Reader Heeds Your "Bad Consumer" Verdict, Returns Free Wiper Fluid

Yesterday, Greg wrote in to ask his fellow Consumerist readers if he’d gone too far in his dealings with a local car wash and crossed the line into being a “Bad Consumer.” Well, the hive-mind voted in full force and Greg has listened to your verdict.

After seeing that greater than 85% of voters thought that Greg had either acted like a Bad Consumer or that he at least could have handled the situation better, he wrote in to say: “I’ve come to my senses, with the help of all the Consumerist reader comments. Just wanted to let you know that I’m going to return the washer fluid tomorrow, to wipe my karmic slate clean.”

And then this morning, Greg followed up to share how things went when he actually went to return the wiper fluid:

I reluctantly took back the washer fluid this morning. I say reluctantly because even though I knew it was the right thing to do I was somewhat embarrassed by my actions and wasn’t looking forward to going in with my tail between my legs. However, in order to be able to criticize other bad consumers in the future I knew that I must own up to my actions completely so I forced myself to go in. I told the manager that I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday, that I was out of line and that I’d like to return the washer fluid to clear my conscience. The manager was taken aback and after collecting his thoughts he thanked me and said, “You know what? Go ahead and keep the washer fluid. It’s all good.” We shook hands on it and that was that. I’m glad I forced myself to own up to my actions. Thanks!

Thanks to Greg for sharing, and for the thousands of readers who voted. This story now gets the rare “Happy Endings” tag!

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