3

Every Saturday and Wednesday I do my Brother’s shopping. Eric is a recluse with mental health. Saturday morning, he rang me and said, “I have 18p credit left on my mobile,” I said, “OK, don’t worry when I get your shopping later on today, I will get your EE voucher too and put it on your phone.”

I bought his shopping it came to just under £50 and at the till of the large supermarket I asked the Sales Assistant, “Can I have a fifty pounds EE voucher,” She repeated the amount I said, “You want a fifty pounds EE voucher,” I confirmed that it was all correct and said, “Yes please.” I packed up his shopping and carefully put the folded EE voucher in the zipped section of my handbag. I then drove the 5 miles to Eric’s care home, but he is independent of everyone there, to his flat.

I said, to Eric, “I will put your clothes to wash first then I will put your mobile voucher on to your phone,” He replied, “OK.” The stressful part is, there are a lot of Clients who live in this care home and only TWO washing machines and ONE dryer! My Brother pays £19 a week to use the laundry room, (but he’s never been in there, nor does he know where it is) but with so few facilities for so many Clients it causes frictions and unpleasantness to some. I have experienced it, and it was scary I wouldn’t like to live there! Everyone was in their flats and there was no Staff to be seen, so with gloves on I carefully removed someone’s clothes from the dryer and carefully placed them on top of the dryer, I took Eric’s wet clothes from the machine and put them in the dryer, his clothes had been in about a minute when an angry looking man, I’d not seen before, marched up to me and opened the dryer and saw Eric’s clean clothes, he yelled at me as he yanked them out, “DO NOT TOUCH MY CLOTHES, YOU CAN TELL WHO YOU LIKE, I DON’T CARE!” Eric’s clean clothes fell onto the floor and some went on top of the washing machine nearby. I was shaking with fear, I said nothing to him. My Husband Paul was sitting in the car, I went and told him what had just happened. So since then Paul comes with me, when I go to the laundry room. Sometimes when I arrive washed clothes is left in the machine, with no Staff or Client about. And to make things even worse, those Clients who don’t pay for the Staff’s support like Eric, then the Staff will NOT touch their clothes. My Brother has outside support, set up by his Social Worker. Since then, it has been stressful. But I digress.

With Eric’s clothes on a 30-minute wash, drying takes 70-minutes, I was so pleased when I found the 30-minute wash, before that it was an hour wash then 70-minutes dry, it took up so much of our time. So now I only ever use the 30-minute wash. I went to Eric’s flat to put his EE voucher on to his mobile, I took it from the zipped section of my bag and opened it up, I saw 3 and was a bit puzzled, but I thought I know EE had another name before, was it Orange? Or was it 3? I must have for a moment forgotten so I did was it said on the receipt like voucher, I dialled the number 444, but the machine voice said, “This number is barred for this phone,” I looked at Eric as he looked at me expectantly and I said, “The shop has given me the wrong voucher, they have given me for 3 and not EE like I asked for, but don’t worry I will go and change it now and put it onto your phone, OK.” Eric replied, “OK.”

Paul had a brainwave and said, “Ask your phone where is the nearest shop, the same as the shop you bought it from.” I thought what a great idea, I spoke into my mobile and was told only 5 minutes away. I know I’d be back in time to put it onto his phone and then hopefully without much delay put his cloths into the dryer.

We got into the car and I put the sat nav on and was there in a jiffy. Paul stayed in the car I went into the little express store and asked, “Can you change this from a 3 to an EE voucher, as it was an EE, I’d asked for but the Sales Assistant in the store 5 miles away gave me the wrong one.” “It was a long shot,” I’d told Paul that, before I’d come out the car. The lovely Sales Assistant said, “I’m sorry, it has to be sorted at the shop it was bought at,” I replied, “OK, thank you,” I returned to my car as didn’t know where I was, I set my sat nav from where I was, to drive the five miles back to the large shop where I was given the wrong mobile phone voucher. I wasn’t pleased but I didn’t really think they would have been able to help me in this express store, but it was worth a try.

I left Paul in the car. I could see the Customer Service was now closed, so I saw a Member of Staff and said, “I was in here earlier and I asked for an EE mobile voucher but when I went to put it onto my Brother’s phone I realised I had been given a 3 voucher instead, please can I swop it for an EE voucher?” He said, “I can’t do it for you, I will get my Manager, please can you wait here.” I stood by the Customer Service desk and watch him walk away. I waited about 5 minutes and then I walked to the direction I saw him go and when I saw him, he was at the self-service with 2 other Members of Staff. I saw the Sales Assistant who had given me the wrong voucher and I said to the Staff who had told me to, “Please wait here,” He said, “I’m trying to get my Manger, I have been informed he is adding the money up and where he is there is no mobile signal to contact him, when he is finished he will come out.”

