Boycotting Hastings

I have a brother-in-law that has very strong beliefs regarding commerce. I don't know if he still does or not, but, at one time he carried a list of companies and manufactures in his wallet that he refused to do business with.

I'm not that dedicated. Definitely not that well informed.

I'm just pissed.

The Hastings bookstore in San Marcos is one of those places I stop in when visiting Tori. I'm there an average of 3-5 times a month. In the last year alone, I've probably spent well over $300 there. I've been shopping there for over three years. I know most of the employees by site and many of them know Will by name - of coarse, that probably has something to do with me having to yell, "Will, stop that!" all the time.

A few weeks back I was in and purchased a t-shirt for Steve. It was a St. Patty day shirt that said, "Pinch me and I'll punch you in the nose." Of coarse, it was all black - not a bit of green in site. Needless to say, it fit Steve to a "T".

Through a series of non-important maneuvers, I ended up loosing the receipt. Since the t-shirt was a gift I took off the tags. That evening I was showing it to Steve when I noticed a hole in the fabric. It was obviously a manufacture issue. No biggie, I'll take it back.

Now, while it is true I had no idea what their return policy was, I had seen a woman exchange an item without tags or a receipt just the week before. So I didn't give it another thought.

When I showed up in Hastings and explained the situation, a manager was called. It was one of the people I generally see in the store and I explained the situation. She told me point blank, "Without tags or a receipt we can not offer a refund, exchange, or credit your account."

I showed her the damage, stressing how obvious it was a manufactures flaw. After a few minutes, I just had it. I told her to keep the damn t-shirt, it wasn't going to do me any good and I left the store.

On the way out, Will was begging for some candy. I told him, loud enough the manager could hear, "We're not buying anything from this store again."

And that's when it hit me.

I don't have to.