I picked two toilet paper rolls and dumped it into my trolley amongst the giant heap of other items I had bought. I took out my checklist, let out a satisfied sigh and ticked the last item on my list ensuring I had everything i needed with me. I pushed the trolley and heaved it close to the counter behind a long line of other customers.
Gradually the queue got shorter and I gained towards the cashier. The customer in front of me, swiped his card, placed all his purchases into neat packets and moved on. I tried to shove the trolley parallel to the counter table but strands of hair from the ground prevented the wheel from turning. In a desperate ploy to movie I kicked the wheel receiving no results other than a searing pain through my toe and muffled cries through my nose.
The cashier suppressed an outbreak of laughter and said ” Sir I hope you have a band aid and ice pack in that huge shopping pile” innocently laughing at her own comment.
I managed an awkward smile embarrassed to express my pain with all those eyes staring at my antics. After clearing the bill I took all my purchases and started moving towards the exit when I noticed something out of the ordinary……..
There seemed to be something slimy crawling on my packet of chicken. I screamed out in horror, threw the baggage on the ground and scurried to the rest room to puke. After i was able to erase that horrible sight out of my mind, I marched to the nearest security guard and asked. “I’d like to meet your supervisor, where can I meet him.”
The guard removed his headwear and replied. “Sir, the office opposite the garment section on the top floor, the supervisor will be available there.”
With a nod of acceptance, I picked my evidence with disgust and climbed onto the elevator. I limped all through the walk because of my swollen toe. The pain was unbearable but the strong desire to voice my protest kept my legs moving. I reached the office door and knocked twice. There was no response. I knocked some more and still the door did not budge. The pain was getting worser and I desperately needed to sit somewhere. In a fit of anger, I knocked away for a couple of minutes before the door was opened by a woman.
She looked like she was in her mid-forties and wore a half plaid skirt ad formal shirt ostensibly a secretary. She was definitely annoyed at the racket I created but she covered up her frown with a smile that gave the impression that her lips were being forcefully to two sides of her cheek. She enquired ” Yes Sir, how may i help you.”
Unable to stand properly I leaned to the wall and said ” I’m here to meet the supervisor, I have to lodge a complaint the quality of food products sold here.”
The woman let me through the door to the supervisor’s office, where I shook hands with this smart elegant young man, dressed in his best wear. He said “Hello Sir, we are extremely glad that u chose to shop in our mall, please have a seat. ”
“Thank you” said I and took a seat in front of his office desk.
He sat opposite me and asked “So sir, you seem to have a problem with our products, if you let us have the liberty of going through the defective product we would be pleased to mend it for you”
I untied the packet and kept the chicken on the desk. He was unable to mask his shock at this horrendous sight.
The slimy worms kept eating through the chicken’s insides and the only parts left were its legs. He took a few quick deep breaths and came back at me.
“Alright sir, so your chicken was eaten by worms, ha ha silly issue, we can find you a replacement of the highest quality. Elizabeth…” he called out to his secretary. ” Get our customer a fresh chicken along with a complimentary flavouring packet. I suppose that should suffice.”
Before she could leave, I leapt out of my chair and exclaimed. “Wait! wait! you think this is a matter of having a new piece of meat, oh no that wouldn’t do Mr……” I paused wondering why i hadn’t asked his name in the first place.
“Arnold, you can call me Arn..”
“Yes yes Mr.Arnold”. I cut him off before I lost the heat of this argument. “You see, this is a serious offence and a single phone call to the food safety department can bring down this whole mall’s functioning.”
Arnold was now gasping for breath. “But but, Sir this has happened to just one chicken. We have sold tons of other items that were safe and…..”
“OKAY OKAY, you’re right” I cut him off again to make sure i kept control of the negotiation. “But this single incident can cost you grave trouble which I’m sure your boss wouldn’t like one bit”.
Now he started to panic and frantically searched his pockets for his cell phone. He pulled out his cell phone took my leave and moved into a corner of the room. I could bet on anything that the call was to the mall’s owner. I made a futile attempt at eavesdropping but all I could hear was “worms”, “chicken”, “anything to solve” etc.
When he came back he had beads of perspiration on his forehead. He wiped them off sat on his chair and straightened up trying to regain his initial confidence. “So sir, you’re planning to issue a complaint to the food and safety department. Is that a firm decision ?”
“Yes” I replied adamantly.
He flushed and all that confidence drained from his face. He cleared his throat and sort of pleaded “How about we make you an offer?”
I shot back “What kind of offer?”.
“2 lakh rupees in return for your golden silence.” he replied.
My heart leapt in joy but I hid my excitement and chose not to play to their strings. “You think money can solve this issue. If I had eaten that meat, I could’ve died. I nearly put my life at stake here. This is the cost of my life and a meagre 2 lakhs won’t repay the damage caused”.
The supervisor pulled out his cheque book, tore one out and scribbled something on it. He passed it to me and said ” Here, I have increased the amount to 5 lakhs.”
I snatched the check out of his clutches and gazed at it, bursting with happiness but i maintained my cool demeanour. ” I’M generally a nice guy. If it wasn’t for me you would have landed yourself into a huge pile of trouble.”
With that remark I swiftly took the cheque in my hand and moved outwards. There was no more pain from my numb toe as I exited the mall with my purchases and dumped it into the back of my car. I opened the front seat and neatly placed the cheque on the dashboard. I ran my hand through the space between the two seats where I keep all my important stuff. My hand reached a bottle. Menacingly I opened the the cap and found the spare worms still in place. I wound down the glass and threw the worms away. With a sigh of relief, I turned on the radio and drove back home.
__END__
