Cheap cotton fabric on a garment that was promised to be
"butter soft viscose rayon"
Ordered online from Holy Clothing Company
Fraud and shoddy workmanship seem to go hand-in-hand these days, or perhaps it has always been thus. I have had a week of disappointments in this regard.
Most recently, I had waited with baited breath for a "butter soft viscose rayon" skirt from my favorite clothing manufacturer, Holy Clothing Company. I was particularly excited about these skirts because they were advertised as being 42 inches long, which would FINALLY be long enough to brush the tops of my feet, which is what I like in a skirt. I am not super tall, at 5 feet 7 inches, but most clothes for women seem to be made for those who are several inches shorter. (This makes NO sense to me because you can't ADD FABRIC to a skirt or pair of pants, but you can certainly hem them.)
I rarely wear anything but Holy Clothing skirts and blouses that have been shipped to me over the last few years and arrive by DHL delivery to my door. Very handy for a disabled person, and the clothing has always been super. I always get compliments on my many skirts, blouses, dresses and jackets.
Today when I opened the package, however, I pulled out two miserable, paper thin, stiff and scratchy skirts that were clearly labeled "100% cotton," which is NOT what I was promised. This skirt was advertised thus:
Colette Simply Elegant Full Style Skirt
Price From: $34.99
Butter-Soft washed viscose/rayon breathes naturally for year round comfort.
I had already begun to develop a mistrust of this clothing company because I learned that, as a matter of policy, they remove all unflattering reviews from their website, leaving only the raves. This is unethical, of course, and not the industry standard. If you offer customers an opportunity to review a merchant's wares, the customary business practice is to include ALL reviews, not just the good ones. When I questioned them about this, some time ago, I was given a thin excuse to the effect that complaints are rare and the problems can usually be fixed, so it isn't necessary to include them. I disagree.
I have to admit that I was apprehensive about this order because of their unethical approach to their reviews and because I'd had some delivery issues with a shipment I had received some time ago. I should have listened to my gut.
This happens all the time these days. You pay good money for something that you are led to believe is going to be a quality item of a certain manufacture, and later discover it is either misrepresented (as in the above case) and/or is so poorly made it barely lasts a minute.
I am a tea lover. I love tea and all its accoutrements and I have several friends who are likewise inclined. There is something about tea, its rituals and its decorative motifs that makes a certain kind of person swoon. I can't explain it. I think it's a girl thing.
Anyway, I really needed an electric tea kettle that would turn itself off when the water boiled, since this would save on electricity and since my stove-pot tea kettle has fallen apart. I waited TWO YEARS to purchase this darling ceramic tea pot from Victorian Trading Company. It took me that long to get the money out of my budget. I was keen for this variety because there would be less of a metallic taste to the water. The fact that it is beautiful was another feature I appreciated.
Now, as it happens, Victorian Trading Company has agreed to send me a replacement for this particular item only, in that they usually will accept returns for just 90 days, but this item should not have broken so quickly. I think they are using good customer service practices for a customer who has ordered a lot from them over the last 20 years. Something very endearing that they do in this company is that the women who answer the phones have pseudonyms of famous women from history. Today I spoke to "Eleanor Roosevelt," which made me giggle quite a bit, and I think the customer service representative was confused as to why I was laughing. Perhaps she did not appreciate how funny it seems, or maybe she just doesn't know who was Eleanor Roosevelt. I can't say.
Holy Clothing Company is also more than willing to credit me for the disreputable skirts they shipped me, AFTER I return the lousy skirts, but they expect me to pay for the shipping FIRST and then later they will reimburse me. Frankly, I can't afford shipping charges on my disability income, as I can barely afford to purchase the original items to begin with! As usual, it will have to come out of my food budget or I will have to put off paying a bill or repaying a loan. First, however, I will contact my state representative, congresswoman Heather Graham, whose office has been instrumental in helping me with previous Federal issues.
Holy Clothing is located in another state and ships clothing over state lines, so I believe it is a Federal issue, as is fraud and bait-and-switch scams such as this one. I will see if her office can make Holy Clothing Company do the right thing. Personally, I think they should change their name, since they don't behave very "Holy" at all.
My new cell phone
Just a month or two ago, I got a new cell phone and cell phone service. The phone was on sale for only $20.00 - even though it is a supposedly "smart" phone. Well, now everyone I speak to tells me that my voice is fading in and out and they can't hear me. IMAGINE A BIG FAT SIGH RIGHT HERE...and maybe a swear word that isn't too naughty.
I hear that there was a time when manufactured goods were made to last and that people would take things into a repair shop or would fix it themselves and keep them for years. Frankly, this was before my time. I think I was born into the age of the disposable. Anyway, I am not going to go into a senior rant about how we should not be throwing things away but should be fixing them instead. I agree with that perspective, but it requires that the items in question would be WORTH fixing, and they aren't. They're not made to last.
Then there are the food adulteration issues we have to deal with in modern society. Last week I bought a quart of "rainbow sherbet" ice cream from Baskin Robbins. Once a month, sometime around the receipt of my monthly income, I allow myself a treat like that. Imagine my surprise when, after scooping out a nice amount into my bowl, I licked the spoon and a horrid, bitter, chemical taste came into my mouth. Kind of like industrial strength cleanser with a lemon overtone. No, it was not sweet either. Not a trace of sugar, nor of the pineapple, orange or raspberry flavors that are SUPPOSED to be in it. I gave instructions to my friends, in case I should die. I want to be buried, not cremated, and I would like to be located near my son's position in the Virgin of Guadalupe crypt at Mt. Calvary Cemetery. I'm just sayin'....just in case. I am STILL waiting for Baskin Robbins (Now owned by the Dunkin' Donuts people) to get back to me. Likewise the health department. I called their Albuquerque office yesterday and left a message on their machine and I am STILL waiting for a return call. Can you imagine? What if some kids get into this bogus ice cream impostor and keel over?
Going from the mundane microcosm to macrocosmic thoughts, it occurs to me that "the world, the flesh and the Devil," ALWAYS promises a certain happiness that is never delivered. For instance, when magazines, internet and television ads convince you that, when you have a house or a car or a someTHING as nice as what advertisers present, you'll be happy, content and satiated. Some people convince themselves that promiscuity unfettered by the danger of creating children is just the ticket to provide the joy they crave. Others find it at the bottom of a bottle of wine. Some people search for it in their wardrobe. You get the drift.
Anyway, these daily irritations that I've been writing about eventually lead me to think about the larger issues and the basic reality that God alone suffices. God alone is perfect. God alone infuses us with unalloyed joy and peace. The world, the flesh and the Devil will always disappoint. There is no point expecting anything different.
Silver Rose Parnell
(c) 2015
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