₦airaland Forum

@ chaircover, let's remove sentiments and face the facts - I am not stealing from them so it does not really matter to me whether madam takes the money from the salesgirl's money or not.

chaircover:
I dont get it. Youve lost me now. What exactly are you fighting for?

The N8,000, a apology, madam to respond to your letter, or just to make them uncomfortable by your presence?

Who exactly are you fighting? The madam or the sales girls?

If madam docks the N8,000 from the girls wages; which incidentally is very common in Nigeria, (Some shop girls only have to come 10 minutes late and their salary gets docked for the whole day) It is the shop girl who will loose half her salary to this incident.

I'm not even fighting anybody. It's madam that is fighting her salesgirl now and that is outside my control. I'm not the evil customer here. I will not be blackmailed.

chaircover:
If you dont give the shop girl that N8,000 back then you have deprived her of half or more of her wages for the month (afterall she has begged you not to continue with the complaint)

If you do give the girl the N8,000 back then you have not acheived anything because you are still out of pocket, plus the time, cost of phone calls, bad feeling and energy you have spent pursuing this case and madam hasnt lost a penny except your custom and as you have said before this was the first time you shopped in her shop and you do live quite a distance away so you probably werent her best customer.

If I don't give the girl the money, I would not feel one bit of guilt because it is my money. If I give it back, I still would be indifferent to it. If she wants to sue madam for unjustly deducting her money, I will offer her my support.

I already thought about the additional cost before I embarked on this. I'm not trying to clean up or sanitize Nigeria but I don't have to take 100% of all the sh.it that the Nigerian culture rubs on me. Some people just have to be responsible when things go wrong, and you don't treat everybody like they do not matter.

chaircover:
If you carry on and insist on getting your money back, you will find that you will loose the respect that you have and it wont suprise me if the shop girls abuse you all the way to your car. (thats if you pocket the money)

This was a accident, it really wasnt anyones fault. We have all had a bag split on us in our lifetime. One of 2 people are going ot be out of pocket; either you or the sales girl.

I do not feed on their respect. I'm not stealing from them and I'm not taking advantage of the situation. Dem nor go fit abuse me to my face. dem nor dey fear face? and if they manage to talk am out, na today dem dey abuse person? as long as I don't reply them, na dem go tire. As an aside, those types of abuses are common and meaningless - imagine that I was in a public transport the other day and the conductor clearly told us the fares which was a little higher than the regular fare but I did not know and I was also in a hurry to get out of the area. Passengers boarded and the bus moved. I paid conductor as soon as he demanded for it and someone started calling me "olowo igbo" (yoruba word for useless rich man). People will abuse for any reason.
It is not my fault by any means if the sales girl is out of pocket.

chaircover:
Would you have made the same fuss if you had got home and discovered that they had mistakenly sold you a bottle worth N16,000 instead of N8,000?

It depends - most likely yes. especially if we are talking about this type of twice the price scenario on a ready made, standardized product. They can not claim that theirs is better than what obtains elsewhere and they are not providing any extra or special service attached to the sales of the readymade merchandise. God knows I'm taking my money back even if it means following this same torturous route.

[quote author=Shy-One link=topic=608332.msg7776774#msg7776774 date=1298338196]Don't worry about what it is or isn't

sounds like you won

The girl's salary is being deducted so you can get paid

You will be hearing about your reimbursement soon - I would advise you not to shop in that store again - if the shop owner can treat her employee in this unethical manner - she doesn't deserve your business - God will deal with her accordingly. The salesgirl will be reimbursed x 10 as God doesn't do ugly.[/quote]Truth is I will collect the money and hand it over to the girl. if she (madam) likes let her take it back from her when I turn my back. But I will collect that money back.

I was not under the illusion that this will be one smooth thing. I was at the shop again today to drop a letter for the madam. It's just my little experiment. My letter is reproduced below.

"Dear Madam,
REQUEST FOR A FULL REFUND OR REPLACEMENT OF DAMAGED MERCHANDISE.

