Sometimes the voice in your head is all that matters

On Monday evening, I went to the superstore to get provisions and body products. I got milk, beverage, decaf tea, sugar, vaseline-my body cream for now, my mum's body cream, chocolates, and mouthwash. When I got home, I offloaded the goods and told my brother to help me arrange them. I gave my mum her body cream and some minutes later she came into my room with the body cream in her hand. She said there was a slight difference in the colour of the cream and explained that the cream is usually  pure white, as white as the container but this one was a little brown in colour. She advised I return it and exchange it for her soap if the other creams were the same. I collected it back from her and put in my bag with the receipt I thanked God I had not torn. 

The following day I went to the superstore to make my complaints. When I got in, I was directed to a particular gentleman who seemed like he was doing a routine check. I greeted him and started narrating my story. As I mentioned that I got the body cream yesterday, he expressed his shock saying the security men shouldn't have allowed me into the store with the body cream in my hand. He led me back outside and scolded the security men on duty for not being vigilant. After that I told him why I was there and asked how it could be rectified. He asked for the receipt which I gladly gave to him (thinking it was the password I needed to get an exchange) but he showed me where it was written boldly 'no refund, no exchange please'. I was surprised when I saw it but acted calmly and said I just wanted to bring it to their notice. He told me to wait outside while he spoke with the manager. 

While waiting, I saw a friend who came to do her Easter shopping, she asked what I was doing there and I explained to her. She reminded me of the statement on the receipt 'no refund, no exchange please' and advised that I forget about the whole thing but I still waited patiently. A lady in charge of raffle draws who was chatting with her colleague-a cashier noticed that I had been waiting for some time and asked why I was waiting. I explained to them and they said in Yoruba that the man should have just apologised to me and let me go, instead of wasting my time. Implying I would not get an exchange. Then she said, "sister you know it is written 'no exchange no refund'" I just nodded sadly. No encouragement from the first man I reported my complaint to, my friend and the raffle draw lady and her colleague. At that point, I felt like walking away, but something still told me to wait.

Then the lady advised me to meet the man inside instead of waiting outside because he might have forgotten he kept me waiting. I went in and saw the man coming towards me. He said he was with the manager and the manager wanted to see me. Before we got to the manager's office, he suggested we check out the other creams on the shelf and compare. We checked out about 6 different creams and noticed that they were all white just like my mum described. This made me happy and I told myself I would get an exchange no matter what. So I made my point known to the man explaining that I wasn't talking out of ignorance and he could see it for himself. He agreed and we headed for the manager's office. 

When we got there, he ushered me in and told me to have my seat. I did and faced the young looking manager. I greeted him and he told me to express myself even though his subordinate had explained to him. I did that and he tried to give me 101 reasons why the cream had no problem. He was a bit taken aback when I explained that the mini manager and I did a little comparison and confirmed that the cream I bought was the odd one out. He apologised and instructed that I get an exchange. We exchanged formal pleasantries and I left his office. I was all smiles as I went home. I told my mum the whole story and she was happy she got her 'white' cream. I thanked God I listened to the voice in my head that told me to wait to see how it would end and I was happy I let that voice overrule voices that told me I would not get a refund or an exchange. Not like they wanted to discourage me intentionally; they only spoke based on what they knew since it was actually written on the receipt 'no refund, no exchange please'. 

This can be said to be a trivial situation but same occurs everyday when what people say concerning us is different from what we believe about ourselves. No one thought I could get a refund except me even though I wasn't sure at first. If I didn't believe the situation could turn out good, I would have just walked away and told my mum what I saw on the receipt (just like others told me) and my money would have gone to waste. Sometimes we have convictions about certain things but people (even those close to us) give us reasons (that might look really genuine) why they think our ideas are not feasible, why our plans or methods may not work out, or try to put limits to our dreams. Most times, they don't do it with bad intentions in mind but based on their knowledge or experience (except the jealous or evil dream killers). In any case, it is left for us to decide which voice we want to listen to...take a cue from my story.

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