Last Sunday I dropped Myfanwe off at a Very Well Known Retailer about 20 minutes after the store opened with instructions to pick up a pressure cooker which had been advertised in that morning's paper. (My friend Molly, a.k.a Mulshree, said she won't give me lessons in cooking Indian food unless I had a pressure cooker.) It wasn't a great pressure cooker, but I don't really use pressure cookers much, and it was on sale for only $20, so it was perfect.
Except that Myfanwe emerged from the Very Well Known Retailer with empty arms. The store didn't have any. They never had any. And, because it was a one-day sale, they were not giving rain checks. I was very disappointed and more than a little miffed.
I waited until yesterday to do anything about it. I figured I wouldn't do myself any good to be a jerk, but I wanted them to sell me a pressure cooker for $20. So I wrote a very nice, calm letter explaining my dissatisfaction. I told them of major purchases I had made at their Very Important Store in the last year -- from a strand of pearls to luxury kitchen equipment. I told hem how much I had enjoyed their Very Well Known Store in the past, and that I was beginning to worry that my support of their Very Well Known Establishment was misplaced. Then I faxed it to the manager of the Very Well Known Retail Store and also to the Corporate Vice-President responsible for this region of the Very Well Known Retailer.
Two hours later the manager was on the phone apologizing. Many, many times. And, since they did not have the $40 pressure cooker on sale for $20, they are going to send me the $100 pressure cooker free of charge. It won't ship for a week, but for this, I can wait.
It pays to make nice sometimes.
Except that Myfanwe emerged from the Very Well Known Retailer with empty arms. The store didn't have any. They never had any. And, because it was a one-day sale, they were not giving rain checks. I was very disappointed and more than a little miffed.
I waited until yesterday to do anything about it. I figured I wouldn't do myself any good to be a jerk, but I wanted them to sell me a pressure cooker for $20. So I wrote a very nice, calm letter explaining my dissatisfaction. I told them of major purchases I had made at their Very Important Store in the last year -- from a strand of pearls to luxury kitchen equipment. I told hem how much I had enjoyed their Very Well Known Store in the past, and that I was beginning to worry that my support of their Very Well Known Establishment was misplaced. Then I faxed it to the manager of the Very Well Known Retail Store and also to the Corporate Vice-President responsible for this region of the Very Well Known Retailer.
Two hours later the manager was on the phone apologizing. Many, many times. And, since they did not have the $40 pressure cooker on sale for $20, they are going to send me the $100 pressure cooker free of charge. It won't ship for a week, but for this, I can wait.
It pays to make nice sometimes.
Does anyone have any pressure cooker recipes?
10 comments:
ok, I'm curious. Why did you drop Myfanwe off to go shopping insted of doing it yourself?
Congrats on complaining nicely and getting such a great reward for it. Old fashioned customer service has mainly gone by the boards so this emporium must be very grand indeed.
Since I haven't used a pressure cooker in about 25 years, I will be no help in your recipe quest. Sorry.
Pressure cookers scare the bageesus out of me. I remember as a child my mother would always use a pressure cooker for stews and various other things. But every time steam came spewing out of the top, Mom would have us go and tap the top deely bob that rested on the hole to make it stop. I remember asking what would happen if we didn't get there in time. She said it would blow up from the pressure. Whether it would or not I don't know. But I have hated them since and refuse to use them. I will say that yours doesn't have the little weighty deely bob - so I might not be as afraid of it.
Bugs, spiders, and snakes I can handle - but a pressure cooker... call me back in once it is done.
Good for you Aidan! I'm glad that you got received some appreciation and customer service for your support of the Very Well Known Retailer!
I bought a pressure cooker not long ago and so far I've cooked brown rice in it and that's about it. Tonight I shall look and see what other recipes I have that you may be interested in. I know that Lorna Sass has a nice pressure cooking book. (I'll ask my sister for her recipes too, she told me how to use my cooker and she cooks roasts and such in hers).
Enjoy your new...purchase? gift?
http://missvickie.com/
My mother never cooked with one of these although I remember a neighber using one all of the time. I was always afraid of them too -- I think it was the moise they made.
Google on pressure cooker recipes. I thought this was a bygone tool, but there are several websites dedicated to recipes for them.
Good job!
I used to work at Hobby Lobby. People were very, very angry at me when I wouldn't issue rain checks on hot sale items. Way to handle the situation calmly and productively!
Did you get it already?
If not, please let us know when it arrives.
The Always suspicious me :)
Pressure Perfect by Lorna Sass is my personal favorite. Absolutely fabulous 20 minute Chicken Biryani. I buy Patak's Spice Blends from our local Indian Market (Dundee and Wheeling across from the old K-Mart if you're a North Shore guy). OR, try the Maharajah Curry from the Spice house on Central just west of Green Bay in Evanston. You can also get faboo fresh whole spices from them as well. Enjoy your new toy! I love mine! Oh yeah, and in Presure Perfect?... Rice Pudding in 10 minutes. Mmmm....
Pressure cookers! What memories! My mother used hers every single day when I was growing up. She used to bring it on vacation when we stayed in rooms with kitchenettes. I have one, but I only use it in the winter. I'll have to ask her for some recipes for you...
CC Mary
I love my pressure cooker. For a beginner I would suggest Elizabeth David's orange and almond cake... the one that involves cooking two whole oranges in a little water for 2 hours, and then proceeding from there. or, if you have a pressure cooker, the oranges are done in a speedy 30 minutes :-) anything involving pulses is fabulous in a pressure cooker, preferably with a tablespoon of oil floating on top of the cooking water (if all you are cooking is the pulses, as they tend to foam). enjoy! Maz
sls4slm at adam dot com dot au
Post a Comment