I was in your shop on the 19th of February 2011 to purchase a bottle of xyz. A salesgirl (name) packed the item into one of your branded nylon bags and handed it to me at the door. I had barely taken two steps when both handles of the nylon bag gave way, which resulted in the breakage of the bottle. I requested the senior among the two salesgirls (name) to inform you about this incident. However, when I called back later, she told me that you have been informed and you said it's none of your business.

I believe you owe me a duty of care to ensure that the package you gave me for my merchandise is able to hold my merchandise at least to get out of your premises. I therefore demand a full refund or a replacement of the merchandise. You can reach me on phone - 12345678 - or through the address used above.

I hope to hear from you within the next 7 days.

Thank you."

One of the girls called me this evening to beg me to forget the matter since madam said the money will be deducted from her salary. I see that as nothing but blackmail.

So isn't there a court in Nigeria where I don't need big lawyers? what about all those divorce suits that we read about? don't they represent themselves?

chaircover:
The next question is how were they to know that the particular bag they gave you was not able to hold your merchandise?

Is this the first time you have bought from their shop?

If not have their bags fallen apart before?

If you have bought from them before and you have used their bags without any issues, have you gone on to further use these same bags for other things apert from just taking our mechandise home (like most of us do)?

How can anyone prove that you didnt damage the bag yourself just to discredit their establishment

These are all the questions you are going to be ready to answer if you went to court.

My first time in their shop. It's not even in my area.

That is their own burden of proof. They selected the bag and packed it for me. I have not left their presence. If the stuff had stayed longer with the girl, it would have dropped too.

chaircover:
Lets be realistic here. This is Nigeria and not the USA or the UK. I take things back to the shop all the time in the UK but I know where I stand when it comes to returning goods in Nigeria.

First of all before this even reaches court the poster would have spent 100 times the cost of the broken bottle.

This is Nigeria and any lawyer that takes up your case is just going to use you as a meal ticket until someone dedides that enough is enough.

That is why I am looking for a small claims court.

@Googles, will a magistrate court take my case?

chaircover:
Afterall we all know that she didnt manufacure the defective bag in her back yard & had probably paid a printer a lot of money to get those bags branded.

She should not have used the bags if they are defective. I shouldn't be made to pay for the printer or manufacturer's error.

chaircover:
In this case, court is not the solution and an apology and say some sort of partial refund is a better option. Lets face it, if the bottle had rolled off the seat in the car when you braked suddenly in Lagos traffic (this has happened to me before so I know) who would you hold responsible?

I am not yet in court. I am writing a letter to her to ask her for the way forward. if she offers a reasonable apologywithout much arguement, I might be inclined to drop the case. but if she has not called me since yesterday, she must have assumed that since I came from a far distance, I will not have the time to come back to pursue 8K.

If the stuff broke in my car, it is already delivered and I won't even go back. It is an accident and I am responsible for it.

In this case, it is still an accident and she's responsible for it

chaircover:
I think what is really pissing you off is the attitude of the staff and the same would piss me off too if I were in your shoes.

Funny enough, what I wanted to do initially was to just discuss with the owner and tell her that her bags were bad, but when the girl refused to give me her number, I told her that if I had to go and come back, I will demand for a full refund. Now that she has my number and the madam has not called, I am annoyed at the madam more than at the girls.

[quote author=Shy-One link=topic=608332.msg7767917#msg7767917 date=1298226435]Not trying to be rude as I respect your posts and it sounds as if this were your shop - the outcome would have been much different[/quote]I will replace the merchandise.

chaircover:
@shy-one, the accident happened out side of the shop.

Poster said that he was handed the article at the door and he walked 2 steps away.

