Dear Editor,
I entered a store (name given) in Regent Street manned by three Oriental persons. I am assuming that they are Chinese. I was looking for a gift. I bought a dress/top with the understanding that if it did not fit I would return it. Well, it did not fit. At this store there is no cash register and you are not given a bill. On returning the item the store refused to return my money and insisted that I take something else that I did not need of equal value. I refused and insisted that I be given a bill. The young Oriental woman wrote a bill and flung it across the counter to me and the older Oriental man said to me that I can go and bring the police or do whatever I want.
The young Oriental man was pounding the counter with a hanger, gibbering away and getting angrier by the second.
Armed with my receipt I phoned the Guyana Revenue Authority. The store is not registered for VAT but they said they would look into the matter. I phoned the Consumer’s desk at the Ministry of Tourism.Yes, they have had several complaints but the Chinese stores are protected by the Chinese Embassy and some of the store owners even have diplomatic status. Oh yes? Well, what about the Con-sumer Protection Bill. It is sitting on someone’s desk accumulating dust I gather. In the meantime ‘Goods are not returnable.’
At Courts I bought a rug that looked fantastic in the store but when I took it home the colour scheme was all wrong. I returned it for something more suitable. The staff was courteous and helpful.
Venetian curtains bought at National Hard-ware were delivered in a sealed box but the wand was missing. I phoned the manager and a wand was located for me. The staff was willing and went the extra mile to satisfy a customer.
Now I am at Gafoors looking for tiles. I need 40 tiles but I am told that I must buy 50 tiles because tiles are only sold by the box. Excuse me, but what should I do with the extra 10. I must put it away so that when 10 of my 40 tiles that are laid get broken I will have ready replacement!
Yours faithfully,
Hema Persaud
Editor’s note
We are sending a copy of this letter to the Chinese Store for any comments they may wish to make.
