(no subject)
Okay, so I ordered this awesome Garfield watch on ebay. The seller said it is gauranteed to work, it just needs a new battery. So it arrived on monday, and on tuesday I took it down to a jewler that Mom recommended in Spring to have the battery replaced. I didnt want to try to replace it myself because I might scratch the back of it, AND if it didnt work with the new battery, I was out the cost of the battery, and watch batteries are expensive. Mom said this place wouldn't charge you if they put the battery in and it still didnt work-theyd take the battery out, no charge to you, and thats it.
So I get there, and its this tiny place in Vintage Park. The lady was super nice. Her jewler, Jose, put a new battery in my watch (now, know this, I only paid $16.79 for this watch-but I love Garfield and I love astronomy, so Garfield+stars+moon phase=perfect.) and it worked just fine! Hooray! The battery was $8 and change. So I said this to the lady.
"Hey, Ive never had one of these moon phase watches before...is there a special way to set it?"
She says something to the effect of 'Oh yeah, just like this.' And takes the watch and starts turning the stem VERY fast, maybe 40 times over or more....enough to make the moon phase cycle through about 2 or 3 times-thats two or three MONTHS worth of turning in less than a minute. She realizes its not that detailed to show the different phases of the moon-just a full moon, the stars (a new moon) , and maybe a third one. She shows this to me too, twisting the stem really fast. Once the moon phase is on the correct "time", she hands it back to me. I was thrilled, thanked her, and left.
As I am walking back to my car, admiring my new watch, I notice something. Now it doesn't tick properly.The second hand kind of gets stuck at the 6 and 7 hour mark; it doesnt have enough power to start pulling its self upwards towards the 8 and 9 hour marks. I walk back in and tell her its not ticking properly. She hands it back to the jewler, and tells him to double check the battery. While hes checking it, we are chit chatting, she is showing me other pieces of jewlery they have for sale in the case, we're looking through this guide book of gemstones, she pulls out some special loose stones to show them off to me-she was really nice and friendly.
So the jewler hands the watch back and it still isnt working. He says he had to wiggle the stem a little-its loose and it must be sensitive. Yes, indeed, if you nudge the stem, it works-but stometimes it gets stuck and needs another nudge. I dont need a bracelet, I need a functioning watch that keeps the right time. I asked if he could fix or replace the stem, and the lady says they could (I dont think the jewler spoke english-she only spoke spanish to him and his name is Jose-he was a clean cut looking hispanic guy, to his credit-not a dirty Mexican) So the lady with the russian sounding accent says it will be $20 to fix the stem.
I tell her that's fine, go ahead and fix it, I'll be back on Thursday to pick it up.
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I got to thinking about it on the way home, and I was thinking, 'You know...the watch was working perfectly before she started messing with the moon phase part' I feel like she broke the stem, and that I shouldnt have to pay for it. I have no problem paying for the repair, but I believe it was not broken until I took it in there.
I got home and called them back.When I called the lady, I told her who I was and said, "Hey, you know, I was thinking...my watch worked until you were turning the stem a lot to set the moon phase" . The whole time I was talking she was saying "uh huh...uh huh..." and when I finished talking, she said, "Oh, okay, Yes, Linsey, I'll pass along what you just told me to Jose." She thanked me, and we hung up.
Dude, I just suggested that maybe you broke my watch. I'm really bad with confrontation-especially to someone as nice as she was to me. I was in there maybe 20-30 minutes and she was pulling out all these loose stones to show me, and we were talking....but I dont want to pay $20 for them to repair the stem because I really think she is the reason it is loose, and therefore not ticking correctly. She was twisting it really fast, and a LOT-maybe 20 or 40 times....enough to make the moon face cycle through 2 or 3 times...thats 2 or 3 months worth of turning. I need to figure out how to word what I need to say. I want to avoid using the word "you" because this makes people feel isolated, attacked and it sounds like you're blaming them personally (well you are, but without using the word "you" it sounds better)
for example-"Look, I know you didn't mean to break the vase, but you should be more careful"
instead, say this, "Look, I know it was an accident that the vase got broken-but its not a good idea to be so rough and tumble in this room"
You're saying the same thing, you're still accusing that person of breaking your vase, but the other person doesn't feel like you're pointing a harsh finger at them.