It happened on their premises. I took their picture while they were cleaning up after the breakage.

googles:
lol listen to yourself. . . .you think the anyone is ready to be sued ? for God sakes no one likes to be sued and if you get sued you try everything in

and out of the books to look innocent

* In this case, the shop owner will claim she was not around when the incident happened and the said plaintiff did not inform/contact her

I agree with you. That is why I will drop my letter tomorrow stating my case as mentioned above and asking her to let me know what she intends to do about it. If she claims not to have seen the letter after 7-21 days, then, it is because she decided not to see it.

googles:
* the attendant reported the case to the shop owner but he left no forwarding address . . .so there was no way they could reach him

I left my phone number. I called the girl and we spoke on the phone. It was on the phone she told me what madam said.

googles:
* How is this a case ? What exactly is the legal rule ?  

I don't know, but when I have searched enough, I will know how to say it anywhere that "the package they gave me for my merchandise should be able to hold my merchandise at least for a reasonable length of time". At least that should be their duty to me. otherwise, they should not put it in any bag at all. They were not careful enough to ensure that the merchandise is safe in the container.

Googles, I love your perspective. Sounds like you are a lawyer.
1. I'm not going to sue for poor customer service or lack of empathy. They gave me a defective bag. period. It was their branded bag so they should have been sure the container is good enough for the merchandise. If they put my merchandise in their branded bag, then the bag should be able to take the merchandise to my car at least. They had barely handed the merchandise to me when the bag gave way. It did not take me out of their premises.

2. I'm going to write a letter to the owner of the shop stating my case. I'll take the picture of the letter in their shop. that way she won't claim she's totally unaware. I'll even assume she has not been told.

I'll think of more as I go along.

chaircover:
haaaaaa lets keep things in perspective o!,

Is N8k worth the stress and sleepless nights of going to court?

For me, of course not but it's not about the money. I'm just freaking tired of this country and the way nobody takes responsibility for anything. I'm not expecting to win, however, I really want to see how this ends.

chaircover:
haaaaaa lets keep things in perspective o!,
Back to the issue, truth be told,  the shop owner has handed over the item and the customer has left the shop and therefore the safety of the item is now the responsibility of the buyer.

Yes and No. I was still on their premises. Like I said in my original post I have not even taken more than 2 steps. OK maybe it was three.

chaircover:
haaaaaa lets keep things in perspective o!,

The mistake was that the shop girls didnt show good customer service or empathy for their customers situation. A courteous smile, an apology and a promise to tell madam what happened would have gone a long way.

The truth of the matter is that many shop assistants steal and as a result, madam cannot give them freeway to use their initiative otherwise they will be replacing real and fiticious broken bottles om a daily basis.

I don't care about the customer service form the girls. they are not the worst I've seen. and I won't even mention that in my case.

chaircover:
@poster what you may want to do is ask the girls how you can contact the shop owner and complain to her direct and she will most probably give you a refund. I certainly will.

You are right though, Customer service in Nigeria is very poor and this needs to be addressed

That's why I'm going to write a letter to the owner and wait for a response before I take any further step. meanwhile, I will be searching if there is a small claims court in Nigeria. Someone told me to go to a magistrate court. Googles will help to give me some direction at least. Even if he's going to represent the shop owner

REALITY101:
Ok, I can help you out but on one condition, that is if what you bought from that store worth the runarounds. Doesn't matter if her hubby is a popo or not, but you sound more like a peaceful type.

just say hi ---------> charlestylson@yahoo.com

@ reality - You would be disappointed to know that the item costs only 8K naira. but like I said, it's not about the money but their attitude.

I sound peaceful because I am more dangerous when I'm peaceful than when I'm angry. I am willing to spend 10 times the cost of the item in my effort to make them pay. I will work until I get to a logical, legal block. So help me God.

Don’t we have courts in Nigeria that could take cases like this (with me representing myself)? Like all those courts on the TV in the US.

