Exchange Policy

"I think we should have waited for the colour", i remarked as i parked the car. It is a good thing i was driving and not him. I could hear the screeching brakes that he would have applied.
He did look at me in disbelief though, "It is not a sari! It is a car!!!", referring to the car we had driven from the showroom only a day before.
"Yes, i know- but i did not really like the colour" i said, knowing that my desirable colour would have meant a wait of another 2 months.
"....." he was still looking at me in disbelief, that look meaning, "You are impossible!!!!"

I know i should have said those words before agreeing to buy the colour i only partially liked- it IS  a car, and not a sari afterall! But there is really something to it- when you bring something home and look at it, it almost always seems that  the other colour or the other design or the other brand was better, whatever the parameters.

The first thing i check when i enter a store is their 'Exchange Policy'. It is a good thing we get 14 days to make up our mind, and if it is a 'sale’ item, 3 days- understandably so- they need to move their stock too! Even back home, i remember always asking the retailer if i could exchange the dress or the material  if 'we' do not like it, 'we' referring to everyone at home saying "It is nice!". 

I think that is also one of the reasons why i have my favourite jeweller- they also have an 'exchange policy'- and only a woman can appreciate what that means when it comes to jewellery. We spend a lot of time liking one piece and then buying it- but no sooner do we reach home than we take it out and start scrutinising it- "I think the other one was better..."- "i think the making charges were lesser in that", or, "i think i should have bought a 'daily wear' one- this is too heavy."

The reasons  are endless- colour, style, pricing, value for money, versatility, or just that indecision between white and pink, or, black and navy! The result though is that i have more credit notes from various retailers in my bag than the currency notes!

Frustrating, as it is, for my spouse, it has been told to me in no uncertain terms that he is not coming along for exercising my right to 'exchange' under the terms of respective 'Exchange Policies'. I don't mind doing it on my own. I am wondering though, who will i blame for the choice if i do not like the 'exchanged' item too?