I did not realise that the term “lazied” even existed before this day. A few days before Christmas when everyone was rushing to get their last minute present, I stepped into In Sport Store at Westpoint Shopping Centre. There I found some Raben Style Shoes branded Billie. The chart showed size 4 to size 14 (EUR 35 to EUR 47, respectively). At last, shoes which goes beyond size 12! They have sizes that would fit my son, I imagined.
I immediately grabbed a size 13 and asked the staff if they had a size 14. The friendly staff said there is, if not on this colour, it would be on the less popular colour. “I can get one for you,” he added. I said, “No worries, as long as you have it then I know I can exchange it should this one not fit.”
I was made to feel confident enough and without hesitation, paid for the shoes. Christmas day came and my son was happy to receive his present. He tried it on but found it too small. We waited till after the Boxing Day when the shops reopen for stocktake sale. At 12 noon, on Tuesday, the 28th of December, I returned to the store to have the size 13 (EUR 46) shoes exchanged for a size 14 (EUR 47). As I approached the cash register for the exchange, a staff came to my assistance. “I would like to exchange these shoes for a larger size, please? Can you call your other outlets to see if they have it in this colour?”
To my surprise, another staff advised me that these shoes do not come in EUR 47. Well, that’s impossible, I said. I showed him the chart to prove it. He replied by saying that the chart is inaccurate and did not bother to look! He further said, how about this other brand, this comes in size 14s, where I could see the chart only shows up to sizes 11 & 12. Of course, he was unsuccessful in finding one.
I insisted on searching for the Billie Brand, I told him that the staff who sold this to me was very confident that you have a size EUR 47. I said that when I purchased these shoes I was made to believe that I can exchange it for a size 47. Since he claimed that this size never existed and there was no size larger than 46, I asked for my money back as these shoes did not fit and we would have no use for it. “Sorry, no refunds,” the staff said.
As it turned out, the same staff was the acting manager and cowardly did not want to give his name. So was I deceived into buying the pair of trendy shoes? I came out of the store disappointed. As I walked into another retailer called Zero which also sells Billie Shoes, I checked if they had a size 47. Indeed, they had and I took a photo to prove it. But I could not buy it because In Sport was still holding my money.
So, I determined that the manager on duty was so incompetent in not knowing their product. He even blamed it on the chart that came from the manufacturer. It seemed that he was just too lazy to call their other outlets to check. Now, I realise that the word “lazied” in fact existed.
Shop-a-holic (by email)