and made her proud all at the same time. You see, when she started grade 6, her backpack was still in pretty good shape. So, I convinced her to wait on purchasing a new one, knowing they would all be on sale just a few weeks after school started. Of course, I was right... but by then she had forgotten all about wanting a new backpack. In all my early Christmas planning due to our trip to Florida, my mother picked up the backpack and matching lunchbox she had yearned for in October and tucked them away, crossing one Xmas present off her list. We were so proud!
Then, when Christmas came along (beginning of December in our house), biggirl was thrilled to receive the perfectly high school worthy kit. Come January, we had to do a lot of convincing to get her to use it right away. She wanted to keep it looking brand new for high school... I finally got her to use it before her old one tore open. When I stated that arriving with brand smacking new gear on your first day of high school is uncool, I knew I could rest my case. Sometimes, parenting pushes you to provide extreme explanations I guess...
Just one month later, the inside pocket was completely torn, providing me with a new mission: to get this replaced, free of charge. Now, I am not normally one to return merchandise or cause trouble, but this was probably the most expensive backpack she had ever had and it really was supposed to carry her through at least her first year of high school too. Since, after just one month of use it was damaged, I went to the store, with the girls and the backpack (plus the lunchbox tucked inside), determined to get this business taken care of.
Having worked in retail myself, I know very well that it wasn't the poor manager's fault, but it all didn't go down very well. You see, she started by telling me that there was a 60-day guarantee. Do the math. It was purchased in October, received as a gift in December, and only used as of mid-January...way beyond the 60-day mark. But, I strongly expressed the fact that the bag had not been used for 60 days and that we should not be penalized for Xmas shopping early. I also voiced the fact that this was a pretty expensive kit and that I was very disappointed of the quality. The manager then inspected the bag as I looked on red-faced and exasperated. When she told me that the backpack had obviously been torn by books...I lost it! Of course there were books in it. I mean come on lady, it's a school bag. Then, as I explained that I needed the lunchbox exchanged too since we had paid for a matching kit to begin with because that is what we wanted, I really felt as if we were out of luck. She finally asked me for my phone number and promised to call after she had checked with her supervisor.
Throughout this scene, I could feel the girls' eyes on me, I could tell they were uncomfortable, and I even had time to think of what kind of example I was setting... talk about multi-tasking!
When we left the store, biggirl told me she was a little bit embarassed about how I insisted...but also very proud. As I said, when we pay a lot for things, we expect them to fulfill the purpose we spent money for. I also told them that if the bag were mine I probably would not have done anything, but when it comes to my girls, I will fight no matter what! I also insisted on the fact that I remained polite with the manager. There was no name-calling involved in all my attempts to prove my point.
I don't know how many times I replayed the scene in my head.
Can you guess the final outcome?
A few days later we walked out of the store with a new backpack.
And
A new lunchbox picked out by biggirl. She was happy. I was happy. The manager probably wasn't.
Hopefully the lesson learned is not : get angry and get what you want, but more along the lines of stand up for yourself and make a wrong right.
One thing is certain, the girls know their mom is not a pushover. And I am definitely proud of that!
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