Ask A Spooky Cartel Enforcer
Eleanor Nacht has creatively solved a lot of problems for an international crime syndicate, and now she's solving yours!
I recently bought a jacket for an event, making sure before I left the store that if the jacket wasn't a good match a particular pair of pants I wanted to wear it with, I could return the jacket for a full refund. Though there was no policy posted on display in the store, the sales clerk working that day assured me that if need be, the store would absolutely take it back. Unfortunately, the jacket wasn't quite right, but when I took it back, unworn, along with my receipt, the clerk I had dealt with wasn't there, I couldn't remember her name, and the owner told me that he could only give me store credit. All my friends are telling me just to find something else for my store credit and get back at the owner by badmouthing his shop all over town. Do you agree with them that this is my only recourse?
- Byron
Your friends are wrong. They are children. If you use this man's cowardly store credit, he will have beaten you. You might just as well clean his boots with your tongue and your tears as use his store credit. What you must do now is simple. Return to the store under cover of night. Break in. Resist the urge to loot it of any other pieces of clothing that may have struck your eye on previous visits: for you to wear his merchandise is an honour he does not deserve. Instead, use a small blade to cut tiny slashes in every item that will not be noticed until customers try them on. (Make sure not to cut along a seam that could be mended.) This will take time, but nothing worth doing is easily done. As the sun begins to rise and you take your leave, put your store credit slip in the middle of the checkout counter, pinned under a pile of your feces. Then go treat yourself to a whole new suit for your event. You've earned it.
My son Lonny, who still only has his learner's permit, recently snuck out after my wife and I had gone to bed and took my car out with some of his friends, as I recently discovered when I received a ticket showing he had been caught blowing through an intersection with a red light camera. I haven't confronted Lonny about this yet, so he still thinks he got away with it. How would you suggest I let him know the truth, and what would you say is an appropriate punishment?
- Carmen
Cut his nose off. Lonny will be a great deal more careful about how he takes red lights if he fears one of those cameras will capture an image of his ruined face. And take the cost of the ticket out of his allowance. No pin money means no more late-night french fries for Lonny.
My girlfriend always finishes the hummus and never gets more. How can I impress upon her that if she can't stop herself from eating all my dip, she could at least put it on the grocery list so that I can replace it for her?
- Steve
Once there was a man who had no respect for other people's condiments. His only concern when he was enjoying food was his own satisfaction. The idea that his greed might keep others from flavourful snacks and meals never crossed his mind. His family and friends could smell his perfidy on his breath. It usually smelled like garlic. One day, a young woman who shared his pantry had to make a quick lunch to take with her for a trip to the border -- why she was going there is not important. She laid out the bread to make a peanut butter sandwich, but when she opened the jar, she saw that the man had sinned against her. He had put away an empty jar. He had left her nothing. She had no time to arrange another meal. She went to work so hungry she could hardly concentrate. All she could think about was the peanut butter sandwich he had kept her from eating. And when she returned that night, she took the jar from the cupboard, carefully cut it into jagged points, came upon the man when he slept, and used one of the jar pieces to stab him through the tongue. Now all his meals are very bland. Tell your girlfriend this story and ask her if she is ready to eat nothing but lukewarm, unseasoned mush. You might also both start using the Grocery IQ app, which is very convenient for households with shared shopping lists.