Common Sense....Just Ain't All That Common

As part of my job...I'm fixing to send a group of folks to places that include Iraq and Afghanistan. Part of my job is to make sure that they have the appropriate gear to make them comfortable and mission ready. If you can believe that t-shirts fall into that category of equipment, then you're way ahead of me.

In any case, yesterday afternoon, I went to the local Military Clothing Sales Store to purchase 128 t-shirts for my "gang." Even on a post as large as ours...I cleaned out shelves...forcing myself to go across different brands to get all 128 shirts. When checking out with an over-flowing shopping cart, the cashier and I did our level best to keep track of what I'd bought...and what I'd paid for with a government credit card. I knew that in my heart of hearts that there would be at least a few mistakes.

When I got them back to the office and began to lay them all out, my worst suspicions were indeed confirmed. What I had on the tables in front of me didn't balance with the line items that appeared on the receipt. No problem, these folks will be easy to deal with. The bottom line...was that I had 127 t-shirts, not 128 and I didn't have the right numbers of types/sizes.

Trying to exercise some common sense, I decided to take the shirts that I had no use for...back for an exchange/refund and then get the remaining shirts needed to outfit the force. Bottom line, I thought that if I took the receipt (that reflected completely different figures) and the six shirts I had no need for, that I could get what I needed done, done. MajorMom was along for the ride today...so when I had taken about 60 minutes making notes to help me explain the situation...I had to tell her that I was trying to figure out the best way to explain to someone with less than a room temperature IQ what had happened...and why they should help me.

Well, upon arrival at Clothing Sales I did get to talk to a manager...and there were more than a couple of "deer in the headlights" looks. She just couldn't seem to figure out that I was trying to be as honest as I could with her...and that since the receipt reflected incorrect quantities and charges...we'd have to enter into some degree of trust to get the transaction corrected. The manager I was speaking to simply couldn't get to that point. Trust wasn't going to work with this lady. Her recommendation was for me to drive back across post, gather up the 121 other shirts that were exactly what I wanted/needed, and to return to Clothing Sales so we could fix the problem. Begrudgingly I agreed...

Upon arrival back at the office, I bagged up EVERYTHING that I'd purchased yesterday, and loaded it into the back of my PT Cruiser (surprisingly, those little things have LOTS of storage space). When I returned to Clothing Sales with two shopping carts of returns...a different manager was there to help me and was indeed most helpful! We went through the story again, she immediately grasped the problem, and we figured out how to expeditiously get the quantities of shirts I needed, my credit card receipts straightened out (the Army's horrible about that...it's not like I was trying to buy implants for a secretary or anything) and I now have what I need to issue tomorrow morning to some deploying soldiers.

Where was I going with this rant? The fact that common sense isn't very common anymore (although we seem to be tripping all over ourselves to raise the minimum wage without any increase in minimum skills) and that a customer's word means next to nothing. I get treated better at Walmart...most of the time.

Frustrated on the high ground!

MajorDad1984