Ms. Grump

Some days that's me.

Today, in particular.

One of the connections on our router became non-working last week.  The internet folks came out to look at things because that's what I thought it was.  Everything is fine on our end, it's the internet connection spot on the router that's the problem.

I found the box within 3 minutes.  That in itself is a miracle.

I had put the receipt in the box.  Another miracle.

I had purchased a one year replacement warranty.  The Trifecta!

I waddled myself up to The Shack this morning because I was tired of telling JT he couldn't watch his movies/shows/videos from You Tube/Netflix because 'the box' was broken.

I opened the door and the sales guy looks real busy leaning against the counter in front of the check out.  He just stared at me.  I say, "Hi, how are you today?"  He continues to look at me.

(I'm in the final stages of pregnancy where I'm mouth breathing on occasion of trips up the stairs, long walks at a normal pace for most people, etc).  I do my best to conceal this and keep my nose clear from snot and the such to avoid this as much as possible.

I get to the counter and put the router down.  I brace myself against the counter and wait for the contraction to stop and catch my breath.  Discreetly.

Salesman, on the other hand, might be 8 months pregnant, too.  He is mouth breathing worse than I.  And snot is coming out of his nostrils.  He continues to stare at me and finally says, "yeah?"

I explain the issue.  He looks from the box to me, from me to the box, from the box to his cardboard tray of nachos and can of some energy drink.

"And?"

"And I want to exchange it for one that works!"

*crickets chirping*

Still leaning against the counter and breathing like he's run a 5k he points to the other end of the store and says, "well, go get another one."

I took a deep breath, picked up my purse and walked over to get another.  I think my eyes rolled into the back of my head.  I took another deep breath and returned to the counter.  On the way I checked to make sure he didn't have some sort of disability or was in a wheelchair or something that would prevent him from moving.  Nothing.

"It's the same one, just a different color box now," I tell him.

Still leaning against the counter, he begins to compare the two boxes and then looks at me and says, "It's the same." He continued to look at me as if he was waiting for confirmation? 

"That's what I said."

Now begins the receipt inspection.  He opens it up, folds it back up, flips it over and looks at the other side, turns it back to the front and looks at the boxes and then back at the receipt. 

It's the only thing I purchased.  It's clear as day.  NETGEAR.  1 YR REPLACEMENT WARRANTY.

"You got the thing."

I'm highly irritated at this point.  I normally keep my mouth shut and let the situation continue as it may and I was going to lose it in a matter of minutes. 

He finally removes himself from the counter with a grunt and grabs the Replacement Brochure on the other side.  He opens it and begins to read it.  Inside my head I'm screaming, "SCAN THE DAMN THING AND LET ME GO!"

He must have heard it because he scans the old box and then releases the biggest sigh that even the new customer heard from the other end of the store.

"Oh man...UGH.  Great...."

My question of what came out as a statement.

"My manager's not here and this is gonna need his authorization.  Shoot!"  He stomped his way over to the other side of the counter and looked at the schedule.  "He won't be here until tomorrow.  Can you come back tomorrow?  Around noon?"

With tears in my eyes and my heart pounding I asked, "What's his name?"

"Carlos.  Is that okay?"

He attempted to get me a bag but I already had the box and was walking out the door and yelled, "It's going to have to be, isn't it?"

Ms. Grump out.