The manager the night before gave me two receipts, a normal one, and a gift receipt. She said if your wife wants to return or exchange anything have her use the gift receipt it will be easier. Because, the manager noticed Amy wasn’t with me to pick out the clothes. She realized there could be a potential for returns and was making me aware on how to make the process easy for Amy.
Its now my turn 30 minutes later to try and exchange the velour suite with the gal and the naughty computer who doesn’t like normal consumer interactions. I didn’t even dare ask for a full return, but started with a simple exchange query. The same gal tells me the same thing she told Amy, “ The computer won’t allow me too.””
I said, “you are going to place reason and customer service in jeopardy all because of a computer?”
She answered, “Yes”.
‘Then I would like to talk to your manager”, I said.
She responded, “I am the manager.”
She then explained the return policy and retrying to prove to me why I couldn’t trade the suite for a different color.
I listened and said, “are you really serious!”
I then dropped the suite on the counter, and said, “I will exchange the suite myself.”
I walked over to the goods picked out the same suite just in red, placed it in my same motherhood maternity bag and walked out of the store. The gal was so furious her lip was twitching.
Amy was still in the Mall when this all went down. I left and went back to work. Amy finished her shopping and was headed to the van. A Logan police officer stops her and asks if she was Amy Cragun.
“Yes”, She responds.
He then goes on to tell her that I have committed a crime and that he needs to contact me immediately. She hesitates.
He then says, “If you don’t want to give me his contact information, then I will charge you with obstruction justice and place a warrant out for your husbands arrest.”
He also told her the conversation was being recorded and that she should cooperate.
Amy has three of the four kids, pregnant and is in need of much needed food. She is on the verge of tears and really upset. She gives the officer her cell phone in place of mine and also gives our old address. They part ways.
Amy calls me and tells me what happened. I didn’t believe her and thought she was playing a joke. She convinces me she is serious. I laugh and tell her not to worry about it. She reminds me how pressing the police officer was and that it’s serious.
Just then I get a call from the officer. He asked me if I was aware of the incident that happened down at the mall. I asked him to explain what he means by an incident. I begin to tell him our side, and he cuts me off and threatens me by saying I have committed a crime. I said really what crime? I then said please listen first before you assume. I told him the story. He then wanted to meet me and asked me where we wanted to meet.
I said, “how about my house.”
“I’m on my way”, he said.
He calls me back and says he isn’t going to come after me. He called the gal at the store and she said she wasn’t the manager (so she lied to me), but that she called the REAL manager who sold me the suite the night before and confirmed my story of allowing Amy to return the stuff. But, the officer did state he would still turn in some type of form to the city attorney with the details of the “comfy suite” and also one on Amy for providing misleading information. I shared with him that Amy is pregnant and that he put her in an unfamiliar situation and that restraint on his part was in order. He didn’t respond.
For the record, the velour suite was on sale when I bought it, and was as good a deal as Amy’s Kohl’s deal! Also, I did not break any law because I have a legal receipt for all goods removed from the store. And I didn’t break any motherhood return policy, unless there is a policy against customers taking things into their own hands and helping overcome belligerent computers and unreasonable sales clerk.
Happy shopping this holiday season!
