31. Buying back the sold kitten
THE BUSINESS OF PET SHOPS
Monday Dec 18, 2006
"Remember me?" the Englishman phoned, reminding me of our meeting 8 days ago at my Surgery talking about the state of advertising agencies in Singapore. I remember him as my practice seldom have foreign clientele. We had a good conversation about advertising and his surname sounded like one of the Israeli's prime minister's.
"You advised that I could ask the Kitten Seller to keep the kitten for a week or two to treat its cat flu?"
"Yes," I said. "What's happened?" During the veterinary inspection after sales, the kitten had runny nose. It could be the tail end of the flu infection or the beginning. The Englishman could treat at home or return to the Seller. This Seller might take care of it for a week and once it is cured, he would take the kitten back.
The Seller accepted the kitten. But now the Englishman said he would not get the kitten back. The Seller said he had posted him the cheque to refund him the money. But he did not receive and did not want the cheque. He wanted the kitten. The Seller would not budge.
So he phoned me.
"The Seller had bad experiences with certain cultures threatening to sue him when sold an 'unhealthy' pet---now he just wanted to pay you back the money. There would be such customers, including the locals..." I wanted to let him sort out with the Seller. But he was a very nice Englishman. He and his wife had visited the kitten yesterday and probably several days. The Seller assessed he might be litigious?
What to do with this situation such that it turns out win-win for all parties? A cheque had been posted to him. The Seller wanted nothing to do with him. The Seller lost the credit card charges as the cheque was payment in full, unlike some Sellers.
I telephoned the Seller. He was adamant. Two cultures provided the worst of complainants and one representative was the Englishman.
"I am sure Singaporeans do cause such distress to you too as I have had such potentially litigious clients in my veterinary practice," I said. "Not only foreign cultures..."
Mr Formicelli would not budge even though I vouched for the Englishman's gentle character and the fact that he had promised me that he would not sue for loss should the kitten die the next week. "Live animals are not guaranteed to live as some may die some days after purchase," I had told him. "I can help you on one condition---you assure me that you would not make claims or sue should the kitten fall sick the next few days."
The Englishman hesitated, "Please make a house call to the pet shop and check for me. I will pay for your trouble."
But the Seller was decisive even when I told him of this conditional return of the kitten. He had too much bad experiences. There would always be abusive and loud customers when pets get sick. But my feeling was that this Englishman would not be one of them.
What should I do? Is there a solution to this problem? A win-win solution?
"Let me buy the cat and then sell it to the Englishman," I said to Mr Formicelli. "If there are problems, the Englishman would have to see me since I am the Seller. You create ill will if you persist and it would not be good for your business
"The Englishman would speak ill of your company to his expatriate community. It is a closed community..." I tried to tell him that his company's good reputation and branding would be tarnished by his decision.
Mr Formicelli stood his ground. "You want to spend time dealing with trouble?" Mr Formicelli asked me. "I have signed the cheque and return him in full but I lost money as I did not debit the credit card charges when paying him back in full. Why look for trouble when you have none?"
If only the Englishman's wife would take another kitten. If the Englishman had not sent the kitten to me for a post-sale veterinary inspection. I would have peace of mind. Christmas is 7 days away. The Nativitiy Story movie reminded me to generate good will among men. But it was not meant to be. I had a problem to solve.
"If I may advise," I tried to reason with Mr Formicelli. "Next time, you just pay the Englishman or others in cash on the spot and sign a letter of no claims after full refund of payment. That is what I do in such situations. Not to wait for a week and tell him that the kitten is no longer his. That would have got rid of the angry feelings towards you and your company.
I did not want to antagonise Mr Formicelli. In the law of contract, the sale was legally binding. There was an offer and an acceptance. The consideration of money was paid and accepted. So, the kitten that is NOT for sale had been sold to the Englishman.
Kitten with runny nose after purchase
So the kitten was legally the Englishman's.
The Englishman had not received nor would he accept the refund and the kitten belonged to him. Mr Formicelli's staff had taken over to care for the kitten and had not told him that he would never get back his kitten. He had spent time visiting it. Now it had recovered and he wanted it back.
It would be real messy if this case goes to court. I am sure the tabloids would have a field day. Pet stories are so fascinating to pet lovers. It would be infamy for Mr Formicelli and maybe for me too. Legal costs would be ridiculously higher than the purchase price of at least 10 kittens to be sold.
Mr Formicelli is a reasonable man. He agreed to sell the kitten to me. It was lunch time. I wanted to go to the Bishan Community Library to read.
But why take a chance in waiting?
What if somebody buys it or Mr Formicelli changes his mind? It is like real estate business. When the Seller is hot, do not wait one second. Close the deal
The lunch-time thunderstorm rain battered my car as I got out to take the kitten back. I examined it at the pet shop. The pet shop girl was very busy cleaning up the cat cages but took time to put the kitten on the counter,"Just a little flu. Not even any cough since the day it arrived. The pet shop vet said it had a little flu. It ate well and was active. I gave it medication..."
I kept silent as I need to rush out. My car was parked illegally in front of a bus stop area. I did not want the bus to smash into it. Just in case. There was no point arguing about the comments of the pet shop girl.
It was like saying a woman was "just a little bit pregnant", I thought. Either the kitten had flu or it did not have. Either the woman was pregnant or not.
I was glad that the Englishman would still give his wife the kitten as a Christmas present. He had avoided the storm of uncertainty that is life. The fire of litigation, expenses and ill will that would ensue if I could not solve his problem. He collected the kitten in the evening from the Surgery.
And I hope all live happily ever after.
