A total waste of time?

Monday, November 19, 2007

How much time would you spend to get back $12.41? Current mood: apathetic Category: Fashion, Style, Shopping A person will apparently spend 7 phone calls, 2 hours and 13 minutes. So, while out and about on a Saturday morning I decided to stop by the local Pet Emporium for some puppy treats. I make my way to the toy department find the one perfect toy in the section that does not make noise. I then head past a cloud of patchouli towards the Chewy section in search of Bully Sticks. Bully sticks come in a Variety of shapes and sizes. My Pup loves them and so do I because they keep her occupied for hours and they last days. I was then approached by the patchouli cloud disguised as a worker stocking shelves. The Militant Vegan proceeded to tell me that Bully Sticks were in fact Bull Penis. And all this time I thought they were Beef leg tendon. This is where I must pause. I was once told that when faced with a choice you should always do whatever makes for a better story. Nine out of Ten time this will have humorous results, the other time……………a hot mess. Anyway, my response to said Hippy Chick was " Well, Daddy's little girl loves the Cock". I waited for a response, then smacked her on the shoulder and said "Know what I mean?" winked and turned and walked to the register. As the scent of Hippy faded I began to snicker. Waiting in line I daydreamed of what smart remark I might have for the checkout clerk, nothing. My items are scanned I swipe my card, enter my super secret PIN and wait. Moments pass and the clerk says Oh Yeah, the debit is broken. This handy info would have been more useful a minute ago. He reaches for my card to run it as a Credit. I get my receipt and toss it in the bag and am off on my merry way. I do not balance my checkbook, in fact I have no idea where it is. Sunday morning I was online checking my account balances when what do I see? Not one but two debits of $12.41 with an address. My Super Sleuth instincts kick in and I head to the World Wide Web. After typing in the address it comes up with Pet Smart's Name and Number. I pick up the phone and call. After multiple choices I give up and repeatedly pound "0". I finally get a slow voice on the phone. I explain my dilemma and in response get a "Uhhh let me get someone" And I thought I had someone. Insert bad Muzak here. Another voice picks up, I again explain my dilemma. I am apologized to and told I will need to call back Monday to speak with the Manager. Monday, I am not a fan I will admit. I prefer to call Monday Tuesday part one. I called Pet Smarts on that day of Days, and I reached Manager Terry. After explaining my dilemma, Manager Terry informed me that all financial transaction had to go through Corporate in Phoenix. She then told me to hold so she could get me the Number. After another batch of bad Muzak Manager Terry returned with the magic phone number that would solve all of my problems. I called, and got a recording. "If you're a pet parent press "1" if you're a associate press "2" I felt important, I pressed "2". A loud beep was heard. I called again. And this time I was more humble, I pressed "1". Another beep. I don't do messages. The light went off. I can just call my bank and stop the transaction. It's my money not theirs. I call my bank, was transferred to India and spoke to a wonderfully thick accent. After I gave him my perfected pitch he told me that the transaction was still pending. PERFECT I responded then it is not to late, stop those thieves! Sir, we can only challenge the charge after it has been processed. I hung up. I might call back after they have actually stolen my money. When I grew up I knew the owner of every store I shopped at. If you actually had a problem you could talk to someone and get it resolved. I feel old. I spent another 23 minutes on the Phone with India to get the charge reversed by my bank, and I don't know why.