Categories: uncategorized
Date: 09 December 2008 09:33:40
Once again I turn to your cumulative wisdom (even though you haven't found me a job yet). Here is the situation. Please read, cogitate, and tell me what you think.
I have just written a letter of whingingness to the head office of a certain well known electrickery company to say that it's a bit frustrating when everything one purchases from them tends to die simultaneously within a year of purchase and asking them politely what they intend to do about it. I have voiced it very temperately as their callout service is free and efficient (the problems just keep recurring!) and their policy of instant replacement of my camera was quibble-free. Well, almost quibble free. And it is in this quibble about a quibble that I need your cumulative wisdom.
Seven months ago I purchased a camera. A very nice camera. I had convinced myself that a new camera was a luxury at that point, even though my other digital camera had gone on strike and was only willing to use its 10-shot internal memory rather than recognise an SD card, but when I saw a rather lovely little camera on special offer, I couldn't resist... especially when the salesman said he'd knock a further £10 off if it swung the sale because my brother was buying one at the same time. So I got a camera which I loved for £70 rather than the £140 that was its RRP. Wonderful. Until it stopped working.
Last night I took it back to the shop. No quibble at all - very sorry it had let me down (especially that it had let me down just in time for my holidays and I'd had to borrow my brother's camera - God bless him!) - yes, instant replacement with no questions asked. I could choose from any of the £70 cameras or I could pay the extra and have a more expensive one. I ended up getting the camera I would have bought in the first place if the other one hadn't been on special offer - at £80 meaning that I had to pay the shop the extra £10.
I was quite happy with my replacement until I said to the saleswoman "So, have you stopped stocking the camera I bought previously then, that I got to choose again?"
"Oh no," she replied, "it's just that that one isn't on special offer any more."
So I feel sort of diddled. I've got the camera that is worth what I paid, and which is the one I would have purchased anyway - i.e. the one within my price range. I will probably be quite satisfied with it - after all, I'm not a "photographer" (unlike some people I could mention) and do tend only to take snaps as reminders or to share with family or friends. I wouldn't even have thought any more about it if the saleswoman hadn't mentioned the special offer, in fact I'd have been feeling pretty pleased and excited about my new little friend. So am I simply being greedy in feeling that I've been diddled somewhat? Has the store acted fairly in giving me a replacement camera at the price I paid? Or should I be adding a new paragraph to my letter and requesting a replacement of equal value to the one that broke down rather than of equal price?
The floor is yours: