Schooled lied to me

When I was younger, I read the scene where the characters panic about Cap donating all the school money to charity, and someone mentions that you can’t just ask a charity for a refund to go buy a new TV because of how terrible it would look. For years, I genuinely believed that was how the real world worked. I thought if you asked a charity or a hospital for your money back, they would shame you and ask if you cared more about a TV than saving lives.

Well, I recently went to a hospital where I had made a donation and tested your logic. I walked right up to the desk, asked for a refund, and explicitly told them I wanted the money back so I could buy a flat-screen TV.

Instead of a massive dramatic confrontation like in Schooled, the employee didn’t even make eye contact. They just muttered “okay,” clicked a few buttons, processed the refund, and told me to move along so they could help the next person in line.

I spent years being anxious about this scenario because of your book, only to find out real-life customer service is way more boring and uncaring than Claverage Middle School!

Thanks for the great books, even if they didn’t exactly prepare me for real-life bureaucracy.