Dear Journal...

Lack of Justice

So no matter what, there always seems to be something going down at work. I spend most of my time at work these days so I guess it only makes sense for it to be the primary source of drama in my life. Today was especially amusing when a gentleman came into the store to exchange an extra large dog crate. He said he had only had it for a few days. While he was shopping for his new crate, a co-worker and I commented on how filthy the box looked. The wrinkled cardboard looked like any other box in the store, but it was dirty and the dust indicated it had been sitting around for awhile, maybe in a shed or garage. My co-worker decided to check the box to see the condition of the product inside. We didn’t even have to remove the item to see that it was in very poor condition. There were signs of rust, dirt, dust… The odor alone was enough to make you gag. One corner of the crate was broken, and many bars were bent (almost as if the confined dog had tried to break free). The product was in such bad condition that neither myself or my co-worker thought it was right to take the product back. The customer had clearly passed his ten day return policy. In fact, he must have had that crate for months (if not years)!

Basically this guy expected to bring his old ass crate back to the store and exchange it for a brand new one. You can’t just buy something, and after using it for several months, decide to bring it back and get a brand new one. That would be like me buying a huge plasma television, using it for a few months until a newer version is released, and then trying to return the old television in order to get the newer one. I’m pretty sure Best Buy would not let me get away with that! That would be like buying a brand new mattress and using it until it wore out, and then trying to get another brand new mattress several months later by exchanging the old one. My point is, that’s just NOT how things work!

I believe Midwest has a guarantee on their crates, but the store I work at has a ten day return policy on all of their products. The manager on duty took a look at the crate for himself. He explained to the guy that it was in such bad shape, that the store couldn’t take it back. The customer disagreed. He argued that he only had the crate for a few days, and that there was a manufacturers flaw in the crate. I stood by and listened as my co-worker and manager continued to explain why we couldn’t accept the exchange, but the gentleman wouldn’t listen. He continued to point out the broken corner of the crate and insist that it was sold to him that way… But if he had really bought it and noticed it was broken, he would have brought it back for another one sooner (not several months to a year later in shitty condition)!

Annoyed with the customer’s ignorance, I began to walk away from the scene and continue my work. It wasn’t any of my business anyway. I had just finished organizing a new end cap and was taking a five-minute break at the customer service desk when all of this began.

What bothers me the most, and is the reason why I feel the need to vent about this scenario, is that I see too many people getting away with things they shouldn’t be getting away with. Not just at work, but in general. Whether at the grocery store, or a fast food restaurant. People nowadays will do and say whatever they can to get what they want, even if it’s unjust and they don’t deserve it. Some people actually look for excuses to get free shit. Kind of like the guy who came into work trying to exchange that old, worn out crate. Unfortunately, that’s what happens when you use a product - it WEARS OUT. There are things you can do to prolong the lifespan of your possessions, but it’s not right to try to get brand new stuff for nothing. We don’t even know for sure if he bought that crate at our store. He could have gotten it anywhere! 

Unfortunately, things got a little out of control as we continued to refuse the crate. The guy argued that it wasn’t right for us to sell him used/broken products in the first place (which I honestly believe is a load of crap). The customer insisted on calling corporate on my co-worker as they disputed over the crate (the man wouldn’t take no for an answer). Of course, anytime a customer mentions corporate, they get exactly what they want from us (in hopes that they don’t call corporate at all, I assume). So, much to my dismay, the customer got his brand new crate for nothing. And still complained to corporate. Now I’m concerned whether or not my co-worker is going to be able to keep her job because of the customer’s complaint. With the way the economy is these days, and how difficult it is to find a job, it’s really a shame that some low life can just come into our workplace, try to hustle us out of a profit, and get one of our employees fired.