All's well that ends well...

My Mom and Dad sent us a beautiful Challah tray for our anniversary. When it arrived, the glass on top was shattered.

I decided to find a way to get it replaced here. SO after visiting 2 different framing shops, I found one that said "no problem."

They asked if I wanted the glass to be sanded and rounded. Of course I said yes, I wanted it to be exactly like the piece that had broken. They said it would be extra for the work involved, so I asked how much. 50 rmb, about $7.35. The girls in the shop are very nice. They like to chat and I've been there several times, so they know our family a little bit.

A few days later, the girls from the shop called to say the glass had come in to the shop but it was scratched so they would need to make another one and it would be a few more days. I thanked them for letting me know and they said they'd call when it was ready. A few days later, they called to say it was ready, so I went to retrieve it.

When they showed me the tray, the glass looked great, but there was a piece of glass caught under the tray so they took the glass tray off of the wood to get the chip out and when they tried to put it back on, the screws wouldn't go in right. After about 15 minutes, I said I'd come back later. They said they would call me when it was ready and perhaps they could deliver it to me.

The next day, they called to say it was ready and they could bring it to my house in about 30 minutes. I was thrilled but when they arrived and I inspected the tray, the edge of the knife and the bottom were both damaged. It was clear that the tray had been dropped but when I asked them about it, as is typical here, they just looked at it and back at me, as if they couldn't see what I was talking about. Tom and I said again and again that we were very unhappy about it but they insisted it had been that way when I brought it in to the shop. We were both very upset and there was a lot of arguing back and forth (in Chinese). I disputed their assertions, all the while wondering what, if anything, would be done. It's not like in the US where you can insist that something like this be fixed, or replaced, at the expense of the shop. There is no accountability here.

The girls began to leave, without payment. Then I began to feel bad. They are nice girls and I didn't want them to get in trouble, so I chased after them and tried to give them the money. I explained to them, as I gave them the money, that all I had really wanted was for them to admit what had happened and say they were sorry. Suddenly, they changed their manner. They said the money is not important and that they talked to their boss who wanted me to come in to the shop so she could see for herself and try to make it right.

I really did not want to agree to this. I figured that nothing good would come of it and it's enough of a challenge just to communicate. I just wanted to call it a loss and move on, but they insisted, so we set up a time to meet and on Monday I took the tray in to meet with the boss. She looked at it and again insisted that it could not have happened at the shop but said that since I am a good customer, she wanted to try to fix it. I was worried that it would just be made worse, so I tried to refuse, but she said she would make it better, so I left it. A few days later, the shop assistant called to say it was ready and that they would bring it back to me. About 20 minutes later, a man I'd never seen before, who introduced himself as the shop owner's friend, brought the tray back to me.

As you can see from the pictures, it is better. You can still see there was damage, but it is definitely better. It was quite an ordeal, but now it's over and we can move on...