Hellbent

I went into a lumber store to buy a plunger. They had one model. I tested it out on the sturdy floor. It was way to stiff, wouldn't flex. I ask the lady if she could demonstrate how to use the plunger. She looks at me like I'm an idiot for making such an absurd request. "You don't know how to use a plunger!?" I then demonstrate to her that it doesn't flex. She says it needs to push water in order to flex, indicating that against a hard surface it can't do that. Feeling stupider by the second, I decide to buy the plunger.

I try it on the clogged sink. Same thing--it doesn't flex. I try it in the clean, functioning toilet. Same thing, no flex, poor performance. Pretty peeved at this point I ride my bike back to the lumber store and ask for a refund, citing the plunger's poor performance. The lady again gives me attitude, saying you have to actually use muscle to get it to flex. She tells me she can't accept returns on used plungers. I tell her I will sanitize it and return with it. There is no wiggle room, I stand there like an idiot, realizing I have no other course of action. Without uttering anything else to the unfriendly and rude lady behind the desk, I walk out of the store, plunger with yellow handle in hand.

I ride to another hardware store and they have a larger selection. One is nearly identical to the one in my hand. The only difference is the name. I try it out. It has flex! I try to remove it from the floor, but it's stuck. A fleeting moment of panic is replaced by the realization that... hey, the plunger actually works! I yank it off the floor and go up to the front desk to see if they'll swap it with the one I came in with, since it's a similar model. They cannot. I then make a video of me using the plunger I just tested to show the lady at the lumber store that this one works and the one she sold me is defective.

I ride back to the lumber store.

The lady is not happy to see me again. I explain to her that I tried a very similar model, explaining to her that it flexes and sucks on a hard, flat surface. She again assures me in biting tone that she cannot refund me the plunger. I retort with: "if you can't refund it on account of it being unsanitary, maybe you can refund it for being defective?" "It's a cheap plunger" she says. Yet she tells me they use the model in the store and it works fine.

Again I ask her if she can demonstrate to me how to use the plunger. She fires back with: "I can't believe you want me to show you how to use a friggin' plunger". At this point I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable. In as even and respectful tone as I can muster, I say "you are not exercising very good customer service." She also fails to get the plunger to flex and suck on the floor. I then start playing the video of me successfully using the other plunger. The video isn't quick enough to the point, tho, and she is very short with me at this point. Regardless if it works, she cannot refund the plunger.

At this point, given her poor customer service from the outset, I stop suppressing my aggravation and suddenly something surprising happens. She suddenly asks for my receipt. In bitter moves she opens the register and unpoliletely gets my money, cruelly clanging quarters on the counter. "Thanks!" I tell her and walk out. I ride back to the other lumber store, buy the working plunger and try it out on my clogged sink and it works famously.