I had an interesting experience in communication a couple of weeks back, and I thought I'd go ahead and share to interested readers, should they ever find themselves in similar circumstances. As this post is relevant to both cooking and shopping, Samantha Chambers might be interested in it. If you want to see her blog, it is here:
http://samanthachambersales204.blogspot.com/
It all started with birthday money and some dull knives.
Most people, the reader included probably don't know much about knife sharpening, so I'll provide a brief introduction ot the topic here. A knife is really nothing more than a fine wedge. The shallower the angel of the wedge, the sharper the blade. A shallower angle also means a knife that dulls faster, and so picking an angle for a knife edge is always a trade-off between durability and sharpness.
When a knife dulls, what is really happening is that the wedge that makes a blade sharp is folding over, so that when you apply pressure, it is no longer applied directly to the knife edge. This edge can be unfolded many times by the use of a steel, seen here:
And a video on its use here:
http://video.about.com/housewares/How-to-Use-a-Knife-Steel.htm
Eventually, however, this edge will break off where it folds. At this point, a new edge must be ground onto the blade. What one will find is that there are very few professionals doing this, and even fewer that do it by hand. This is important, as if a machine is used, the knife edge can be overheated, and the steel will loose its temper. Temper is what determines the tensile strength of steel. Too high, and you have a spring. Too low, and you have something as brittle as glass. Neither extreme makes a good cutting edge. A good site for knife sharpening can be found here:
http://www.wikihow.com/Sharpen-a-Knife
Which brings us to my dull knives that are beyond unfolding to make the edge keen once more, and some birthday money.
I stopped by a knife store (or rather a store that sells knives among other things) and inquired about sharpening kits that would provide a course stone to allow me to put an entirely new edge on my blade, and that also had a fool-proof guide for keeping an accurate and consistent angle in the process. The clerk assured me that the product they carried met such specifications, and, upon my inquiry, informed me that goods that did not perform as advertised could be returned for store credit or exchange, which I thought was reasonable. I made the $100.00 purchase.
Before using the item, I decided to use social media to get some product reviews, only to discover that the kit I bought neither possessed a fool-proof angle guide nor a coarse stone option (the company's coarse stone was in fact only a medium grit). Somewhat miffed, I decided I'd return the product unused for a refund, as it was in fact not as I had been told by the sales clerk and therefore not suitable to my purposes. I looked at the receipt to check the return window, only to find the return policy printed in full, but at odds with what I had been told. On it, the exchange/store credit policy extended to unused goods as well, which I had not been informed of, and which I did not think was reasonable at all, particularly as I had not been informed of this caveat prior to making the purchase of a product that had been deliberately misrepresented to me.
Expecting the citation of the store policy, I went through the likely scenario in my mind, and prepared counter-arguments for each contingency I could foresee. My entire premise was that is was not fair to hold one to a contract unknowingly entered via the sale of a deliberately misrepresented durable good of significant cost, especially when the details of said contract were not made clear prior to the sale. I even went so far as to look into grounds for civil lawsuit regarding product misrepresentation, in case I needed a strong and believable bluff to force the stores hand into breaking policy and offering a refund, should they prove particularly obstinate (some irony here, I know).
The next day, I went to the store, took deep breath, and approached the counter. As predicted, before I had even finished explaining what I wanted and why, the clerk told me that they can only do store credit or exchange. I did a fair impression of the indignant surprise I experienced when I had read the receipt the night before, and said, in the most genuine and politely miffed tone I could muster, that "I was not informed of that prior to the sale". I then had a stroke of manipulating genius and told her I would look around the store and see if there was anything else of value that would render store credit acceptable. Of course there wasn't, but I made the gesture anyway to appear exceptionally reasonable.
When I again approached the counter and informed the clerk of my finding, she again cited the return policy and pointed it out on the receipt you get after the sale (I think even she realized the idiocy of that as fair warning) and pointed to a sign on the wall. After a few seconds of neck-craning to see around a large piece of tinsel on the register, I was able to notice the sign angled away from the register. I imagine my expression indicated what i thought of its placement. I was then pawned off on another clerk who seemed to know something about the product, and his description confirmed what I had already learned, although it took some effort to make him admit this fact. After mentioning product misrepresentation a few more times, and stressing the fraudulent nature of the initial sale and lack of information regarding the return policy, I was presented with the argument that the till wouldn't permit either of them to issue a refund. I was about to request that they get someone that could, although I gather that the clerk realized as much, as she finally capitulated to my demand, and I was issued my refund. I was rather pleased, as I could then take my $100 and use it to buy a knife sharpening set that was better suited to my needs for half the price. I didn't even have to use my prepared bluff.
So, the next time you get swindled on a sale and want a policy-violating refund, just remember that a well laid, logical argument and steadfast persistence to the point of being border-line obnoxious can allow you to prevail.
And that, readers, is the sort of thing that social media cannot do.
