So you all know the stories of returning items that you got duplicates of or trying to find the right store to return an item too. We are very grateful for all the gifts there are just a few that we didn't need at this time. So we received one gift that was oddly generous from someone we didn't expect it from. We were pretty excited about this gift but quickly realized that we did not have other items that would make it work to the fullest so...... knowing that the gifter would want us to have something we could use, we decided to return it and get something else.
So I went searching the world wide web to find out where it could have been bought and the best place to return it. I found several places, wrote them down, how to get there, jumped in the car, grabbed Janell and we were off.
Our first stop, Wal-Mart, we went in put it on the counter, the oddly slow women didn't even look at us and scanned the item. "We cannot accept this item," she said. She went on to explain that just because Wal-Mart online sold it didn't mean the store did, which they didn't. No big deal, it was getting late so we went home, and I decided to go out the next day to Best Buy and return the item.
So there I am, waiting in line with other people and their kids, holding my item. It's my turn with the clerk and I place it on the counter and commence my story of not having a receipt because it's a wedding gift and all of that. The clerk says, fine, and starts to open the box to make sure the item is in there. As the top opens she looks up and gives me a funny look.
I didn't think much of it until she asked, "Is it in here?" I said "Of course."
She continues to pull out tissue paper (which didn't belong in the box). Then she pulls the item out of the of box and, lo and behold, it is not like the photo on the outside of the box. In fact, NOTHING like it at all.
Our amazing friends had given us a loving gift to display in our home inside the box for another item. We, like TOTAL DORKS, didn't even open the box to make sure there wasn't another gift inside.
So at this point I am sure my face is glowing red and giving off enough heat to contribute to global warming. So there I am, at the counter with people waiting in line, while the clerk holds up the item that was in the box.
I was so embarrassed. I felt like I was trying to pull a fast one on Best Buy, but I had no clue. The clerk said it is beautiful, put it back in the box, and handed it back to me. I couldn't leave Best Buy fast enough. Just writing about it makes me blush all over again.
Okay, Janell here for a minute...I think the part Tom is forgetting is that before he rushed out the door, he blamed this moment on...his wife! Me, the one not there. I think he learned how easy it was to just say, "Oh, my wife..." I assume this part of the story will happen again...
Tom is back. Okay, the moral of the story is..."Always open the box!"
