The Power of the Blog

Something happened today that never happens to me. I usually don't stick up for myself but I was really frustrated so I decided to just go for it.


I took my very expensive crayons (caran d'ache) which were supposed to be water soluable but turned out to be water resistant back to the store where I bought them. I went back to the same counter and the same clerk who sold me the product. I explained to him what happened. I told him that I had used a couple of the crayons (minimally) but I had no use for them. I told him that if I wanted to use crayons, I would have used my 96 count Crayola box. I pressed him on the issue and reminded him of the conversation between the two of us. He kindly smiled and said that he couldn't do anything about it.

So, I did the deed. I asked to speak to the manager. He told me that there wasn't a manager available today and that I would have to come back some other time. Since I am a regular customer to this store, I went and searched for a kinder face and disposition. I found someone who sells me paper on a regular basis. I explained the situation to her and she went to the back of the store and brought her manager with her.

I explained the situation to the manager and told him that I was unhappy with my current purchase. I even had him look up my account with the store (one of the few benefits of having a NY Resell license). Once he realize the amount of money that I have spent in his store in the last two years, he guided me to counter of Mr. The Manager Isn't Here Today.

He asked the salesperson what had happened and when the salesperson explained the situation differently that I did, the manager became very frustrated. The manager asked the salesperson if he knew the difference between water resistant and water soluable (he did). He then asked the salesperson if he know how each was marked on the product (he didn't).

The manager then asked me to return to the paper counter for a moment. As I was looking through the sample books, the paper salesperson tapped me on the shoulder. I turned and saw Mr. The Manager Isn't Here Today walking through the store with his apron and personal belongings.

The manager returned to me at the paper counter and thanked me for my patronage, gave me the product that I was seeking, and told me to keep the water resistant crayons as a gift. He told me that he had wanted to fire the former salesman but never had a reason to until today. The manager also told me that he read my blog and was embarassed to know that he had been reading about a product from his store.

Maybe there is more to this blogging than I realized.