I don't have intentions of blogging anytime this week. I'm all conditioned to contain everything on my next Beautiful Sunday post. For those who know me well, you can easily sense that something happened within the week. Something so "blog worthy" happened and I cannot wait until Sunday to share it. Unfortunately, what I'm about to share is not something good. Apologies for spreading some negativity, but I just need to vent this one out. 

Warning long and maybe, annoying story ahead :)

I have been wanting to purchase this branded and popular perfume for the longest time. It's usually available in almost all department stores but as always, empty payday problems. :) It's hard for me to rip off part of my monthly income for a bottle of perfume. I'm also quite reluctant purchasing the entire bottle because I might eventually dislike it. Yes there are testers inside the mall, but I'm not contented with a few sprays. :) There are also perfume retailers or those who offer in small bottle refills. I don't know, but I don't find them sufficient for trial or road testing. :) My friend recommended this eBay seller who offers cheaper versions of the perfume in the form of testers. I cannot vouch for the authenticity of these cheaper "tester" perfumes, but for the sake of discovery, I decided to try. 

In fairness to this eBay seller, she was very accommodating and customer oriented. She clearly answered my queries, acknowledged my payment in less than a minute and ensured that I received my order the next day. I was more than impressed with her service. In fact I'm willing to consider reordering from her. On the way home, I received this unusual text from this eBay seller.

eBay seller : "Good evening my dear, what is the problem with the ____ perfume tester that you bought from me." 

Her text message came as a surprise because as far as I can remember I gave her positive and high ratings. 

Me : " Huh? I never had problems. I even gave you a positive feedback in eBay. I believe your text should be intended for another person."

eBay seller: "Kasi dear according to eBay, you gave me only 4 out of 5 stars for the category of ITEM as DESCRIBED. It is clearly stated in my listing what a tester version is. I even answered all your inquiries about it and asked you if you are fine with it. Coz if not, I would recommend you the regular / retail packaging which you didn't want. You wanted the tester packaging instead. I don't think it's fair when I went the extra mile to explain to you what a tester is even though it is already described in my listing. Anyway, if you felt that I didn't describe the item clearly to you, sana you shouldn't have brought from me na lang. Stars are very important for top rated sellers on eBay coz we get sanctions if we get low rated stars. Have a wonderful night my dear... ;) " 

I felt the need to defend myself. I replied to her message and before I knew it.... I already feel so pissed off. 

Me : "Wait, I think that was a mistake. I remember giving all 5. If that's the case, I think I overlooked the ticking of the stars. In my mind, I know that I gave all 5 stars."

"I just used mobile when rating. I might tapped the incorrect star. Didn't know that my unintentional mistake would make a great impact on you. "

 "Seriously, I hope this does not taint my reputation on you. I have plans of ordering again."

 eBay seller: "I just wanted to let you know because I believe I do not deserve 4 stars for ITEM as DESCRIBED category. I was reviewing our SMS conversation and most of it was regarding the description of the item you bought. G'nyt..."

 Me: "Yes. I was more than impressed with your service. :) Apologies for the unintentional mistake in the rating. I even appreciate that you told me how you felt. It's just that I now feel bad for the unintentional mistake. :( On my next order, I will ensure that you will receive perfect ratings because I also don't like making other people feel sad and disappointed."
Apologies for the bad words... wat da f*^k !!!! I can't believe that I humbled myself too much. I was trying to appease her. I apologized and explained myself even though at the end of the day, I believe I'm entitled to render my own rating or opinion. 

Botttomline, I felt like I stoop down to the level of my "grade conscious" classmates back in elementary and high school. 

Part of me is being pushed to become mean and rough to this "grade conscious" and shallow seller. I held on to my composure. I apologized and humbled myself even though I knew that I have nothing to explain. I don't owe her any explanation. I don't need to explain my opinion. But the heck, it feels like I apologized for something I shouldn't be. 

If I allowed my "mean" self to handle the situation, I should have responded "your perception is not always the perception of another person." Maybe in your opinion, you don't deserve the "four stars." Unfortunately, it's never fair to force your opinion to another person. I was really tempted to tell her, b*^@h, you should have told me that you wanted a flawless excellent rating. 

I maybe over-analyzing and making a big fuss out of this situation. At some point I even wanted to lecture her about CUSTOMER FEEDBACK. A real and objective customer feedback is never forced nor imposed. Part of my current work is handling customer feedback from students, employees, parents and other stakeholders. I've been designing surveys, administering them to the target respondents and providing the necessary analytics. One important feature of customer feedback is the presence of freedom among the respondents. Real customer feedback is not imposing. It should never ask the respondent to explain his / her sentiments. I had my own share of "unfair" evaluation results. I never confronted the respondents because I have respect for everyone's opinion. 

In my case with this "grade conscious" eBay seller, I felt that part of me has been also deprived. Whether my rating was a mistake or not, I don't have the responsibility to explain myself. If she felt that she doesn't deserve 4 out of 5 stars, I likewise don't deserve to be confronted for exercising my right in the first place. 

P.S. :  Mother E kampihan mo ako hahahahahaha parang #rajobianca&barkada