Anyone need a bed sans mattress?
Online buying from warehouse stores like Amazon can be convenient, but what if they run out of part of your order?
I don’t usually write about Nick’s trials and tribulations but today is an exception, because it affects me.
Nick bought a single bed when we first arrived in India a couple of months ago, and it has served me very well indeed.
Nick, not so much.
He is finding it uncomfortable sleeping ‘around’ a full grown cat and decided to order something a little bigger, a little more comfortable for the two of us.
I was happy and comfortable with the old bed so I didn’t really GAF one way or the other.
Anyway - they ran out of mattresses and were gracious enough to refund.
The bed however, was a different story. Even though the bed and mattress were ordered together in ONE order, they refuse to cancel the order for the bed and have decided to keep the money.
“Now WTAF are we going to do with a mattress-less bed,” Nick demanded of the customer service rep.
“Sorry, those are the rules, your bed will be arriving in two days. Besides it’s good for your back to sleep on a sheet of particle board.”
To which Nick replied, “We won’t accept delivery.”
The agent replied, “Then we’ll just leave it on your doorstep. Don’t worry, it’s unassembled, the assembly team will be by later this week or next. Make sure someone is home.”
“When will they be here?”
“Can’t say for sure. Another company handles that for us. They do their own scheduling. We never know when they actually work.
“Ever see the movie ‘The Money Pit’ with Tom Hanks and Shelly Long? Well, I’m proud to say our assemblers were the inspiration for the Shirk Brothers in that movie.
“We drop off unassembled crap at a customer’s place and our team of ‘Shirk Brothers’ show up when they feel like working. Word of warning - they take forever to finish and will eat and drink you out of house and home. Make sure you have plenty of beef and booze on hand for them. They get nasty without meat.”
I replied, “This is India, beef is all but impossible to find and it’s more expensive than a new car. Is there any way you can cancel the installation.”
“Afraid not. They don’t have a phone - we book them by mail. To a PO box. We don’t even know where their office is. Or if they have an office. Now that they’re booked - there is no stopping them. Just be prepared. Day or night. We have no control.”
Given what we’re facing, Nick and I have decided to have a neighborhood bonfire by burning the unassembled bed on the day it arrives, a good way to get to know our neighbors.
What to do with the Indian team of Shirk Brothers? We have no idea, but we are planning for house guests to stay with us for an indeterminate period of time.
#BoycottFlipKart