What makes you most grumpy? Junk mail? Over the top plastic packaging? Pig ignorant miserable drivers? Snooker and golf replacing a week's worth of programmes on BBC2? People jumping the queue? Phone in quiz shows? Checkout assistants chatting with each other when you're in a hurry (or a panic!)? All of these things make me extremely grouchy, but the thing that annoys me to boiling point is faulty goods.
John Lewis is supposed to be a respectable company isn't it? I got my hands on a £50 voucher to spend online and as everything was outrageously expensive, what else was there to purchase except lingerie? Bras to be blunt about it. You may have read a while ago here that I was attempting to track down a comfortable humble brassiere, so that's what I ordered. When the package arrived it didn't need opening. Through the clear plastic bag you could immediately ascertain that it was dirty! The white fabric was seriously smeared with great fat black marks. Have they not got eyes to see this with? Did they think 'oh just send it to Merseyside', she won't notice the difference! I'm outraged. One very grumpy letter has just been sent in their direction. I managed to calm the expletives, but only just.
All manner of goods and items are simply crap. What gets me is when a guarantee only lasts for a year or two. What they're basically telling us is that they have no faith in their own product whatsoever beyond this cut off point. For something supposed to last a while, such as a kitchen appliance, it's not acceptable at all. I've thrown a kettle in the bin after a few weeks, and as it was £20 wasn't worth the hassle of getting it fixed. My steam iron is newish and dripping water all over the place. In a vain attempt to fix it, my Dad's had it in bits on the lounge floor several times. Not good. Think that might have disqualified the guarantee. It's just stuff in general. Clothes fall to bits in five minutes. Buying outfits from Next once upon a time meant that you couldn't wear them out. They'd be hung in your wardrobe a decade after you bought them, you'd put on a stone in weight and fashion had moved forward, and there they are, still as good as new. Not any more. I've vowed never to get anything from there again. Misshapen threadbare tatty rags with the stitching falling apart after the first wash. Nothing is made in the UK anymore, it's all from the sweat (slave) shops of India and China. It's scandalous practice. This makes me even more grumpy.
Returning things is a pain in the arse. Just give me something that's not faulty. Goods that won't fall to bits, have vital parts missing, blow up, or are filthy before they've been worn! The customer is always right? The more materialistic we become the more miserable we seem to be. I don't want anything until I'm told that I need it, and then the purse strings seem very tight indeed. When you wait for things and they disappoint, it's enough to make a person pretty grumpy indeed.
Oh here's another I just have to add; Sell by dates ! Now that's a scheme to make you throw out perfectly edible food and waste it and buy more. The 'use by' stamped on a product is law written in indelible ink. You associate it with salmonella bacteria and horrible death, and surpassing this warning is like licking a toilet seat. You just wouldn't, ever. However, it's a guideline only. Do we use it as such? Brilliant marketing ploy don't you think?
What makes you most grumpy? Junk mail? Over the top plastic packaging? Pig ignorant miserable drivers? Snooker and golf replacing a week's worth of programmes on BBC2? People jumping the queue? Phone in quiz shows? Checkout assistants chatting with each other when you're in a hurry (or a panic!)? All of these things make me extremely grouchy, but the thing that annoys me to boiling point is faulty goods.
John Lewis is supposed to be a respectable company isn't it? I got my hands on a £50 voucher to spend online and as everything was outrageously expensive, what else was there to purchase except lingerie? Bras to be blunt about it. You may have read a while ago here that I was attempting to track down a comfortable humble brassiere, so that's what I ordered. When the package arrived it didn't need opening. Through the clear plastic bag you could immediately ascertain that it was dirty! The white fabric was seriously smeared with great fat black marks. Have they not got eyes to see this with? Did they think 'oh just send it to Merseyside', she won't notice the difference! I'm outraged. One very grumpy letter has just been sent in their direction. I managed to calm the expletives, but only just.
All manner of goods and items are simply crap. What gets me is when a guarantee only lasts for a year or two. What they're basically telling us is that they have no faith in their own product whatsoever beyond this cut off point. For something supposed to last a while, such as a kitchen appliance, it's not acceptable at all. I've thrown a kettle in the bin after a few weeks, and as it was £20 wasn't worth the hassle of getting it fixed. My steam iron is newish and dripping water all over the place. In a vain attempt to fix it, my Dad's had it in bits on the lounge floor several times. Not good. Think that might have disqualified the guarantee. It's just stuff in general. Clothes fall to bits in five minutes. Buying outfits from Next once upon a time meant that you couldn't wear them out. They'd be hung in your wardrobe a decade after you bought them, you'd put on a stone in weight and fashion had moved forward, and there they are, still as good as new. Not any more. I've vowed never to get anything from there again. Misshapen threadbare tatty rags with the stitching falling apart after the first wash. Nothing is made in the UK anymore, it's all from the sweat (slave) shops of India and China. It's scandalous practice. This makes me even more grumpy.
Returning things is a pain in the arse. Just give me something that's not faulty. Goods that won't fall to bits, have vital parts missing, blow up, or are filthy before they've been worn! The customer is always right? The more materialistic we become the more miserable we seem to be. I don't want anything until I'm told that I need it, and then the purse strings seem very tight indeed. When you wait for things and they disappoint, it's enough to make a person pretty grumpy indeed.
Oh here's another I just have to add; Sell by dates ! Now that's a scheme to make you throw out perfectly edible food and waste it and buy more. The 'use by' stamped on a product is law written in indelible ink. You associate it with salmonella bacteria and horrible death, and surpassing this warning is like licking a toilet seat. You just wouldn't, ever. However, it's a guideline only. Do we use it as such? Brilliant marketing ploy don't you think?