My Fight With Borders

As you may or may not know, I recently lost my purse.  Most of the things in it were very easy to replace.  A few calls to bank and credit card companies and my new cards were rushed right to me. As of this Wednesday, I only  needed replacement Borders cards (their rewards card and educator's discount card) and a driver's license.

Easy, right?  Thanks to Borders, it wasn't.

Wednesday afternoon I went to Borders to do some gift and school shopping.  After about an hour I had 12 items piled in my stroller.  At the cash register I explained my plight to the cashier, fully expecting to fill out some paperwork and receive new cards.  To my surprise, I was told I would have to call an 800 number to replace my rewards card as well as come up with proof of being a homeschooler.  I would be eligible for no discounts and my purchases would not be credited toward my rewards.  The cashier was completely uninterested in helping me any further.

If you know me, you know I expect to be treated a certain way when I am spending money.  If I do not receive the treatment I expect I take my money elsewhere. (I haven't been in a Subway since they refused to give 3 year old Molly milk with her kid's meal instead of soda.)  Consequently, I left my intended purchases at the register and left.

I quickly decided to go back into the store and speak to a manager.  I just couldn't believe that a long time customer would be treated this way.  Surely the manager would realize that a discounted sale was better than no sale at all?

I was wrong again.  After a long wait, a manager finally came to speak to me.  I restated my problem including that I had no proof of homeschooling my children.  He explained to me that as a homeschool parent the state provides me with curriculum and has to monitor me and make sure my children are "...up to par...".  He also informed me that IF I were a homeschooler the state would issue me proof of that.   Surprisingly still calm at this point, I asked him how familiar he was with home schooling in California.  His answer, "Not very".

Thinking I could educate this man regarding the legal ways to homeschool in CA (It is possible to join a group with an i.d. card, I had one from San Francisco in my lost purse.  The state does not issue homeschoolers i.d. cards.), I began explaining the various methods.  I was wasting my breath.  The manager repeated to me that I had to have proof.  I asked him if the receipts with my name &  address that I had filled out with each purchase over the last 5 years were proof.  He said, " You expect me to search through thousands of receipts to find those?  We box those up and send them to corporate."  (Too bad there isn't a convenient way to store, sort and transmit large amounts of information in these dark ages.)  I lost my temper when he said, "If you can't understand that you have to have proof, then I can't help you."  I assured him I would spread the word of their unfriendly treatment and left the store again.

After getting home and doing some research I came across this on the Borders web site.

Homeschoolers in states without certification should contact a manager at the store for instructions on how to document your status as a homeschooler.  

Apparently the Borders Corporation better understands that there is more than one way to homeschool. 


I obtained the name and phone number of the local general manager and placed my call to him early this morning.  His day off.  I'll be calling back tomorrow.


http://www.yelp.com/biz/borders-books-and-music-elk-grove?rpp=40&sort_by=rating_asc