Trust

One of my wife's company's promises, which gives them a slight business edge, is that they will refund on returned goods for any reason. This is a generous offer and, of course, operates on trust.

The unpleasant people of this world take advantage of it - pound to a penny someone somewhere will bring back two cases of glasses just after the New Year having used purchase and refund as a free glass-hire scheme. They will deny having washed them even though you will be able to see dishwasher marks on them. They will go to tortuous lengths to explain why they have carefully removed the stickers from each glass even though they were already in the very process of deciding they didn't want them.

Today Liz is visiting a woman who wants a replacement oak table because when she put a wet-bottomed glass on it a ring-stain was caused. Liz has refused my three suggestions:

1. Replace her table with a formica topped one as she is clearly too lazy to own real wood.

2. Show her how to polish out a ring stain.

3. Ask if she would also like a refund on her brain which clearly doesn't work any more.

This is because Liz is tactful, diplomatic, political and a good ambassador for her company. Some compromise will be found so that the woman returns as a customer. This is why Liz is in retail, where you do not tell the customers they are being stupid and I am in the church where you, oops, went too far with that train of thought.