"What's Happened to Us Church?" Spoken Word Poem

A Long Letter to Pier 1 Associate

28 March 2013

Dear [associate's name],

            First of all, thank you for finally resolving this issue—for acquiring the authorization to return the purchase balance to our credit card, and apologizing for “any hardships” this ordeal has caused our family. I appreciate that, because over the past couple days since I spoke with you Sunday, I actually lost sleep over how I had been treated. I had a knot in my stomach due to the stress, despite continual prayer and effort to give this situation to God. On Sunday, before I left the store, you defensively asked why I hadn’t called about the desk sooner. How long is a customer supposed to wait for a back-ordered item? Would it have been any different if we had only waited one month? My short answer was, “we’re busy people.” I’d like to share the long answer with you now.

FOUR MONTHS ago my two young children and I reunited with my husband, after being apart for a year. My husband is a Special Forces sniper, and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012. I won’t bore you with the details of his confirmed kills (singlehandedly removing violent insurgents who wish Americans to die), but I will tell you he was awarded the Bronze Star medal with valor, the fifth highest combat decoration.

So you want to know why we didn’t call on the desk sooner? We’ve been spending the last three months since he purchased the desk, reintegrating our family, unpacking our house after a cross country move, trying to make new friends for ourselves and our kids, settling in with our new church family, doing our best to raise healthy, happy children—not Army brats. Reuniting after a deployment is hard enough on a couple alone, but throw young kids into the mix (one who doesn’t remember Daddy, the other confused as to why he’s been gone so long) and you have plenty to keep your free time occupied. Besides everyday household demands and caring for young kids, I write a growing blog, which is a job in and of itself. And oh yeah, we hardly left the house in February as our family cycled through illness marathons. As we reintegrated our family during these three months, we were at the same time preparing to say goodbye again. What you didn’t realize Sunday when you treated me with at best, hostile indifference; was that my husband had departed again the day before. So all together, we had four months as a family; four months to make memories, to celebrate holidays and birthdays (a rare treat), to rekindle romance, to eat dinner together, give hugs and read stories, for the kids to get to know their daddy. My daughter isn’t yet four years old, and her daddy’s been gone for over a combined year and a half of her life---plus, she’s moved across the country four times.

My husband purchased the desk to show me that he supported my dream of being a writer. It was the sweetest Christmas present a husband could give to his wife. When I told you that we had been loyal customers and would no longer patronize your store, I wasn’t blowing hot air. I plan to stand by my decision on principle.

Let’s talk about customer service. It shouldn’t matter if you’re dealing with a mom in yoga pants, a punk with track marks, or Oprah in the flesh. For all you know, those yoga pants pockets could be deep. When you respond to a customer’s issue with disdain, indifference, or insults, you burn that bridge, and your store loses out on future purchases and positive word of mouth. Business 101. I had no problem with you “researching” the issue before granting our refund, because I knew you would only find we were being honest. When I briefly spoke with [other associate] on the phone Wednesday and explained why I wanted to speak to the manager, she was sympathetic and helpful, stating that she would give the message to the manager. Perhaps in the future, if you are met with a similar situation, you might refer the customer to the manager before passing judgment and writing off the customer. By repeatedly insisting that this issue was MY “fault,” when Pier 1 employees neglected to order our purchase, neglected to follow up by delivering our desk, and neglected to hear out our concern when we brought it to your attention, you insulted my family’s integrity. The assertion that Pier 1 would only allow for a store credit refund because it had been longer than 45 days must have been a joke. It’s not a refund or return if the customer never received the purchase; it’s simply a cancelled transaction.

Let’s talk about the desk. Did the desk ever get ordered? You should have record of this. You claimed that an employee called and left a message with the number that was left when my husband made the purchase. I would love to know what number they called, and will happily furnish our phone records to prove we received no such call. Also, why would the employee call to notify us, if the desk WAS NOT IN YOUR STORE??? You’ve repeatedly stated that the desk is not there. If the desk was shipped to your store, where did it go? Did an employee steal it? If someone actually attempted to contact us, which I don’t believe, and called the wrong number, do you suspect someone picked up the desk under false pretenses? I highly doubt this, since both our numbers have east coast area codes. So that leaves the final scenario: that the desk was ordered and arrived in your store, that an employee actually called and left a message on our phone, that we received said message, picked up the desk, and initiated a fraudulent plan to scam Pier 1 by saying we never received it. The way you treated me in our initial interactions communicated that you felt I was being dishonest, because we “waited too long” to contact your store. Do you really believe I have the time, energy, or desire to carry out a fraud like that? The same woman who loses sleep over the idea that her integrity has been called into question? The same family that continually puts their health and happiness on the line for their country? The same couple who tithes and donates to charity more money than this desk is worth on a monthly basis? The same woman standing in front of you, trying to keep her toddler and preschooler entertained while you hash things out with customer service? As a former specialty retail manager, I’m aware that (most) stores keep records of orders, shipments, and customer pickups, so even if I desired to pull off a scam, the likelihood of it working would be nil. Not to mention I can’t lie to save my life.

I considered addressing this letter to Pier 1’s corporate office or your store manager, but I do not wish for any honest employee to lose their job, especially in this economy. I only want you to realize how your words and actions have affected this family. Plus, I realize there’s a good chance you’re over-worked and underpaid, that you have your own story, your own reasons for doubting a stranger’s honesty, your own stresses and struggles.

I hope that this letter helps you to understand what happened, and that your customer service is important. When you treat customers with kindness, it is noticed and really does make a difference. Thank you for reading, and understanding. I would appreciate a text or email to know if you did in fact read this, and perhaps to even find out if the issue has been completely resolved, besides just the cancellation of the payment.

Sincerely,

******* *******