Go to What I SHOULD Have Said... main page
Here is one story retold,
albeit with a pithier ending:
From Squee:
The customer thinks they are always right ya know.
What happened: I work in retail. A customer came in today asking for a return because their sweatshirt that they bought at our store ripped "not even twenty minutes of being worn." I'm a sucker for returns because I feel bad, but I screwed myself over last time so I decided to stick to the policy and I asked her if she had washed it. She said yes. I informed her that because she washed it that she could not return it. She seemed to understand, but asked for my supervisor anyways. He was in our section so I pointed him out and started to help the next customer. He said that it was okay to return it because, although she had washed it, it was "defective". Sure okay, I can deal with doing what I'm told.
What I said: I apologize to her and say I'll do her return. She stares at her receipt, I chuckle and say, "Don't worry, I'll return it for you." She keeps on staring. A little more antagonistic than I should have been, I said, "Well, fine, if you don't want to return it right now I'll get back to what I was doing." She proclaimed that she was, in fact, not going to return it. I'm thinking, whatever and watch her walk past the doors to the other half of the store.
What I SHOULD have said: I should have went over to our 'Return Policy' sign and pointed out exactly where it stated that I wasn't supposed to return it.
L'esprit d'escalier
The French call it l'esprit d'escalier, "the wit of the staircase," those biting ripostes that are thought of just seconds too late, on the way out of the room-or even, to tell the truth, days later. It's happened to you: you've suddenly thought of just what would put your foe in his or her place, but past the time when the arrow could sting its victim. You've stewed in your own juice ever since, and the chance for singeing repartee is gone forever.
Or is it?
Dorothy Parker or Oscar Wilde may have had the rapier wit to tweak their tormentors on the spot, but for the rest of us, we offer the Internet's only L'esprit d'escalier web site!