I saw the Staff who had sold me the wrong voucher and I said to the Staff, “This is the lady I bought the voucher from; can’t we simply just swop them?” He gracious as ever said, “I can’t, my Manager won’t be long.” Fifteen minutes went by and his Manager came over to us both and he spoke to his Manager. Then the Manager said, to me, “Can you come back tomorrow?” I replied, “No, it has to be done today, my Brother is a recluse, and he has no other form of communication but his mobile phone, tomorrow I am at work and won’t see him again until Wednesday.” He then said, “If you buy now an EE voucher for £50 then we can sort out it out on Monday,” I looked at him like he was nuts and said, “I don’t have £50 this voucher is not mine, I bought it with my Brother’s money, it HAS to be done today!” I went on, “There is the lady who sold me the wrong voucher, can’t you just swop it for the right one?” He said, “No, it’s not that easy, the vouchers are nothing to do with us, but the phone Companies.” I was still annoyed with him, for making out like £50 was a mere 50p. He said, “I will have to ask my Manager.” Please can you wait here, I said to him, “I’m going to make a complaint about this lady, I have to get back to the care home which is 5 miles away, my Brother’s clothes is in the washing machine and if I’m not back by 10pm the laundry will be locked, and there will be no one to take his clothes out!” He replied, “You are welcomed to make a complaint, please can you wait here I will get my Manager.” I thought flipping heck, everyone’s got a Manager.

I know all these Men by sight, for I have shopped at the store for decades, so, when the Manager arrived I knew his face, he said, to the one who wanted me to fork out another £50 like it was 50p, he said, “Who’s fault is it?” He was told, “Jools,” Then he said to ‘50p’, “You shouldn’t let the Customer wait, you sign the receipt, I sign the receipt, give her the EE voucher,” I was very impressed, here was a Man with Authority and Power. I followed ‘50p’ to Customer Service and he said, to me, “I need that receipt,” I said, this £100 receipt is my Brother’s shopping,” Fifty pence said, “The 3 barcode for £50 is on there, it could be scanned and used,” I said, “My Brother has an EE phone,” Fifty Pence said, “I have to have that receipt,” So I gave it him, then he gave me the EE Voucher. I went back to my car and drove the 5 miles back to Eric’s flat.

I arrived at 9.35pm I was unable to dry his clothes, thankfully no one had taken them out of the machine, but I felt bad that I had stopped someone using the machine.  I was relieved that the laundry room hadn’t been locked before 10pm. I rang the number on the voucher and was gutted that EE was closed, they had closed at 9pm, I REALLY didn’t want to drive another 5 miles over to Eric’s on Sunday before I went to work to put it onto his phone, so then I had a brainwave. I explained to Eric, “They are closed, so I will take a photo of the voucher in the morning I ring phone them at 9am and ask them to put it onto your mobile if they can’t then I will come over and do it for you, OK.” Eric said, “OK.” Then I put the large load of wet washing, I hung them onto his clothes horse, tired I drove the five miles home.

Would my plan work? I rang EE at 9am, I had to be very careful that I didn’t join EE, at first I was unable to speak to a human and had to re-dial until I finally got a human and explained everything to the first person who put me through to the none contract section. When I got through to the right section, within 30 seconds his £50 EE credit was on his phone! I was chuffed to bits. I couldn’t thank that Sales Advisor enough.

I rang Eric and told him, “Your £50 credit is on your phone, OK?” He replied, “OK.”

The next day, I felt bad that I’d told ‘50p’ that, “I’m going to make a complaint against Jools!” It was all sorted now, and she has always been a lovely pleasant, happy, Staff, I’d noticed when I was in the store, that she was looking over at us, she was unaware what was happening, but she would have known it was to do with her as she could see the receipt in my hand.

The following Wednesday when I went to the store to do Eric’s shopping I saw ‘50p’ I went up to him and said, “Do you remember me?” He replied, “Yes,” I said to him, “I had said, I wanted to make a complaint against Jools, but everything was sorted, and I won’t be making a complaint now, please can you let her Manager know, that she is a lovely Staff Member and hope she does not get into trouble over this,” He said, “I will pass on your message,” And added, “She won’t get into trouble, she pressed the wrong button.” I said, “Good.”

When I finished Eric’s shopping, I looked for Jools at the tills but she wasn’t working that day.