Surprise gone wrong....hive naija prompt #23.

Pleasant greetings to you all.

There are many times in my life when I have regretted spending my money on a particular item because such items turn out to be not what I expected. Sometimes I got compensated after a complaint while at other times I bore the loss myself because no one was willing or ready to hear jack about it.

Eight years ago, I wanted to surprise Felix with a gift on our third anniversary as an engaged couple. I racked my head for what to buy as I didn't want to get the usual pack of vests that I usually bought for him on special occasions. I wanted something different and a thought came to my mind.

I decided to buy him a shirt, it was called packet shirt in my area. I decided against buying it at the market close to where I lived as I suspected that the beans would be spilled prematurely. This decision led me to Oshodi market, which was quite far from okota where I lived.

I prepared myself that fateful day and went to Oshodi market. I went with high expectations after my little findings revealed that I would get good quality at a minimal amount.

On getting to the market, I asked around and was directed to a section where clothes were sold. I saw a nice sky blue shirt and decided to buy it. I asked for the price and the sales boy said it's one thousand two hundred naira as against two thousand five hundred naira it was sold for, at the market close to my area. This felt like jackpot to me.

With a broad smile on my face, I paid the sales boy and left. The shirt was sealed in a transparent nylon, moreover I didn't want to tamper with the gift which was yo be a surprise to Felix, so I didn't check immediately.

After the purchase of some few household requirements at the market, I boarded a bus heading back towards mile 2. Inside the bus, I began to feel uneasy and restless. I thought deeply about what could be wrong till my instincts settled on the shirt.

So without further ado, I tore off the seal and decided to take a good look at what I had bought. To my greatest surprise, it was only the neck and chest region that was sky blue. The other hidden parts were of different colours. One hand of the shirt was grey while the other was orange.

I stared with my mouth and eyes open wide, gaping at the colour disaster on my lap. "What kind of thing is this now?" I lamented. My mood that was at hundred degree celcius in happy mode, dropped to zero degrees immediately. I could not alight from the vehicle as I was already close to my bus stop.

A concerned passenger encouraged me to return it early the next day and exchange it with another one. I bought his suggestion and impatiently waited till the next day.
Morning came and I made a repeat journey down to Oshodi. I was able to locate the shop and when I complained about the kind of shirt that was sold to me, the guy had the nerve to tell me that it's a design

I quickly discerned that he might refuse to collect it and so I maneuvered with another story of length and that did the trick. The sales boy collected it but came with more shirts for me to pick from as my money cannot be refunded to me.

With hawk like eyes , I checked each shirt till I found a wine coloured shirt that was nice, I paid five hundred naira more because the boy claimed the new shirt was of higher quality. I didn't mind as long as I got what I wanted.

It was an eye opener for me never to trust goods that are too cheap. I ended up spending five thousand naira just to purchase one shirt, when I could have comfortably bought it at the market within my area for two thousand five hundred naira and saved myself from the stress. I regretted it a lot.

Thanks for reading...shalom

Image used is mine.