so, I strolled back into the Parts Dept, putting on my best "I'm not a happy customer" face (as really I found it all quite amusing).....it went something like this....
"Good Morning"
"Good Morning Sir, how can I help you?" as if he'd never seen me before (it always amazes me that these heavily stocked places are normally always empty, and you have to ring a bell for attention, so he cant have had that many punters in since the previous day) but clearly he had no recollection whatsoever....
"I bought these mats yesterday"
"Yes Sir" still looking blank
"For an S4"
"Yes"
"You spent a lot of time on your system making sure you got the right part number and colour code for my car"
"errrmmm"......"ah yes Sir" the penny finally dropped... "are they the wrong colour?" he looked really surprised....
"no"
"oh" he looked relieved but then realised that wasnt the end of the story "dont they fit then?"
"yes, perfectly" now his face was glazing over and looking really puzzled "let me clarify that - when I say they fit, I meant they are exactly the right size" now he's looking at me for inspiration, some clue or other... but now silence
"it's the fixings" I said as I turned over one of the mats and then produced the original one
"they look the same size to me"
"well they're not actually although there isnt much in it, but if you look closely you'll see that the fitment is quite different"
"hmmmmm" some serious scratching of the chin and a deep intake of breath "what sort of fitting is in the car?"
"well prongs which fit the original mats, but not these ones, they're a different fitment"
"hmmmmm" more silence and headscratching...now onto the computer....
"look, you ordered the part to fit the car, based on reg number, but clearly it doesnt - perhaps if you put the part number into your system, it will show that it's for a different car or year? This is a facelift model but I wasnt aware that they'd lifted the carpet"... the sarcasm was lost on him...
now frantically in and out of ETKA (or whatever the dealerships use), back to a program which brings up my car, showing VIN number, where it was bought, Audi service history (not been near an Audi dealership since I bought it), inside leg measurement of the previous 2 owners, you name it....
back to ETKA, writes something on the invoice, into another program, back out again....then he rushes off out the back....
back to the computer, in and out of programs again, writes something else on the invoice, out the back again....
back to the ordering system, types in a new part number "they'll be here for you on Saturday morning" he announces as if the whole thing were so simple and sounded so confident that it was right this time
"are you sure you've got the right ones this time?" the look on his face was quite discerning, and I didnt get a yes or a no
"we can always send them back if they're not right"
inspired by his confidence, I walked out with a chuckle but thinking I wouldnt be treating it in such a lighthearted manner if these were parts I desperately needed to get the car going....
Stand by for the final installment............