[quote author=Mrs.Chima link=topic=608332.msg7763648#msg7763648 date=1298153478]DId you get that black plastic bag with two handles? I could never understood why would they put boxes of food or product in those small bags! My husband bought a box of Instant noodles and Gino's tomato paste from a store and the lady only had small black bags with the handles. We had to take everything out of the boxes and put them in the bag and went back to the house with 20 small bags!![/quote]I actually got a branded nylon bag with handles. I guess the fact that they branded it gives them more responsibility.

[quote author=Shy-One link=topic=608332.msg7764225#msg7764225 date=1298162388]@ Poster

In the U.S. - they would have replaced it immediately if you bought that bottle in a large store and in a boutique high end store as well.

But if you bought it in the U.S. in a small mom and pop establishment with no procedures, mission statements, rules - than it is dependent upon the ethics of the owner of that operation. Because once it is in your hand - then it is an argument as to whether you ripped the bag, etc.

Here is what I would do - go on NL - create a video with a camera or camera phone or camcorder - 3 minutes tops and then upload it to utube and post it on the fashion section of NL - about your experience and create a song out of it, even stand in front of the store and sing while you record - give the owner a copy - see if that changes anything. Rap about what you paid, hold the broken bag and bottle up, their response and what you as a customer thought you would get - accountability from the shop owner to stand-by their products and services (this would include store bought shopping bags that they package sold merchandise and hand to the customer) - The owner might be willing to negotiate after you air the video - if you don't want to sing about it - talk about it instead - it should take about 30 minutes to an hour to do all of the above.

See how this guy did it? He won and the Retailer worked everything out with him


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo[/quote]I'm thinking about making flyers that I will give to their customers and neighbours instead. but that may not be effective as getting a judgement against them if I find the right court.

olas2u:
The woman ages very fast,she may not be attractive at a point like before again ,so you may take a second wife.That is the disadvantage.She may not respect you so much because you are age mates .some women use some words when talking in local language which shows respect for the hubby.se ki ba yin bonje wa.Thats yoruba and yin shows respect.

It's all in the mind. my wife is two months older than I am and we never have respect issues. we are going on 13 years of marriage now. It all boils down to the specific individuals involved in the relatiosnship. abi you never see a 25 year old calling a 48 year old by first name? what reason do they give? it's because they are "trying to be close to their spouse".

By the way, I know homes where the second wife is older than the first wife. How will you explain that?

REALITY101:
@Sure sweetie that's exactly why I said that as man in the house btw I was referring to u, @ Chima I ain't biting no one.
@topic go back there with some military men they fear em to death and I guarantee your money back with apology

I don't have the liver of starting what I can't finish. what if madam husband happens to be a military man too?

REALITY101:
Lack customer service.

Goldieluks:
I don't know when Nigerians who are on the sales field,would learn how to treat customers,my gawd,some of them act so frustrated,they don't even smile,some of them would even scream at you,if you touch an item,without purchasing it.They are so timid and ignorant.I don't think the have heard the word ''good customer service'' before,what a pity.

that goes for any average organization in Nigeria. The funny thing is that it is the ones that are most vulnerable have the poorest customer service

[quote author=Mrs.Chima link=topic=608332.msg7763470#msg7763470 date=1298150980]That what happens when business owners are not properly screening their workers and training them on diversity awareness.

It is important for the business to maintain a goodwill reputation can can potentially increase revenue and optimal financial performance. BUT thinking on a more realistic standpoint, I bet the sale girl was attractive and body was on point right?

If so, sex sells.[/quote]Abeg, I nor check out the sales girls o. my wife will soon come and check what I've been doing online. my couch is not comfortable.  

Goldieluks:
Yea if they see a rich individual,they tend to give them a VIP service,but please don't even go near them,if your not rich,they would chew you with their eyees and mouth.


@Reality,behave like a man please,you don't spill everything you see.

It's not all rich individuals that appear rich though. so it's better for them to treat everybody nicely. but I don't even care about how they treated me. I am bothered that they think it's none of their business if they gave me a defective bag that made me lose my item.

