Deep Inside My Thoughts

This is regarding the 29 gallon tank I bought, but didn’t have room for.   Always remember to remove credit card reciepts from clothes prior to washing ;).   Letter is as follows:

Dear Sir or Madam:

I recently purchased the last 29-gallon Top-Fin Aquarium kit in the store on April 5^th, at your Topeka, KS (#0244) store.  Over the last few months, I’ve wanted to introduce my girlfriend to the joy of fish keeping that I loved so much as a child.  Along with the aquarium kit, I also purchased 30 lbs. of gravel, and some water de-chorloinator (total cost for all was $146.08) so I could set up my tank and return to Petsmart in a few today to buy some fish to start cycling the water.

Unfortunately, this tank was more of an impulse buy than rational thought, and the stand I intended to use was much smaller than the tank’s dimensions.  As I live in a limited sized apartment, adding another piece of furniture for an aquarium was simply unfeasible at the time.   I’ve heard great things about Petsmart’s customer service from friends and family alike.

This fact was reinforced when I called up the local store and spoke to a Nick about returning the tank.   Nick informed me there would be no problem, and to just bring in my receipt and my credit card would be credited the amount returned.   Unfortunately,  I had bought the tank at roughly 4:30 p.m. and had to be at work by 6 p.m.   So by the time I had driven home, lugged the tank inside, and decided this wasn’t going to work, I was out of time to return to the store the same day.

When I finished up with work that night, I decided to take a few loads of laundry to the local laundry mat and catch up on my laundry while I had the time.   I also decided it would be a good idea to wash my jacket at this time, and being how I don’t usually keep items in it, I just removed it and washed it.  However, the credit card receipt for my newly purchased tank was inside my freshly-washed jacket.  I did not realize this until Friday, when I wanted to return the items.

Knowing this might be a problem, I went ahead and called Petsmart again, and talked to a nice lady who informed me that without a receipt, the most the store could do was issue me a store gift card.  However, this is not acceptable to me.  I do realize the balance your store must take into account when it comes to returns.  I, like many others, have worked in a retail outlet for a portion of my working career, and I realize that some of your customers attempt to return outlandish goods.

However, I have a newly purchased tank sitting on my floor that does me no use at all.  It was purchased less than 48 hours ago, and despite my stupid mistake of washing my receipt for such a purchase, I find it difficult to believe that there is simply no record of my credit card sale, nor any way to return it.

On the side of the Top-Fin box, it reads “If you are not satisfied with this product, return it to place of purchase for a refund.”  Surely, there is some way that we can verify my sales transaction so I can receive the refund I am seeking. 

If you need additional information to investigate the matter, please feel free to call me at (785) 783-0007, which forwards to both my home and cellular phones.   Also, please feel free to respond via email to Bobosan@gmail.com if preferred.

I look forward to the matter being resolved amiably and look to the future where Petsmart can meet my need for aquarium supplies and the fish I am so eager to buy.

Sincerely,

Mr. Aaron T. Kennedy