Yesterday on a bit of an impulse, I bought a microwave and toaster; I got tired of cleaning my neighbors’ appliances. It was very nice that they were so comfortable with sharing their appliances, but I’d often had the nagging feeling that borrowing from them came with a price. Then again, it could just be my imagination.

Anyway, I brought a microwave and toaster after getting off the train on my way home from work. The microwave was on sale $48.76 (with tax). I passed on buying the store’s extended warranty: the microwave came with a one year warranty. I thought a small microwave would not weight much, and I would not have any trouble carrying it the 15 minute walk to my shoebox. When will I learn that few things in life are as easy as they seem.

In my shoebox, I unpacked the microwave and plugged it in. And…it didn’t work. No matter what button I pushed, no matter what I tried. More than that, the receipt had written on it, “Appliances are Not Returnable or Sold On A Trial Basis”. I don’t think I’ve ever bought something under warranty that did not work right out of the box. I thought I got shafted, but I was able to return the microwave with only a typical problem you would find in the ghetto…waiting. Before bringing the (heavy) microwave to the store, I made sure I would be able to return the microwave. I brought my receipt and I went to a manager-looking clerk. Once he saw that the microwave was purchased yesterday, he said that it would be no problem to exchange the microwave. I brought the microwave to the store, and I waited, and I waited, and I waited.

The old couple in front of me couldn’t decide on whether to buy a camcorder or not.
Other clerks would pull my clerk away for one reason or another.
The salesclerk had allergy attacks, and needed to stop about every 10 minutes for a sneezing frenzy.
The clerk had to find out what was the procedure for returns.
Customers having questions that needed answering.

Once the clerk had taken the microwave and the receipt, he became my clerk; I couldn’t just go to another clerk. Besides, the other clerk (behind the counter) seemed just as busy.

Once the clerk finally gave my return his full attention, he was told that he had to test the microwave to make sure it didn’t work. To make the exchange, the clerk had to enter data into the computer, but a previous clerk didn’t log out, so my clerk (and I) had to wait for that clerk. In total I was kept waiting for more than an hour (1 hour and 26 minutes to be exact).

Post Date Sunday, May 04, 2006 6:52pm