Tuesday, January 24, 2006

closed ALL weekend?!?!?!

Okay. I really hate to get taken advantage of!

I am not the type of person to be aggressive and demand for things to be done my way, but this is too much!

I mentioned the gift certificate that I received that was postmarked the 18th. I called and left a message at the spa telling them that I felt I'd been lied to and would like at least part of my money back. I told them how I'd been assured that it had been mailed that Friday (the 13th) but the postmark said the 18th.

She called back today and told me that I had not been lied to and that it was indeed mailed on the 13th. I expressed my confusion over why it was postmarked the 18th. This is what she said to me. (This is paraphrased as I can't remember word for word.)

spa lady: "Well, the post office was closed all weekend because of Martin Luther King day."

me: "Saturday?"

sl: "Yes, it was closed all weekend. My boss mailed it on that Friday, but it was after 3:00, so it probably would have been postmarked the 17th or 18th because of it being closed all weekend."

me: "Well, it was postmarked the 18th. What about the 17th? It wasn't closed on Tuesday."

sl: (apparently thinking that Tuesday is part of this holiday weekend) "It was closed all weekend because of Martin Luther King day. We are not going to give you your money back. You know, we didn't even charge you postage and we should have."

me: (pretty much in shock at this point!) "39 cents?!?!?!"

sl: "You can talk to my boss. I'll have her call you."

She calls back 5 minutes later and says that her boss won't be in today but gives me her name & home phone number. We hang up.

(I give my husband a hard time about New Mexico & its residents. He grew up there. Good natured teasing. I'm really going to have to give him a hard time about the education of its residents if they really think Martin Luther King day runs from Saturday-Tuesday!)

Okay, so I'm upset but want to make sure I'm not making a fool out of myself, so I hop online to check some things out. Going to the USPS website, I confirm that the post office was closed on Monday only, not Saturday, of that weekend. I confirm that the post office in this particular town is open on Saturdays (It is a small town, I thought it was a possibility.)

I decide to talk to a customer service representative of the USPS. The man literally laughed when I explained their case to him.

He said, (paraphrased again). "If they mailed it on the 13th, it would be postmarked on the 13th."

me: "Even if it was after 3:00?"

man: "yes."

man: (when I mentioned the all weekend closing comment) "There is no "all weekend" closing."

me: "So, there's no reason that if they mailed it on the 13th that it should have been postmarked the 18th?"

man: "If it was postmarked the 18th, it's because they mailed it the 18th."

We hung up.

You know, I'm willing to give a little. For example, if she mailed it late on the 13th after mail pick-up, but shouldn't it have been postmarked the 14th? The 15th was a Sunday, the 16th was a holiday, but the 14th wasn't.

I am really upset. I did call the boss at home and left her a message. Maybe I should just get over it, but I don't like being lied to. They could have just explained that they forgot about it and mailed it late, but why lie? Why do that especially when I have a postmark as my proof?

I just don't get it. I also hope they don't do something bad to my mother-in-law and her friend during their pedicure or manicure!!!! *yikes*

I'm trying to be nice. I'm trying to act as a Christian should. Does that mean that I should just get over it? Is it being un-Christian to want them to explain???

5 comments:

elizabeth said...

We had a situation recently with the people who plowed into our mailbox and refused to pay for it. They went so far as to say that if I called them again (I called twice in a three week period) that they would file phone harassment charges against me!

We struggled also with how to handle this the best way. I personally don't think you should drop it. Especially since they lied to you. No one should be able to operate a business that way.

Good luck, and I hope it hasn't ruined your day much like our mailbox situation did the week before Christmas ;(.

janjanmom said...

I would call and say "Lying to me is unacceptable, you did and I have proof through this postmark. I really just want my mom-in-law and her friend to have an awesome day at your salon. Their happiness is much more important than mine right now. However, I do not appreciate it that you have lied to me and I fully expect an apology because you made my gift to her late because you were late."

My husband is a mail carrier, holidays last only one day. One of the main reasons people are so frustrated all the time with mail service is because people lie to cover their own butt. "It must have gotten lost in the mail"..."I mailed it but our carrier must have left it"..."it was returned to me undelivered". Mistakes happen in the mail system, it is huge and they are people, but it is a VERY low percentage and they mail it to you with an apology when they screw up, which is more than I can say for this salon.

Kristen OQ said...

I have had things like that happen -- and it makes you wonder, "how on earth do these people stay in business?!?!"

As for the holiday, I had books due at the library the Monday of Martin Luther King day. Knowing that they would be closed, I planned to return them over the weekend prior to. I went Saturday evening, and they were already closed (2 hours early) due to the holiday (on MONDAY) and were also closed on Sunday for the holiday (on MONDAY!). Ugh...I was so mad about this and told them it was frustrating upon the return of my books. However, I still ended up having to pay my late fee when I took it back on Tuesday after!

Deana Nall said...

I believe in handling these things in a mature manner.

Post their phone number so we can prank call them.

mom23 said...

That's mess up. I agree with Deanna. We'll all prank call them!