I am feeling blocked.  Not in a digestive tract kind of way; God knows, my verbal diarrhoea is as free-flowing as ever.  No, blocked in my communication.  In my right of reply.

Let me outline the scenario.  I recently had occasion to complain about a pair of shoes I had bought.  Against expectations, they had pinched, and they had rubbed; actually drawn blood.  I was not pleased.  They had been quite expensive shoes.  I had expected better.

I emailed the customer relations department of the manufacturers of the shoes with details of my experience; even supplied photographic evidence, blood and all.  I waited for a reply, hoping for satisfaction and, duly, I received their response.  A full refund and an additional voucher towards my next pair of shoes.  But it was sent from a no-reply email account.  It gave me no opportunity to respond; no chance to engage with their communication; no right of reply.

And all I wanted to do was to say “Thank you”.

© Simon Turner-Tree

Simon Turner-Tree finds “Thank you” the hardest word.