I want to communicate with this lady and let her know how I feel in a way that she will side with me, accept the idea that maybe, yes, she broke it, and either give me a discount on the repair ($10 off or more) or fix it for free. She was really nice to me, and I dont want to sound like a jerk. Any advice?
So I get there, and its this tiny place in Vintage Park. The lady was super nice. Her jewler, Jose, put a new battery in my watch (now, know this, I only paid $16.79 for this watch-but I love Garfield and I love astronomy, so Garfield+stars+moon phase=perfect.) and it worked just fine! Hooray! The battery was $8 and change. So I said this to the lady.
"Hey, Ive never had one of these moon phase watches before...is there a special way to set it?"
She says something to the effect of 'Oh yeah, just like this.' And takes the watch and starts turning the stem VERY fast, maybe 40 times over or more....enough to make the moon phase cycle through about 2 or 3 times-thats two or three MONTHS worth of turning in less than a minute. She realizes its not that detailed to show the different phases of the moon-just a full moon, the stars (a new moon) , and maybe a third one. She shows this to me too, twisting the stem really fast. Once the moon phase is on the correct "time", she hands it back to me. I was thrilled, thanked her, and left.
As I am walking back to my car, admiring my new watch, I notice something. Now it doesn't tick properly.The second hand kind of gets stuck at the 6 and 7 hour mark; it doesnt have enough power to start pulling its self upwards towards the 8 and 9 hour marks. I walk back in and tell her its not ticking properly. She hands it back to the jewler, and tells him to double check the battery. While hes checking it, we are chit chatting, she is showing me other pieces of jewlery they have for sale in the case, we're looking through this guide book of gemstones, she pulls out some special loose stones to show them off to me-she was really nice and friendly.
So the jewler hands the watch back and it still isnt working. He says he had to wiggle the stem a little-its loose and it must be sensitive. Yes, indeed, if you nudge the stem, it works-but stometimes it gets stuck and needs another nudge. I dont need a bracelet, I need a functioning watch that keeps the right time. I asked if he could fix or replace the stem, and the lady says they could (I dont think the jewler spoke english-she only spoke spanish to him and his name is Jose-he was a clean cut looking hispanic guy, to his credit-not a dirty Mexican) So the lady with the russian sounding accent says it will be $20 to fix the stem.
I tell her that's fine, go ahead and fix it, I'll be back on Thursday to pick it up.
I got to thinking about it on the way home, and I was thinking, 'You know...the watch was working perfectly before she started messing with the moon phase part' I feel like she broke the stem, and that I shouldnt have to pay for it. I have no problem paying for the repair, but I believe it was not broken until I took it in there.
I got home and called them back.When I called the lady, I told her who I was and said, "Hey, you know, I was thinking...my watch worked until you were turning the stem a lot to set the moon phase" . The whole time I was talking she was saying "uh huh...uh huh..." and when I finished talking, she said, "Oh, okay, Yes, Linsey, I'll pass along what you just told me to Jose." She thanked me, and we hung up.
Dude, I just suggested that maybe you broke my watch. I'm really bad with confrontation-especially to someone as nice as she was to me. I was in there maybe 20-30 minutes and she was pulling out all these loose stones to show me, and we were talking....but I dont want to pay $20 for them to repair the stem because I really think she is the reason it is loose, and therefore not ticking correctly. She was twisting it really fast, and a LOT-maybe 20 or 40 times....enough to make the moon face cycle through 2 or 3 times...thats 2 or 3 months worth of turning. I need to figure out how to word what I need to say. I want to avoid using the word "you" because this makes people feel isolated, attacked and it sounds like you're blaming them personally (well you are, but without using the word "you" it sounds better)
for example-"Look, I know you didn't mean to break the vase, but you should be more careful"
instead, say this, "Look, I know it was an accident that the vase got broken-but its not a good idea to be so rough and tumble in this room"
You're saying the same thing, you're still accusing that person of breaking your vase, but the other person doesn't feel like you're pointing a harsh finger at them.
I want to communicate with this lady and let her know how I feel in a way that she will side with me, accept the idea that maybe, yes, she broke it, and either give me a discount on the repair ($10 off or more) or fix it for free. She was really nice to me, and I dont want to sound like a jerk. Any advice?