I can’t even count how many hours I’ve spent in the past year arguing about some BS charge, trying to get something repaired under warranty, or even trying to redeem an valid coupon that was sent to me. I’ve reached a point where I’m exhausted in trying to fight these kinds of things but I feel like I can’t just let any of it go. Sometimes I wish I could hire a Karen, it would be 100% worth it.
We received a faulty helium tank valve from Party City with a tank rental. When I tried to exchange it, they said we signed a form agreeing that they tested it in front of us when we picked it up. They got out the form and it was not signed because they didn’t. Manager went in the back and claimed they had video of me picking it up and the video shows that they tested it in front of me. That wasn’t true either because my wife picked it up. Now, I understand these valves are expensive ($100 or so I believe) which is why they make a big deal about it…but this was fucking ridiculous.
It’s hard to imagine Party City trains their employees to do this shit so maybe the pimple faced young man operating as the shift manager deserved to be chewed out but I remained polite with him. Retail is a putrid hellscape and I try not to blame what anyone does or is forced to do under its guise. I stood my ground and told him what the truth was until he relented and gave me one that works.
When it comes to food service and retail I always try to remember…even though the experience was horrible for you, it was just a short terrible amount of time you endured…they have to do it every day. To this day, when I see long lines and upset customers I have to fight off anxiety because I have a bit of retail PTSD myself.
Edited: rewrote the entire post.