I do not own a flash drive! I realize this statement is hard for some of you to comprehend. I do not need one or want one. My knowledge of flash drives is non-existent.
Well…was non-existent until four weeks ago.
Big C had to have a flash drive for the computer class he is taking this semester in college. How hard could it be for two ignorant consumers to pick out and purchase a simple flash drive? It has turned in to the biggest, ugliest mess I have encountered since I bounced a check at Target in January. (I still have nightmares over that and I am too embarrassed to tell you all the details.)
The story you are about to read is true. The names have not been changed to protect the guilty. On Friday evening of August 29, 2008, Big C and I walked smiling and laughing into the electronics department of the local Wal-Mart. We sauntered up and down every aisle until we spotted the flash drives. Looking at the flash drives is like looking in the toothpaste aisle --- way too many choices! We settled on what seemed to be a good choice, an 8GB SanDisk Cruzer Micro with a Retractable USB 2.0 Connector. It was silver and in a clear plastic case, so we could actually see it. These were expensive and locked on the sales rack. We had to get a salesclerk to unlock one and take it to the register. I checked to make sure it was not a returned item secured with tape. How ironic. It looked fine; we purchased it for $60.19. We took it home and Big C laid it on his desk in his bedroom where it stayed until he opened it two weeks later.
Please fast-forward sixteen days later to the night of Sunday, September 14, 2008, 9:00 p.m. Big C takes the flash drive out of the packaging, turns the little contraption over and low and behold, it says written in big bold letters “Cruzer mini 1.0 GB” and has neither retractable USB connector nor a lid to cover the USB connector. Let it be documented that the side with the writing was face down and could not be seen in the package.
Looking back, I realize my mistake was to call Wal-Mart on a Sunday evening at 9:00 p.m. when I was tired and getting ready to begin a new week.
Here is the gist of the conversation with my end of the conversation being in italics:
Wal-Mart may I hep ya?
Yes, I would like to speak with someone in electronics.
Hold----Wait…Wait…Wait
Lectronics!
Yes, I purchased what I thought was a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 8GB Flash Drive with a retractable USB connector. When I opened it, the product in the package was a Cruzer Mini 1.0 GB without a retractable connector or protective cap. What do I need to do? Can I bring the item back to the store and exchange it?
Hold------Wait…Wait…Wait
I done spoke with the manager and he said you had to return it unopened within 15 days.
Fifteen days? It doesn’t say that on the receipt anywhere and it has only been sixteen, plus I would not have known it was the wrong item in the package if I had not opened it.
Hold….Wait…Wait…Wait.
Manager.
Hello. Yes, I purchased what I thought was a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 8GB Flash Drive with a retractable USB connector. When I opened it, the product in the package was a Cruzer Mini 1.0 GB without a retractable connector or protective cap. What do I need to do? Can I bring the item back to the store and exchange it?
How come you have waited so long to ask about this?
Well, I just opened the package.
It does not make sense that you are just now discovering it.
I could not tell it was the wrong item until I opened it tonight.
You have had the item for two weeks and you are just now opening it?
Well, yes. We did not need it right away, so we just laid it aside until today.
That just does not sound right that you are only now figuring out it is the wrong item.
I just opened it!
You have had it for two weeks and are just now opening it?
Yes!
That does not sound right.
I am sorry that it does not sound right to you, but we did not need to use it until tonight! Haven't you ever purchase something and laid it aside until you need it and open it later?
Sometimes. What color is it?
Silver.
We only carry black in our store.
Apparently not because I purchased this item from your store! I have the receipt in my hand and the items bar code on the receipt is the same as what is on the package! (My voice is very high pitch squeal at this point.)
So you are saying the wrong item is in the package.
Yes!
You will need to contact the manufacturer and discuss that with them.
Why should I have to contact the manufacturer when I purchased the item in your store? Are you not responsible for the items you stock in your store?
Yes, but we do not stock that item.
Maybe you have just misunderstood what I am trying to say. I came into your store on the night of August 29th and purchased what I thought to be a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 8GB Flash Drive with a retractable USB connector. When I opened it, the product in the package was a Cruzer Mini 1.0 GB without a retractable connector or protective cap. I could not see these words until I took the item out of the package!
I understand what you are saying, what I do not understand is how you are just now figuring out it was not the right thing.
I just opened it!
That sounds very suspicious to me.
You do realize you are implying that I am lying? What is your name?
Chris M. We do not carry that item.
Are you the manager in the electronics department?
I am assistant manager over the store.
What is your boss’s name?
Jerry S.
What are his hours?
Monday-Friday 7:00-6:00.
Thank you.
You know you always think of many things you could have said and I wish I had asked if this policy applies to any electronic I purchase at Wal-Mart. For example, if I were to purchase an Xbox 360 now to give as a gift at Christmas and when it is opened three months from now and found to be a plain Xbox I cannot return it? That is essentially what he was saying.
