I love Al-Anon and how it's taught me to practice the principles of the program in all my affairs.

I'm just feeling proud of myself for speaking up for myself. Something that used to be very difficult for me, coming as a person who just wanted everyone to like her. Defending myself and my interests at times could lead to conflict and that makes me uncomfortable.

I had a mundane instance where I purchased a product from a business across seas via a special kickstarter campaign. 

I received my products in a batch and most were in perfect condition. However, one was damaged. I emailed the company with photos of the damage and asked them if they could rectify the problem for me.

Yesterday I received an email from their customer service department, apologizing for the problem. They told me to make it up to me, they'd give me a 20% discount on my next order with them.

Immediately I felt uncomfortable with this. It didn't seem right to me. Offering a future discount felt like they were telling me "I'm sorry your product was damaged. To make it up to you give us more money."

Instead of shooting back a heated email, however, I decided to pause on it. Actually to sleep on it. It was still nibbling at the back of my mind today, so I "reasoned things out with someone else" and told a colleague of mine of the issue. She agreed that that wasn't acceptable - she works in our customer service department at my work. She pointed out to me that I paid for something that I was expecting to receive undamaged and in perfect condition. It's not acceptable for a business to not either replace the damaged item or offer a refund.

So I responded to their email today, and kept in the spirt of saying what I mean without saying it mean. I thanked them for their response, but told them that their offer wasn't acceptable for the previously mentioned reasons. I told them I hope they reconsider their policy on damaged items and I'd appreciate hearing back from them.

I got all uncomfortable and worried that I'd come across hostile after I sent the email. But at that point I told myself this is in God's hands now and I'll accept whatever results he brings.

Well later this evening I received a response from them. They apologized for their previous offer and understood that it didn't sound right when they looked at it from my perspective. They told me they'll be sending me a replacement right away.

So, yay! It felt good that my sticking up for myself didn't have to turn into something dramatic. I was able to communicate my needs - I was cordial but assertive, and it sounded like they got a better understanding of how to better serve their customers when they receive something damaged.

I thanked the person for their response and told them good customer service like what they're doing is what will keep their company going strong.

Thank you, Al-Anon, for giving me my voice and giving me the tools to take good care of myself without hurting someone in order to do it.