Mr. Seun Osewa - Please can you create a section for miscellaneous topics like this?
Moderator - Kindly move this to the appropriate section
Nairalanders - pls pardon me for taking advantage of the section with the highest traffic

I was in a shop (Lagos, Nigeria) to buy an item and the sales girl put the item in a nylon bag and handed it to me at the door. Before I could take 2 steps, the handle of the nylon bad gave way and I lost the bottle and its content. I asked the senior sales girl and requested for the owners’ phone number so I can discuss with her about what happened but she refused. I got the sales girl's number though. I later called her to ask if she had told the owner, she said “yes, but she said it’s none of her business”.

What should I do? It’s not about the money but the attitude. I just think we can’t continue to take Poo like this as Nigerians.

Beware - Long Post.

Almost as soon as I finished youth service, someone approached me that they could get a cover letter from a Royal father that was friends with Walter Carrington (US Ambassador). He said the Royal father only needs to write a letter of introduction to the Ambassador and that was it. We got the letter, we were preped by the woman in charge of the phoney arrangement and we all went to the embassy. we were told to say 1). we do not know anybody in the US so we would be staying in the Hotel. 2). our current occupation is weaving which is the family/ royal business and we were going for sight seeing as realtives of the King (with different surnames o). Of course they refused us. she chopped my 5K

Fast forward to two years later. I now had a job with a multinational and I wanted to visit my folks in the US. I was using the same passport (I had vowed that I won't do any shady thing to get any visa in my life). In my application, I now said I have a sister in the US who is a citizen, my parents have resident permits, I also wrote my true profession.  I was not feeling too scared when It was my turn for interview until I peeped into the lady’s cubicle and I saw my long neck in the old application form. I nearly pissed because I remember the contradictions. The interview started

Oyibo: How long has your sister been in the US?
Me: about 10 years

Oyibo: How long has your parents been in the US?
Me: about a year

O: so why did you say you did not know anybody in the US two years ago?
Me: well… she actually did not support my move because she felt I would be denied since I do not have any serious ties in Nigeria. SO out of annoyance, I refused to mention her or acknowledge her in the application.

O: You also said you were a weaver and now you are a “bla bla”
Me: yes I wrote weaving because that was what I was doing that time. I was just out of school with nothing doing and it was a family thing so it was easy for me to join the business. I have tried to drive a taxi after then, I have already gone back to school for my masters degree before I got this job. SO my occupation would have been different if I was here each of those times.

O:You actually have 1000 naira in your account
  I looked up from the document to let her know she has not seen the second page, and then I saw her smiling nicely at me. She was pulling my legs. I smiled back and I knew God has done it

O: You are single?
Me: yes, but I’m getting married in 5 month’s time by the grace of God
O: it’s not the grace of God. It’s if she says “yes”
Me: she said yes already.

At this point I was almost shaking with joy. I went and came back. Yet I was refused twice after that. A few years later, I got my first 2 years multiple visa and it has been good stories since then.

Jeezuzpick:
All I want is for them to stop sending me all these unsolicited text messages.

I don' tire to dey press ''delete''


They can keep their 4.995Gees.

Let's get people together so that we can institute a class action suit against them.

On a serious note, I have been very annoyed with Glo's service for a while.
1. I paid 50K for roaming and they could not connect me when I got to my destination. Despite that, they still wanted me to pay them for keeping the number for me while I was away. It took some strong exchange of letters before they left me alone.
2. They praised their 3G modem to high heavens, but they have not responded to calls to do a road show or to make a demo available at their Glo World outlets.
3. The unsolicited texts is just another one.

I'm seriously waiting for an opportunity to give them a piece of my mind.

See confusion o - AIT is still flashing the breaking news that the court order has been vacated. But Nwodo just delegated his responsibilities as chairman to his deputy because of the same court order barring him from parading himself as PDP chairman.

You can watch or listen to the program live here
http://media.rccgnet.org/

Please help with the history fo this vehicle - 4T3ZF13CX2U436807.

