21 December 2005
SO five minutes ago...
The wedding dress drama has finally ended. Did it end smoothly? Of course not. After all the trouble I've had with this shop, they couldn't end it on a happy note.Before I went to pick it up, I called ahead of time to make sure we were on the same page with the final balance. Apparently, being on the same page was just too much to ask for:
Me: "I just wanted to know how much I owe on the remaining balance."
Lady on the other end: "Okay, we show...$88. Does that sound right?"
Me, rolling my eyes and thinking I should've known: "Yeah, uh, no. I had a balance of four-seventy something and I've made three payments of one fifty." Do the frickin' math, I wanted to say. But didn't. Barely.
Moment of silence, then
Lady on the other end: "Oh, here it is. You owe $25.64".
Me: "Thanks. I'll be picking it up tomorrow." Click.
Needless to say, when I got there, it was like this conversation had never happened. Because we had to go through the same thing. But the the owner (the mother, I'm sure) had to start from scratch. As in, pull out a friggin' calculator and figure it out longhand. Turns out, Marta, a familiar sounding name during this whole fiasco, hadn't carried the balance over to the other side! Oh, horrors! Off with her head! Funny, but she said it the same way someone would've said, "Well, I guess we'll just have to take it out of your paycheck."
Owner lady: "Would you like to try it on?"
Me, emphatically: "No, I'll try it on later."
After signing here, here, here and initialing there, I finally had my dress. She stapled a card to the bag, saying that I should bring it back the week of the wedding and they'll prep it for me. They're going to start charging $60 for the service as of the New Year, but the card stated I could get it for free. Bring it back the week of the wedding and have you prep it. Hmm. Let me think about that for all of a nanosecond. Is "When Hell freezes over and donkeys will fly out of my ass before I let you touch my dress again?" a good enough answer for ya?
It truly amazes me how these people do business. All of their files are in filing cabinets. They might as well be using an abacus to figure out the payment system. I got a copy of all my receipts. They were keeping track of payments and balances by hand! I should know, because that's how I was keeping track. They took a blank invoice that said balance, payment, balance, payment, and so forth. I couldn't help but think, "How many times has Marta messed this up?" There are programs out there for stuff like this, people. Get a clue and get computerized before an irate bride comes in and sets your place on fire!!
Anyhow, the drama's over. My dress hangs safely in its white bag at my parents' house. I feel wrung out after dealing with these people. But it's all downhill from here. I hope.
