The Macy's delivery man, while removing the large, empty cardboard boxes, accidentally knocks a heavy mirror frame off the wall, which drops and makes a dent in the wood flooring, but we don't notice it till later. On the way out, he has us sign a form which I thought just indicated delivery, but includes text saying there were no damages. Because of this signature they disclaim liability for any damages.
Lessons learned:
- Next time an accident occurs, thoroughly check for damage. Don't worry about helping the delivery guy feeling embarrassed - protect yourself first.
- If you get into arguments about the damage, get evidence. Take pictures of the guy standing next to the damage. Switch the camera to video mode and record your conversations.
- If you have doubts about their credibility in taking responsibility, take the time to read the fine print before signing anything, even if it's "just a delivery slip". The guy may stand in your foyer and ask you to sign on the paper, using a clipboard, making you feel like you should oblige and just hurry him out the door -- resist the temptation! Don't feel like you have to sign anything. Let him go out with it unsigned. You can demand proof that its' your signature if they throw something sleazy back later.
Who wins?
- Macy's saved itself a few hundred dollars by not paying to fix the damage.
- Macy's spent a few hours of a few of its' employees' time to phone us back and forth to argue. This probably cancels out the money they saved in the first point.
- Macy's generated a lot of bad karma in one particular household. We no longer shop at Macy's despite living one block away from one.
- We have a dent in the flooring.
- After some time has passed, the few hundred dollars isn't even an issue anymore; this just becomes a good story to tell. We show the dent to many of our visitors to our home. It turns into a drama performance about how Macy's turned its' back on us.
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