John McManus: Dear Power City, it’s over between us – and it’s you, not me

I have been a loyal and satisfied customer of Power City’s Sallynoggin branch in Co Dublin for more than 25 years, but fear this hitherto mutually beneficial relationship has reached its conclusion.Recently I bought a fridge from your above-mentioned store and arranged for its delivery. Come the appointed hour, two delivery men turned up. Somewhat hot and bothered, it has to be said. It was a muggy day.I took one of them into the house and he had barely reached the end of the hall before announcing there was no way the new fridge was going down the stairs to the basement because it was “massive”. (It was presumably the same size when he loaded it on to his truck.) I pointed out to him that his predecessors had no such difficulties and took him downstairs to show him the “American fridge” that had been brought down the same stairs by Power City delivery men five years ago. They had also taken away an equally large fridge. I suspect such things are quite routine in America. READ MOREAnyway, the sight of the old fridge seemed to make matters worse and he informed me there was “no way” the old fridge was getting up the stairs either. He then consulted his colleague, who was very much of the same view. Your agents then departed, leaving me with the clear impression that they had their minds made up about the impossibility of the task they had been assigned before they had even stepped in the door of my house. I contacted customer services as they suggested. The only method being via your website. In fairness, I received a call back quickly, but things did not go well. I spoke to someone who identified himself as the customer service manager for all the Power City stores in Dublin. I now suspect he has his work cut out for him, which might explain his less-than-sympathetic response. The delivery men’s verdict was final I was told. The fact that the fridge they refused to remove – leaving aside for a moment the one they refused to deliver – had been purchased from and delivered by Power City seemed irrelevant. The prospect of sending another delivery team with perhaps more ambition was not an option. Power City has branches across Dublin and beyond. Photograph: Aidan Crawley He did, however, point out that I should have thought to mention the American fridge and the stairs – despite this not having been an issue previously – when buying the new fridge. It felt a little like victim-blaming, but I digress.Then I asked to speak to someone else. He said there was no one else. I asked if he had a boss. He said he had no boss, which strikes me as odd unless Power City has adopted an anarcho-syndicalist business model, which I would suggest is unusual for family-owned business that made a profit of €4 million last year. My interlocutor informed me I could have a refund or the fridge could be delivered to the top of the stairs and if I wanted the old fridge collected it would also have to be brought upstairs. The absurdity of making this proposal to a man in his 60s appeared to be lost on him and we left it at that.I decided my best option was to buy a fridge from one of your rivals and, on my way up to Currys, I thought I would call into the Sallynoggin shop to see if I could get a more sympathetic hearing. I asked the cashier if I could speak to the manager and was informed there was no manager, just herself and the sales staff. More anarcho-syndicalism?The cashier did ring someone and, after a brief discussion, confirmed that we had reached the end of the road. I opted for the promised refund only to be told that it could not be processed until the undelivered fridge was back in “the store”. I pointed out that this was a little unusual since I did not and never had possession of the fridge in question. I would have to return to the store “in a day or two” as the refund had to be processed back to my card. This obviously complicated my plans to purchase a fridge from a rival whose delivery men did not suffer from bathophobia, otherwise known as an irrational fear of stairs. The good news is I found one and apparently delivering the new fridge will not require hard hats, cranes and a safety officer. Good news for basement dwellers everywhere.