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In my opinion, i think this woman has taken more than her fair share of bashings for her contributions to what happened during the election reruns in Ekiti state. maybe I do not understand some things that happened then, but I thought the woman resigned, went into hiding and said publicly that she does not want to do anything against her conscience. That, as far as I'm concerned, is highly courageous and damning for the ruling party then. It was after these that she was located and ferried to Abuja (Aso rock) before she played her role in the elections. Do we know what transpired in Abuja? I think it was not about money exchaning hands, otherwise she would just chop and clean mouth without resigning and hiding. She may have been blackmailed and threatened to continue "her job".

I believe her initial actions helped the case of AC significantly, I also think she took a very big risk when she tendered her resignation and made comments about her conscience in the public. Most of those who have villified her would not have had the liver to take a stand like she did.

What is your opinion?

MrsEve:
I know I am going to steps on some crusty toes. Here it is! I am not going to bring the bible nor other religious books in this equation. I am going to simply speak logically.


for·ni·ca·tion (fôrn-kshn)
n.
Sexual intercourse between partners who are not married to each other.

We now know the definition of Fornication, let look at the definition of Adultery.

a·dul·ter·y (-dlt-r, -tr)
n. pl. a·dul·ter·ies
Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a partner other than the lawful spouse.

We now know the definition of Adultery, let me further elaborate on my point.

Now poster, your question is having more than one wife is a sin and vice versa with having more than one husband is a sin. If we are speaking from ethical standpoint, which means a system of principles then we would say that it depends on the person who are committing such act on the SYSTEM of which they believes to be ethical. However, if we were to look at the moral standpoint, we will say that it is a sin for a person who have multiple wives or husbands because of the judgement between good or evil.

Now wrapping it up in a logical standpoint is if a person is LEGALLY MARRIED to a person who is cited on a certificate or license that would not be consider a in because they are legally married therefore no act of fornication involved. Now if a person who is LEGALLY MARRIED to a person who is cited on a certificate or license that having relations of any kind to a person that is not cited on the license is committing adultery according to the definitions.

People have their own sets of principles of how they see fit and most likely use principles that benefits them regardless of it logically sounded or not.

In addition to this response,
1. The problem with modern day polygamy is that almost 100% of them are rooted in fornication/adultery, unfaithfulness, deceit, callousness etc. Our forefathers had multiple wives but most of the additional wives came into their husbands' homes as virgins i.e. even the husband did not have se.x with them until they were legally married. Most polygamous relationships of today can not boast of this.
2. A typical polygamy (now and then) has a lot of politicking that takes people deep into selfishness and other means to protect themselves so it is not impossible to see people delve into sinfull pratcices/activities in order to survive in a polygamous setting.

ufofex:
Expository as always.

Allow me sir to confer on you (in my world at least), Senior Advocate of NairaLand, SANL

Seconded!!!

MOBO444:
Well this was yours truly personal experience in Nigeria for 11 days, you better belive our Black women are cheap and are a disgrace to womanhood.

Dear MOBO444, I hope you are not a black man 'cos otherwise a couple of women in your lineage - your mum and/or sisters, dad's mother (and more women in your lineage) may be black. I don't mean to insult you but I would want you to know that your comment above will apply to them.

Your hurt can and will heal if you can calm down and attend to yourself instead of embarking on this unneccasry rantings about the ills of black females. Some of them are bad just as we have them in all races.

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Please help me check the VIN of these vehicles
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The Nokia logo on my N900 comes on once you put the battery in and it doesn't go beyond that. The phone doesn't charge the battery again. Where can I get help about getting it back to life. I've been to "Nokia Care Center" but it's like they can't fix it. I'm in Lagos, Nigeria. Please help!!!

The Nokia logo comes on once you put the battery in and it doesn't go beyond that. it doesn't charge the battery. Where can I get help about getting it back to life. I've been to "Nokia Care Center" but it's like they can't fix it. I'm in Lagos, Nigeria.

so what happens if I use a phone that is more expensive than their BB?