Getting Tough

In general, I like to think that I'm a nice person. However, if I need to get tough, I know how. I'd prefer not to, but sometimes you just have to. Let me explain.

With the last name "Tree," I recently decided to play on the name a little. I ordered a personalized door mat with a tree bark background that said, "Welcome to the Tree House." (Corny, but cute, right?) I've been in the decorating mode and was so excited for it to get here and put it on our door step.  

(Here's what was advertised online:)

But, whenever the door mat arrived, here's what it looked like:

I was disappointed in the coloring and thought it resembled camo more than tree bark. So, I emailed the company and nicely explained the situation. They emailed me back within a few days and said there's probably nothing they could do, but I could email a picture of the mat I received if I wanted. So, that's exactly what I did (the one above). They emailed back within a few days and said that the mat I received wasn't that different from the one online (ya right!), but since they wanted to make me happy, they offered me three choices, none of which I was very happy with. Up until this point, I had been very polite and nice. But, I knew if I was to get what I wanted, I need to get tough (not rude, just tough). Here's what I wrote:

"Thank-you for emailing me back, but I have to disagree with you. I think it's easy to see that the mat I received is materially different than the design advertised online. The mat I received was black and dark brown while the mat advertised online has orange, yellow, light brown, and a little dark brown. I'm frustrated because due to no fault of my own, you were not able to reproduce what you advertised you were selling. Due to the circumstances, I would ask that you provide shipping for a new mat that's a closer match to what you've advertised or reimburse my order in full. It's not fair or reasonable that I would have to pay additional money on a product you sell and weren't able to deliver as advertised."

And wouldn't you know, they emailed me back and are sending me a new mat. I've had numerous encounters such as this. I try to be nice, but if I don't feel like I've been treated fairly, I get a little tough and I almost always get something better in return. I hate that I have to do it, but I know if I don't, I'll just get ripped off.