What you need to understand is that I would never, not in a million, gazillion years, ever purchase an item and switch the item and try to get my money back. It would never even cross my mind. I am the one who drags screaming, hungry children back into Wal-Mart after I have unloaded my mess of purchases and find I did not pay for a small tube of mascara and want to make amends. I am the one who places her cart in the cart rack instead on parking lot islands. I am the one who, when my child spilled a container of bubbles got down on my hands and knees to clean up their mess because I am responsible for my child’s actions. I am the one who smiles and speaks to the tired check out girl who has encountered one hundred angry, in a rush customers and tries to give her an encouraging word. I am a lot of things – good and bad – but I am not a liar or thief! So when the Assistant-Manager of Wal-Mart implied that I switched products, it made me more than a little mad. You do not tell an anxiety ridden, obsessive-compulsive woman that she is a liar and thief without her going completely over the edge of reason! I did not sleep at all that night and was determined the first person through the door to Wal-Mart at sunrise would be me! And brother was I ever going to give it to them good!
The rest of the story will be hard to understand unless you have experienced Grace.
During my restless night, after I had calmed down a little, I heard His familiar whisper and our conversation went something like this with His Words in italics:
Don’t go to Wal-Mart tomorrow.
Why not?
You are too mad and you will say something that is not a reflection of Me.
Father you know I am not in the wrong here. I am being cheated.
Don’t go to Wal-Mart tomorrow. Do all things in Love. You won’t be able to Love tomorrow.
You got that right!
I know. I’m God.
I am being treated unfairly. I have done nothing wrong.
I know. My Son was treated the same way.
So am I supposed let this pass?
Love your enemies and pray for those who do you wrong.
I don’t want to.
I know but you are going to have to trust Me on this one.
I trust You, I just don’t always understand Your ways.
My ways are above your ways.
You remind me of that often.
Because you keep forgetting.
Yes Father.
I am not telling you this story to tell you how great I am. I wanted to rip the man’s tongue out his head! I am telling you this to tell you how Great He is. Without the Holy Spirit’s control, I would have gone into Wal-Mart and attacked him like a chicken on a bug. Fox News headlines would have read “Crazed Middle Aged Hormonal Woman Attacks Wal-Mart Assistant Store Manager and Is Charged With Pre-meditated Bodily Harm” or worse “Local Blogging Mom Dragged By the Ankles From Wal-Mart Store Screaming.”
That was nearly two weeks ago and I now have peace about the incident. I have not gone back in Wal-Mart demanding justice be served. I cannot explain why. I am praying for that man and I truly believe we will have one of those chance encounters sometime where God leads me to share Love with him. Only Jesus could make that difference.
Well…was non-existent until four weeks ago.
Big C had to have a flash drive for the computer class he is taking this semester in college. How hard could it be for two ignorant consumers to pick out and purchase a simple flash drive? It has turned in to the biggest, ugliest mess I have encountered since I bounced a check at Target in January. (I still have nightmares over that and I am too embarrassed to tell you all the details.)
The story you are about to read is true. The names have not been changed to protect the guilty. On Friday evening of August 29, 2008, Big C and I walked smiling and laughing into the electronics department of the local Wal-Mart. We sauntered up and down every aisle until we spotted the flash drives. Looking at the flash drives is like looking in the toothpaste aisle --- way too many choices! We settled on what seemed to be a good choice, an 8GB SanDisk Cruzer Micro with a Retractable USB 2.0 Connector. It was silver and in a clear plastic case, so we could actually see it. These were expensive and locked on the sales rack. We had to get a salesclerk to unlock one and take it to the register. I checked to make sure it was not a returned item secured with tape. How ironic. It looked fine; we purchased it for $60.19. We took it home and Big C laid it on his desk in his bedroom where it stayed until he opened it two weeks later.
Please fast-forward sixteen days later to the night of Sunday, September 14, 2008, 9:00 p.m. Big C takes the flash drive out of the packaging, turns the little contraption over and low and behold, it says written in big bold letters “Cruzer mini 1.0 GB” and has neither retractable USB connector nor a lid to cover the USB connector. Let it be documented that the side with the writing was face down and could not be seen in the package.
Looking back, I realize my mistake was to call Wal-Mart on a Sunday evening at 9:00 p.m. when I was tired and getting ready to begin a new week.
Here is the gist of the conversation with my end of the conversation being in italics:
Wal-Mart may I hep ya?
Yes, I would like to speak with someone in electronics.
Hold----Wait…Wait…Wait
Lectronics!
Yes, I purchased what I thought was a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 8GB Flash Drive with a retractable USB connector. When I opened it, the product in the package was a Cruzer Mini 1.0 GB without a retractable connector or protective cap. What do I need to do? Can I bring the item back to the store and exchange it?
Hold------Wait…Wait…Wait
I done spoke with the manager and he said you had to return it unopened within 15 days.
Fifteen days? It doesn’t say that on the receipt anywhere and it has only been sixteen, plus I would not have known it was the wrong item in the package if I had not opened it.
Hold….Wait…Wait…Wait.
Manager.
