Bev was looking for a new dress to wear to the Chamber of Commerce dinner and installation.  We went to Turlock because Bev likes shopping there, and we ended up in a Kohl’s.  I found a chair in the customer service area and took up residence.  Why stand when you sit?  I had a book to read.

That’s when I became aware of tense voices at the service counter.

A lady was trying to return some dishes she had purchased the day before.  I had a hard time trying to figure out why she was returning them.  I do know that she and the Kohl’s person waiting on her were not communicating at all.

After a while I found out that the lady was asserting that she paid too much for the dishes, and she wanted Kohl’s to give her back the over charge.  “I’m not trying to be a difficult customer,” she said.  “I’m trying to make you aware of this error, and it will probably save you from making further errors with other customers.”  The Kohl’s lady didn’t seem impressed or convinced.

The Kohl’s lady looked irritated.  Her face was drawn, and she wasn’t smiling at all.  The customer never raised her voice or acted accusative.  But she was the most persistent person I’ve ever seen.  She kept stating and restating her case.  The Kohl’s supervisor gave the young woman behind the counter some instructions and then left.  She looked like she’d had enough.

I think the supervisor acquiesced.  I couldn’t hear what she told the counter lady but I imagine it was something like, “Give her what she wants.”  The counter lady said, “We’re going to cancel yesterday’s sale and credit your account for that amount of money.  Then we’re going to charge you again for the dishes, but this time at the reduced rate.”

You’d have thought it was a huge amount of money being talked about, but it was only $5.  I wouldn’t have wasted my time for that much money.  If I had been Kohl’s I would have given her the refund with no questions asked.  A lowered blood pressure would have been well worth it, not to mention the improved customer relations.

I quit reading my book sometime in the middle of the argum….. er, conversation.  The soap opera was too interesting.  When Bev and I left, they were still negotiating.  I wanted to say, “You both need to take a chill pill.  Some things just aren’t worth this much angst.”