Thursday 18 February 2016

Standing Up To What You Believe In

We are all very unique individuals, no one is perfect but that is the beauty of us. One of the components that makes us as unique as we are is the fact that we all have different opinions, and beliefs; we all have different things we stand up for.

Standing up to what you believe in is so important; as long as you have good reasonings behind your point and as long as you're not negatively impacting someone else then don't for one second let anything, nor anyone for that matter push you down, or make you disbelieve in what you stand up for.

Today I am going to with a post on a situation that I was in last weekend as an example of why it is so important that we stand up for ourselves.

So, last weekend I bought myself a new pair of small, gold, dainty hooped earrings from Topshop. When getting home, I went to put them in, but after several attempts and about half an hour I gave up as they were never going to fasten. A pair of earrings shouldn't take that long to try (and fail) to put in, and because of this I came to the conclusion that they were a faulty design.

So, the next day, I went back to Topshop and explained this issue with them, and that I wanted a refund as they weren't fit for purpose. 

The sales assistant at the counter said I'd need to speak to the Manger and called him over. After explaining the situation with the manager he was reluctant to give me a refund. His reason was that as the earrings are delicate thats how they've been made, the manager was even unable to fasten them himself (his excuse as to why he wasn't able to fasten them was that he is male, and doesn't wear earrings)...Seriously, is that really a reason? So even with his multiple failed attempts he still said to me that the earrings are fine, thats how they've been designed and therefore I am not eligible to a refund.

Now, I understand the earrings were very delicate and dainty, but my point was and is, that earrings are made to be worn and I wouldn't have been able to wear them as they were impossible to faster. 

The Manager somehow ended up turning the situation around on me, saying for example, "don't you have friends or family that can help put them on for you" in an extremely patronising way, which I thought was completely unnecessary. 

Yes...I do have friends and family, but I'm not going to ask them to come and help me put a pair of earrings on every time I'd like to wear them?

The manager then said I could call customer services if I wanted to take it any further. Which I did, in the shop. Customer services asked me to hand it to the manager, the manager went to the back room to talk, came back and said "the customer service team have left the situation in the shops hands, and we're sticking to our decision that we will not be happy to give you a refund".

By this time I was feeling quite patronised and humiliated as it started to feel like I was being questioned in court, when in the first place I was the one complain about a faulty product they are selling. 

Before leaving the shop, feeling upset and let down, I asked if the sales assistant could perhaps show me how to put the earrings on. I knew she wouldn't be able to physically put them on for me (due to health and safety reasons). But I thought maybe I wasn't putting them in right. So, she took me over to the mirror and again, even with her instructions the earrings were impossible to fasten. 

So I left feeling very let down by Topshop.

When I got back, I explained the situation with my Mum who was incredibly understanding and after speaking about it she had an idea. She got out her iPad and after typing for a few seconds she showed me a website page - 'Consumer Rights Act 2015'.

The website shows that under section 10 of the Act goods need to be fit for the purpose for which they are sold. Seeing this website in black and white helped me see that I wasn't in the wrong and that I do have the right to return the earrings.

With the information from the website my Mum and I came back to my initial decision. The earrings are not fit for purpose as it's impossible to fasten them without a time-consuming struggle, and under section 19 of the Act, I had the short term right to reject the goods (30 day limit).

I understand going this much into the situation, just for a refund for a pair of dainty, hooped earrings costing under £10 may seem a bit ridiculous. But I was genuinely feeling pretty upset. Surely it isn't right for a shop Manager to make their customer feel so patronised, humiliated and upset.

After a good night sleep, the next day I used the small bit of confidence and bravery in me to go back to Topshop, this time with the legal information, and I did just that. I spoke to a different manager who was in fact very understanding, she could see exactly where I was coming from and apologised for what happened the previous day, and hooray...she gave me the refund!

Not only was I delighted by this but going back the next day, and standing up for myself helped rebuild the confidence I lost and reminded me to believe in myself.

So the point of me sharing this (perhaps silly) experience on my blog?

To remind you reading this, that if you have something you believe in (even if its something as silly as this example), hold on to that. As long as you have points backing you up, don't let go of your belief and don't let someone or something make you feel you're in the wrong. 

You deserve your individuality and your uniqueness which is built from what you stand up for and what you believe in.

If you don't give up and you continue to believe in yourself your confidence will inevitably grow in time.

If I didn't have the little bit of confidence and bravery left in me to go back to Topshop the next day I just know that the negativity from the situation would have caused me an adverse effect. 

I held onto my belief; I stood up for myself and I'm so happy I did because the final outcome really helped boost my confidence which is always a positive in my eyes.
Thank you for reading :)

I'm so grateful to those who carry on following my blog and reading my posts - it means the world!

Make sure to leave a comment below letting me know what you think, or if you've ever had to deal with a similar situation! I'd love to know :)

Love you all, millions!

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