Hello. Yes, I purchased what I thought was a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 8GB Flash Drive with a retractable USB connector. When I opened it, the product in the package was a Cruzer Mini 1.0 GB without a retractable connector or protective cap. What do I need to do? Can I bring the item back to the store and exchange it?
How come you have waited so long to ask about this?
Well, I just opened the package.
It does not make sense that you are just now discovering it.
I could not tell it was the wrong item until I opened it tonight.
You have had the item for two weeks and you are just now opening it?
Well, yes. We did not need it right away, so we just laid it aside until today.
That just does not sound right that you are only now figuring out it is the wrong item.
I just opened it!
You have had it for two weeks and are just now opening it?
Yes!
That does not sound right.
I am sorry that it does not sound right to you, but we did not need to use it until tonight! Haven't you ever purchase something and laid it aside until you need it and open it later?
Sometimes. What color is it?
Silver.
We only carry black in our store.
Apparently not because I purchased this item from your store! I have the receipt in my hand and the items bar code on the receipt is the same as what is on the package! (My voice is very high pitch squeal at this point.)
So you are saying the wrong item is in the package.
Yes!
You will need to contact the manufacturer and discuss that with them.
Why should I have to contact the manufacturer when I purchased the item in your store? Are you not responsible for the items you stock in your store?
Yes, but we do not stock that item.
Maybe you have just misunderstood what I am trying to say. I came into your store on the night of August 29th and purchased what I thought to be a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 8GB Flash Drive with a retractable USB connector. When I opened it, the product in the package was a Cruzer Mini 1.0 GB without a retractable connector or protective cap. I could not see these words until I took the item out of the package!
I understand what you are saying, what I do not understand is how you are just now figuring out it was not the right thing.
I just opened it!
That sounds very suspicious to me.
You do realize you are implying that I am lying? What is your name?
Chris M. We do not carry that item.
Are you the manager in the electronics department?
I am assistant manager over the store.
What is your boss’s name?
Jerry S.
What are his hours?
Monday-Friday 7:00-6:00.
Thank you.
You know you always think of many things you could have said and I wish I had asked if this policy applies to any electronic I purchase at Wal-Mart. For example, if I were to purchase an Xbox 360 now to give as a gift at Christmas and when it is opened three months from now and found to be a plain Xbox I cannot return it? That is essentially what he was saying.
What you need to understand is that I would never, not in a million, gazillion years, ever purchase an item and switch the item and try to get my money back. It would never even cross my mind. I am the one who drags screaming, hungry children back into Wal-Mart after I have unloaded my mess of purchases and find I did not pay for a small tube of mascara and want to make amends. I am the one who places her cart in the cart rack instead on parking lot islands. I am the one who, when my child spilled a container of bubbles got down on my hands and knees to clean up their mess because I am responsible for my child’s actions. I am the one who smiles and speaks to the tired check out girl who has encountered one hundred angry, in a rush customers and tries to give her an encouraging word. I am a lot of things – good and bad – but I am not a liar or thief! So when the Assistant-Manager of Wal-Mart implied that I switched products, it made me more than a little mad. You do not tell an anxiety ridden, obsessive-compulsive woman that she is a liar and thief without her going completely over the edge of reason! I did not sleep at all that night and was determined the first person through the door to Wal-Mart at sunrise would be me! And brother was I ever going to give it to them good!
The rest of the story will be hard to understand unless you have experienced Grace.
During my restless night, after I had calmed down a little, I heard His familiar whisper and our conversation went something like this with His Words in italics:
Don’t go to Wal-Mart tomorrow.
Why not?
You are too mad and you will say something that is not a reflection of Me.
Father you know I am not in the wrong here. I am being cheated.
Don’t go to Wal-Mart tomorrow. Do all things in Love. You won’t be able to Love tomorrow.
You got that right!
I know. I’m God.
I am being treated unfairly. I have done nothing wrong.
I know. My Son was treated the same way.
So am I supposed let this pass?
Love your enemies and pray for those who do you wrong.
I don’t want to.
I know but you are going to have to trust Me on this one.
I trust You, I just don’t always understand Your ways.
My ways are above your ways.
You remind me of that often.
Because you keep forgetting.
Yes Father.
I am not telling you this story to tell you how great I am. I wanted to rip the man’s tongue out his head! I am telling you this to tell you how Great He is. Without the Holy Spirit’s control, I would have gone into Wal-Mart and attacked him like a chicken on a bug. Fox News headlines would have read “Crazed Middle Aged Hormonal Woman Attacks Wal-Mart Assistant Store Manager and Is Charged With Pre-meditated Bodily Harm” or worse “Local Blogging Mom Dragged By the Ankles From Wal-Mart Store Screaming.”
That was nearly two weeks ago and I now have peace about the incident. I have not gone back in Wal-Mart demanding justice be served. I cannot explain why. I am praying for that man and I truly believe we will have one of those chance encounters sometime where God leads me to share Love with him. Only Jesus could make that difference.
Thanks for reading this looooooog post, Rosie.
No comments:
Post a Comment