My children
practice on the electronic keyboard we
have at home, but when it malfunctioned, we took it to a service center to get
it repaired. The technician said that the problem was a minor one and would
return the instrument at the end of the day. We went in the evening to take
delivery of the repaired keyboard, but since I did not find an empty parking
space, I gave Esther and Rakshan the money so that they could pay the Service center
and bring back the keyboard.
They took longer than expected to return with the keyboard,
so I asked them the reason for the delay.
Esther explained that Rakshan asked for a receipt but the technician refused
and the delay was because she insisted
on having it. She went to narrate
that as they were about to leave when Esther stopped and asked him why
he wouldn't give them a receipt. He said it was just a repair job and the norm was not to give a customer a
receipt for repairs. Esther asked if he could give them a receipt and he said
yes. She asked him for once again and he replied it was not the norm to give a receipt
for repairs jobs. She said that she wanted a receipt
and persisted with her persuasive skills till he gave one to her.
Thinking
‘commercially’, I explained to them that he was probably trying to save on tax.
I reasoned that if he did not wish to give us the receipt, they could have asked
a discount, to which Rakshan all of fourteen responded that it was better to fix
accountability than to get a discount.
