The consumer is not always right, but I am.

“riedell had a lot of casting issues with those trucks.. if you email them nicely they will send you one. also the plate and trucks ar alluminum, not steel.”

(I’m not going to edit those typos by the way because I like when people who aren’t writers go out of their way to correct me).

This was someone’s comment on my Thanks Giving for Roller Derby blog, where I briefly mentioned a skate accident I had earlier this week.

I brushed his remarks off with a laugh, more surprised than anything that my words are interesting enough to strangers to evoke a response. But after I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and thought about his comment more, it really pissed me off. (STORY OF MY LIFE).

I’m not quite sure who you are DCWelch, (and I hope you’re not too important), but what on god’s green earth do you mean by “if I e-mail them nicely” they will replace my broken skate parts? That’s god damn right they will. I’m sorry, but if I e-mail them stark raving, spitting mad irate they better send me a new skate truck, and say sorry too. I know that in this modern age, the customer is not always right anymore. But in this particular instance, I most certainly am. I could have been seriously injured. Or at least broken a tooth. I was skating at an open skate session at a local roller rink. I could have decked a small child. I could have been playing roller derby and crashed taking out other players reeking havoc across the rink. They’re lucky I’m not sending them a medical bill. HA! “email them nicely”. Are you kidding me?!? In this day and age, they’re lucky I don’t call 7 On Your Side and simultaneously sue their asses.

Now, I don’t plan on doing any of these things. That’s not in my nature. I’m just interested in getting my skate fixed as soon as possible, with as little cost to me. After all, it’s not like this was my fault, this was a manufacturer’s error and unsafe. And I’ve come to expect more from skates, after skating on a $100 pair for four years, and then spending $400 on a pair and in less than a year -they bust. Unacceptable in my opinion. Either I did not get incredibly hurt because of my skating ability, or a miracle freak stroke of luck. Because I should have eaten it, BIG TIME.

So ya, when I said in that blog, “I’m not sure what I’m going to do about it yet, I’ll keep y’all updated” really what I meant was I was not sure how I was going to replace the parts as soon as I could and how I felt about them breaking so soon after buying them and in such an unsafe way too. But Fuckface’s remarks sure as hell solidified how I felt. It’s bullshit. And stupid kiss-ass pansy behavior of consumer’s like you is what has compelled me to write this. (Or opinions from manufacturer’s like you?). “e-mailing them nicely” would infer that they have the right to NOT replace my broken parts. Like I have to play their game or jump through their hoops or whatever just to get the fucking customer service I paid for in the first place. Well you know what, screw it. Homey don’t play that.

What I should do is just buy new, SAFE skates, (since after all, “riedell had a lot of casting issues with those trucks”, -why would I want a replacement of a defective product?) and request a refund for the entire skates. Sure, I will give them a chance to make it right, don’t get me wrong. But the only reason I have to be ‘nice’ is out of courtesy and the desire to act like a lady. They deserve to get a piece of mind from an angry consumer on this issue. And if you are right about “a lot of casting issues with those trucks” that is a huge allegation that could ultimately lead to a product recall. I wasn’t going to write about this, but your flippant remark just bugged me to my core so much, I couldn’t let it go.