Returns…çe n’est pas possible?

I’ve been told that returns in France are frowned upon, unless there is a defect in the item. Like in the old days in the US. It wasn’t that easy to return a purchase. You had to tell the lady at the counter “why” you didn’t want it and they didn’t always take it. Nowadays, as one friend put it, in the US you could throw your package up in the air and somehow it would get returned – it’s just that easy.

Because there’s a pandemic going on and I haven’t been shopping much, and also because there is a dearth of stores near me, I place a lot of online orders. And, sadly, shopping fills some inner void, but that’s a deeper discussion. Let’s just say the Amazon delivery guy and I are friends. But this also means, there will be returns.

I ordered a few things from a store that specializes in sportswear and sleepwear. I ordered a pajama top to match a pajama bottom I already had, and they sent me a pajama bottom in a diffferent color. I called Customer Service and they told me I had to take it to a physical store. Really? So, I drove an hour to Girona and went to the store where I was told they could not take back the item. I waited around while the clerk phoned headquarters and then told me that someone would call me to work it out. They called once while I was in London around Christmas and I missed the call. I just gave up — it was only about 7 euros.

I ordered a pair of shoes which I didn’t like when they arrived, so again I called because you have to get “permission” to return the item, and it was an ordeal. She said it was “too late”, but I said the internet site says 60 days, so after conferring with her superior she told me I was right. She said someone from a delivery service would contact me within the next day or two to pick up the item. I waited, and waited…no one came. So after about 10 days I went online to figure out how to call them back and I saw that the price had been refunded to me. I guess I have a free pair of shoes to give to a charity.

Oh, and there was the pair of shoes I ordered from Amazon France. When I took the package bearing the pre-printed label to the Post Office, I was told it was impossible. Apparently the shoes were from Slovakia and if you’re in Spain, you can’t mail anything to Slovakia. Period. I called Amazon and they allowed me to return the shoes to the Amazon Paris location, thank goodness.

Also, getting things delivered is tricky. Sometimes they will leave the package at my door, sometimes they won’t. And when they don’t, I have to go pick it up from a dropoff location. They’re all different — a tobacco store, a computer store (actually two or three different ones), a coffee shop, and a children’s clothing store. It’s interesting…

This just came. This’ll teach me to do the measurement conversion before ordering!! I decided I wanted a cast iron skillet. There were none in the grocery store or the hardware store and obviously, I don’t have Walmart, so I ordered one. It said 16 cm and it looked like just the right size. It looked bigger in the photo on the Amazon site. Doesn’t it? One picture shows a pie in it! I didn’t realize it was a personal-sized pie. Notice the actual pan next to my coffee cup. Damn.