Monday Dec 18, 2006
"Remember me?" the Englishman phoned, reminding me of our meeting 8 days ago at my Surgery talking about the state of advertising agencies in Singapore. I remember him as my practice seldom have foreign clientele. We had a good conversation about advertising and his surname sounded like one of the Israeli's prime minister's.
"You advised that I could ask the Kitten Seller to keep the kitten for a week or two to treat its cat flu?"
"Yes," I said. "What's happened?" During the veterinary inspection after sales, the kitten had runny nose. It could be the tail end of the flu infection or the beginning. The Englishman could treat at home or return to the Seller. This Seller might take care of it for a week and once it is cured, he would take the kitten back.
The Seller accepted the kitten. But now the Englishman said he would not get the kitten back. The Seller said he had posted him the cheque to refund him the money. But he did not receive and did not want the cheque. He wanted the kitten. The Seller would not budge.
So he phoned me.
"The Seller had bad experiences with certain cultures threatening to sue him when sold an 'unhealthy' pet---now he just wanted to pay you back the money. There would be such customers, including the locals..." I wanted to let him sort out with the Seller. But he was a very nice Englishman. He and his wife had visited the kitten yesterday and probably several days. The Seller assessed he might be litigious?
What to do with this situation such that it turns out win-win for all parties? A cheque had been posted to him. The Seller wanted nothing to do with him. The Seller lost the credit card charges as the cheque was payment in full, unlike some Sellers.
I telephoned the Seller. He was adamant. Two cultures provided the worst of complainants and one representative was the Englishman.
"I am sure Singaporeans do cause such distress to you too as I have had such potentially litigious clients in my veterinary practice," I said. "Not only foreign cultures..."
Mr Formicelli would not budge even though I vouched for the Englishman's gentle character and the fact that he had promised me that he would not sue for loss should the kitten die the next week. "Live animals are not guaranteed to live as some may die some days after purchase," I had told him. "I can help you on one condition---you assure me that you would not make claims or sue should the kitten fall sick the next few days."
The Englishman hesitated, "Please make a house call to the pet shop and check for me. I will pay for your trouble."
But the Seller was decisive even when I told him of this conditional return of the kitten. He had too much bad experiences. There would always be abusive and loud customers when pets get sick. But my feeling was that this Englishman would not be one of them.
What should I do? Is there a solution to this problem? A win-win solution?
"Let me buy the cat and then sell it to the Englishman," I said to Mr Formicelli. "If there are problems, the Englishman would have to see me since I am the Seller. You create ill will if you persist and it would not be good for your business
"The Englishman would speak ill of your company to his expatriate community. It is a closed community..." I tried to tell him that his company's good reputation and branding would be tarnished by his decision.
Mr Formicelli stood his ground. "You want to spend time dealing with trouble?" Mr Formicelli asked me. "I have signed the cheque and return him in full but I lost money as I did not debit the credit card charges when paying him back in full. Why look for trouble when you have none?"
If only the Englishman's wife would take another kitten. If the Englishman had not sent the kitten to me for a post-sale veterinary inspection. I would have peace of mind. Christmas is 7 days away. The Nativitiy Story movie reminded me to generate good will among men. But it was not meant to be. I had a problem to solve.
"If I may advise," I tried to reason with Mr Formicelli. "Next time, you just pay the Englishman or others in cash on the spot and sign a letter of no claims after full refund of payment. That is what I do in such situations. Not to wait for a week and tell him that the kitten is no longer his. That would have got rid of the angry feelings towards you and your company.
I did not want to antagonise Mr Formicelli. In the law of contract, the sale was legally binding. There was an offer and an acceptance. The consideration of money was paid and accepted. So, the kitten that is NOT for sale had been sold to the Englishman.
Kitten with runny nose after purchase
So the kitten was legally the Englishman's.
The Englishman had not received nor would he accept the refund and the kitten belonged to him. Mr Formicelli's staff had taken over to care for the kitten and had not told him that he would never get back his kitten. He had spent time visiting it. Now it had recovered and he wanted it back.
It would be real messy if this case goes to court. I am sure the tabloids would have a field day. Pet stories are so fascinating to pet lovers. It would be infamy for Mr Formicelli and maybe for me too. Legal costs would be ridiculously higher than the purchase price of at least 10 kittens to be sold.
Mr Formicelli is a reasonable man. He agreed to sell the kitten to me. It was lunch time. I wanted to go to the Bishan Community Library to read.
But why take a chance in waiting?
What if somebody buys it or Mr Formicelli changes his mind? It is like real estate business. When the Seller is hot, do not wait one second. Close the deal
The lunch-time thunderstorm rain battered my car as I got out to take the kitten back. I examined it at the pet shop. The pet shop girl was very busy cleaning up the cat cages but took time to put the kitten on the counter,"Just a little flu. Not even any cough since the day it arrived. The pet shop vet said it had a little flu. It ate well and was active. I gave it medication..."
I kept silent as I need to rush out. My car was parked illegally in front of a bus stop area. I did not want the bus to smash into it. Just in case. There was no point arguing about the comments of the pet shop girl.
It was like saying a woman was "just a little bit pregnant", I thought. Either the kitten had flu or it did not have. Either the woman was pregnant or not.
I was glad that the Englishman would still give his wife the kitten as a Christmas present. He had avoided the storm of uncertainty that is life. The fire of litigation, expenses and ill will that would ensue if I could not solve his problem. He collected the kitten in the evening from the Surgery.
And I hope all live happily ever after.
posted by Photography by Sing Kong Yuen | 7:25 AM
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