Fit plug A into socket B

I ordered some replacement water cartridges the other day, Sodastream Filterstreams which look like the blue thing on the left here

(Find out what a Filterstream is here) It is the grown-up version of the Brita water jug filter, where you have a plumbed-in tap for about six months worth of filtered water for drinking & cooking.

Anyway, the filters duly arrived, but they were the wrong ones. Instead of push fit connectors they had a threaded shaft at one end and a plastic mesh at the other.

My first reaction was that I had cocked up- maybe I had clicked on the wrong one. Checking back with the website, the items were the correct code, although the line description matched something else in the catalogue with a different number but correctly described what I had received. I rang up their customer care line and after explaining the situation, Susan$ was tremendously helpful. They would send me a postage paid label with the replacement shipment. A very satisfactory result...

However, they rang back later in the day. Was I confused about it being unbranded and not saying Sodastream, asked Susan? No I said, that didn't bother me, my concern was that it didn't have the right connectors. Hold on, she said, let me transfer you to Vaughan$. Vaughan tried very hard to persuade me that I had the right ones, but eventually had to agree that he didn't have a clue what I was talking about and that I would have to talk to Ken who understood the product. Ken was out that day but would be back the next day.

The following day, I talked to Ken who assured me he packed the order himself and that they should be correct. Had I looked at both of the cartridges? All four of them were the same I replied. That stumped him as he hadn't sent an order for four Sodastreams and he eventually acceded that I did have the wrong ones & someone else must have prepared mine. He didn't feel that that the coincedence of the incorrect description matching my shipped goods were related however, as they all knew the product lines...

This morning, the right onses showed up, with a Freepost shipping label. A satisfactory outcome, despite three phone calls and a lot of explaining. In the world of technical support, this is known as a "Shit sandwich", where the miffle bit is crap.

($ Footnote:-Not their actual names, which were actually Lesley, Dave and Lee)