Today I Learned an Important Lesson

My important lesson from today is this: Don't buy anything that you think you might want to return if you are not sure that it will be easy to return it.

Just how did I end up learning this very important lesson? The answer is this: by making precisely the mistake which I know now not to repeat.

I was shopping with two other trainees in one of the nearby shopping centers. We began with a trip to a department store, where I started looking at the kitchen and bathroom items. I had been wanting an extra set of towels and a mug to make tea in, so I started looking for those.

Much to my disappointment, I could find no towels that cost less than about $30 (and that's after I rejected the one that cost $140). A simple white teacup with a saucer could easily be upwards of $20. I finally decided just to buy a small purple towel to use as a very large washcloth (the part of my towel set for which I decided I most needed a double) and a bright green mug with a saucer. Together, the two cost a little more than $20. I wasn't happy with that, but I had decided that these were things that would make my life easier (and cleaner), so it would have to be the way it was.

Our next stop was at the grocery store located in the other nearby shopping center. I was wandering through the aisles, searching for tissues and granola bars, when I happened upon an aisle of home necessities that I had not known was there. Right before me were stacks and stacks of towels and washcloths, costing only a small fraction of what I had just paid for my single purple hand towel. I turned around and was faced with an assortment of mugs and teacups and saucers, also each costing a tiny amount compared to my green cup-and-saucer set.

I picked out a towel, washcloth, and mug to add to my shopping basket. Though far less attractive and nicely colored than the ones I had just purchased (the mug resembles a miniature flowerpot with a dysfunctionally small handle attached to the side), the price difference seemed to more than make up for that. When my entire grocery shopping bill (towels and mug included) came out to be only about $6 more than what I had just paid for the hand towel and mug from the other store, I was firmly decided that my brightly colored and more expensive friends were going to be getting returned as soon as I could possibly scoot myself back over to the other shopping mall.

I had absolutely no idea how much of an adventure that would end up being. I made my first attempt to return my purchases by lining up at the cashier as if checking out and, when my turn came, presenting my phone to the cashier so that she could see where I had used Google translate to switch the phrase "please, I would like to return these for a refund" from English to Russian. Google translate may sometimes make massive mistakes, but this time, my meaning appears not to have gotten lost in attempted translation. The woman understood what I wanted and sent me upstairs to the fifth floor to find the customer service desk.

(Four escalators later...) I didn't know what to look for, so I asked another store employee (in Russian!) where to find the returns desk. She pointed me in the proper direction. 

I found an area with a few couches next to a long desk divided into several different booths. Next to each was a small screen with a number. I noticed that all of the numbers seemed to be consecutive, and the people waiting on the couches each seemed to be holding onto their own small slip of paper, so I decided that I must somehow get a number for myself if I ever hoped to be helped.

It took a moment, but I found a panel with buttons that looked promising. There were several buttons, with some words in Russian and a range of numbers written next to each one. I took a guess and decided that maybe the number you receive depends on what you need the customer service representative to help you with.

The first salesclerk had told me how to say "returns desk" in Russian, and I knew that I needed to make some returns. In English, these words are exactly the same; in Russian, this is not the case. A "return" is a noun, but in "returns desk", returns is an adjective. That means that, though the root of the word remains the same, the ending is entirely different. I played a game of hide-and-go-seek with the letters in front of me. (I had also never seen any form of the word written down, and my skills with the Cyrillic alphabet aren't perfect). Eventually I won and located the correct button. My prize? This ticket.

It was my turn sooner than I expected (the numbers jumped from 276 to my number... fine by me), and I went to a booth. Again, I presented my phone, along with my items and the receipt. 

I'm lucky that I keep a copy of my passport and visa in my purse, because that is what the salesclerk wanted to see me next. I needed an original document, I handed over my student card as well. 

The salesclerk unfolded the towel, which I had not done yet, and found a pull in the fabric that I had not seen before I bought it. She then called over another employee, who spoke a little English, and I explained that I had not even seen that yet. I was a bit afraid that they were going to deny my request and that I would be stuck with a defective $12 purple hand towel, but after consulting with a third employee and asking for the credit card that I had purchased the towel and mug with, she went through with the returns.

From now on, I will be thinking very carefully about purchases of items that do not fall under either of the following categories: 1- I am absolutely in love with it, or 2- It is inexpensive enough that it is OK if I'm not. (The little neon blue plastic baskets I bought (so that I have a way to organize my makeup and other small items) for about thirty cents each at the grocery store fall into this second category). Today was quite an adventure, but it's not necessarily of the sort that I would like to repeat! Hopefully, if I take my own advice, I will be able to safely (and happily) steer clear of any future visits to the returns desk.