It Doesn't Hurt to Ask...

Shortly after the weather started getting hot we found out that our house does NOT in fact have air conditioning. Our landlord assured us that it "doesn't really get hot" in New Hampshire but I can tell you that it most certainly DOES get hot, which makes for a miserable situation without AC. After one particularly awful day I finally broke down and ran to Wal-Mart at 10 pm to buy 4 fans and a window AC unit. The window unit cost about $200 but at that point I didn't care, I just needed some relief.

Well that unit sat in the box for several days because Taber was insanely busy with work and it was REALLY heavy and I had no idea how to install it myself. Taber's schedule didn't let up so one night at 11pm he just decided it was now or never. We pulled out the tool box and got to work. Neither of us is particularly gifted when it comes to handy work so it took us almost an hour to assemble the thing. We were sweaty, exhausted and slightly delirious, but we knew the next day was going to be hot so kept working at it.

When it was time to stick it in the window it took both of us to lift that heavy beast up. We set it into the window frame only to find that it wouldn't fit without some extra jerry rigging. It was a tricky dance. I was trying to hold the thing in place while it precariously teetered on the edge of the window. Taber was trying to fit various odds and ends underneath it to hold it in better. We were tired, we were frustrated, everything was kind of blurry. And then it happened. I really don't know how, but one minute everything was stable and the next minute I heard a scream come out of my mouth as I watched the entire unit tumble out of the window and smash onto the ground below.

I felt the sickest pit in my stomach and all the blood drained from my face. All that work, the precious hours of sleep we were missing, $200 bucks, gone out the window. Taber and I just stared at each other in shock. I slumped down against the wall and put my face in my hands and tried to process what just happened. I started going through the stages of grief. First shock and denial, then pain and guilt. Anger wasn't far behind and then I settled into depression. Finally Taber said, "Let's go put it in the trash."

But I wasn't ready to throw in the towel yet, maybe we could still salvage this. I went outside to check out the damage. It was smashed up pretty good and several pieces had broken off, but I collected all the parts, we brought them back in the house and dusted off the dirt. We put it back together the best that we could then we carefully loaded it back into the box and sealed it back up. We weren't sure what we were going to do with it but the optimistic part of me was holding onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, the store would take it back. Of course it was hard to hold onto that hope since it was OUR fault after all. In fact, I was way too embarrassed to even think about taking it back because I was sure they would just laugh at me and think I was crazy. So it sat in the box in our garage for almost a month.

Meanwhile we still had to deal with the heat. Taber finally decided to ask our landlord if he would pay for us to get a floor AC unit (which cost about $450) I had serious doubts about asking. Why would he pay for that? But Taber said, "Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask." So a few days ago he shot off an email and low and behold, our Landlord said YES, he'd be happy to pay for that!! I was so shocked and happy, and then I started thinking about that broken AC unit. I might not be able to return it but after our success with our landlord I realized Taber was right, it doesn't hurt to ask! I figured, "Hey, I've got nothing to lose. I'll tell them what happened and if they refund our money, awesome! But If they don't at least I'll get it out of our house and be done with it."

So today I loaded it up and drove it back to Wal-mart. I wheeled the heavy box with my broken merchandise up the return counter and prepared myself for the worst.

Customer service lady: "Can I help you?'

Me: "Um yes, I bought this AC unit a few weeks ago and I need to return it."

CSL: "Is there anything wrong with it?"

Me: "Well yes, actually. Um, while we were installing it, um, well, it fell out of the window and broke." (sheepish smile)

CSL: (glares at me like I'm insane) Well we don't really take back merchandise that was damaged by a customer.

Me: Um, yeah, well I have my receipt and on the box it says you can return it up to 30 days and it hasn't been 30 days so I thought I'd try bringing it back.

CSL: (gives me the "you're nuts" stare again) Let me call my manager.

Manager comes over, CSL tells her that I dropped the unit out the window and I want a refund. Manager looks me over and says, "Wait here a minute." A few minutes later she comes back with my receipt, slides it over to the CSL and says, "Give her the refund." CSL and I both stare at her in disbelief! Still, she punches in the refund code and seconds later $200 is back in my account and the broken AC is off my hands!!

I left Wal-mart whooping and hollering (well not literally, but in my mind I was ; ) I was seriously so amazed and happy that they took it back. I blew kisses to the store and pledged my faithful allegiance to always be a loyal costumer. Seriously, I know not everyone is a Wal-mart fan but especially after today, I LOVE THAT PLACE!!! Also I'm so grateful for the lesson I learned from all this. Even if you think the answer is No, it doesn't hurt to ask! You might be pleasantly surprised with the answer! : )