Dealing With The Cards We're Dealt

I just read over an e-mail from my sister for the fifth time. It was one of her wonderfully worded missives that she likes to call a rant, and I like to call brilliance in typed form.

All three of we Branton women like to rant. It can be the slightest thing that can send us off like a bottle rocket on the Fourth of July. We all rant about different things, not the least of which are the general state of religion in the world, the link between male and female brain waves (if, indeed there is one) and how work sucks, depending on the day of the week, the time of the month and the overall mound of crap that we've had to sift through.

Today, I had to really go off on a rant at cashier station #13 at WalMart. It involved a coupon, a stubborn Customer Service Manager and my somewhat annoying adherence to my belief system, i.e. that principles count for much more than worldly wealth (although I would really like some of that worldly wealth right now).

Case in point: I had a manufacturer's coupon for $1.oo off a bag of dog food. It was, however, printed on paper that bore a Kroger grocery store logo. The coupon clearly stated that it was a coupon directly from the manufacturer, and that it would be honored anywhere, as long as the required product was purchased.

Well, according to the cashier, she would not accept it, as it had a logo from Kroger on it. I ask you, if you have a coupon that reads: Happy Valentine's Day, and you go to redeem that same coupon on St. Patrick's Day, would it change the coupon in any way? No. As long as it's from the manufacturer, it is not expired and you have made the required purchase, what difference does the paper it's printed on matter?

Long story short, I would not back down. I called the number on the receipt, which also got me the manager's name. I explained the situation, and he said I should come in and he would resolve it.

Resolve, he did. I got my wrinkled old dollar for my nice crisp manufacturer's coupon. Was it worth the half-hour of time I wasted on my explanations of why it should be redeemed and the hassle of trapsing back and forth from the parking lot to the customer service station inside the store? Yep. This wasn't about the money. It was about the principle of the thing.

So many people just back off. It's not worth it to bird-dog such a small matter to the ground. Oh, but with me, it is. As well it really should be with everyone. It's these small matters that need to be addressed and dealt with and conquered each and every time they occur. It's about knowing you're right and sticking to your guns.

I'd like to say that I managed to lock horns with the cashier, or that I was publicly vindicated by having won my windmill battle. It was a quiet defeat, with the store manager punching in a few keystrokes and handing me my dollar without so much as a smile or a courteous apology. It was almost as though I were personally sticking up said store manager with a Glock or forcing her to perform an illegal act that would result in her being incarcerated for several years.

It may have felt somewhat like a shallow victory, but by golly, it was a victory. Brenda Flynn=1, Sour and Matronly Customer Service Manager=0.