown - without any packing material on it - checked my daughter's size and gave it to us. I of course had to give it the once-over - it was a white t-shirt after all - and found some dust marks on it. When this happens in a standard shop, I ask for a different piece in the same style and take it if it's there or leave it behind. In this case I didn't have an option of not taking anything, so the guy was trying his best to palm off the piece on us, excusing the dust marks as having come from his hands which were dusty!! According to him, he had just 2 pieces in that size - one was taken that morning and this was his last remaining.
I totally lost my cool - told him if he was supplying the whole school how could he make an excuse of not having stock of pieces. When a couple of hundred children of the 1st standard would ask for that size, he would have just 2 of them handy - nice try, but no way it was true. Also they started issuing the stuff on 9th April, so not that we had gone at the end of the time (end of May) when this excuse might have actually made sense.
As if to prove his point, he took my hubby to the godown which was a bit counter to his case, as they apparently found a piece of that size. There was also a further sarcastic exchange when he cautioned me about taking the t-shirt out of the packing to check the size, as he wouldn't be responsible for it being dirty, and I responded that I had faith in the cleanliness of my hands unlike his!!
Phew.. at the end of it all the thing that most surprized me was hubby's rejoinder that we can't "afford" to behave like that and that there would have been a more polite way of getting things done.. also about how the guy was obviously uncomfortable being at the receiving end by a woman... Now I'm usually on the other end of the bargain - pacifying hubby against getting irritated - believe me - I am usually polite, but this situation just seemed to push all my buttons (maybe in trying to be more patient with my children I don't have much left over for anyone else) - because the guy at the outlet was totally taking us for granted and I ended up getting all the more irritated with hubby for not being "supportive" ! Also has to do with having been naive and non-confrontational and taken for granted in such transactions for much of my life, and having come out of that mould with great difficulty.
Did feel a little bad later though as I know people who deal with customers all day have a tough time of it, but why should I be at the receiving end of their frustration? I hope that I was just standing up for myself, and not being petty :(.
Wow that felt good to get off my chest.. !!
I think you did the right thing. You are paying full price so there really is no cause for accepting substandard stuff
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Rohini :). I felt a lot better after writing it all down too ! This blog has become quite the venting space for me, esp for stuff that I feel I can't rant about on the mommy blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for reading my terribly long and rambling rants ;) !!
hey Aparna, this is the first time I am reading this other blog of yours. Don't worry, it is the right thing to do. Totally agree with the taken-for-granted part. Customer service totally sucks with most of them getting away with an indifferent attitude. And it does not even depend of the cost of the product.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree Uma. Thanks for reading!
ReplyDeleteI was at Pondy Bazar in Chennai yesterday(on vacation here), and just the attitude of the owners/staff in places like Ramraj makes you want to go back there more often!