What's Done is Done

While visiting families to check up on their BRAND NEW stoves, I was kind of surprised when one woman hesitatingly informed me that she was not impressed. Our conversation went something like this:

Her: Senorita, excuse me, really don't take offense but, please I don't want you to get mad, but
the stove doesn't work well...I don't know, but it's not good.
Me: I won't get mad. Tell me. I want to know if you really like it or not.
Her: Well, the flame doesn't reach the pot. Don't get mad...
Me: Did you insert the metal slats to control the fire?
Her: Don't worry. Don't get mad, it works now...I broke the "burners" so now I'm using it.
Me: Broke? You broke your stove. Seriously?

So, she took me to see the stove and, indeed, she had smashed out the rims of all three of the "burners" so that she could literally put her pots through the holes and into the fire. She kept insisting that she could use it as is and I explained that, by breaking the stovetop as she had, she had completely defeated the purpose of reducing wood consumption. I did not get mad but I could not hide my disbelief. If she had bothered to insert the metal slats she wouldn't have had a problem. I told her that I could NOT believe that she hadn't bothered to ask me first. Then, as I was in the middle of saying, "After all this work...," I started crying. I told her that I was not mad but really hurt and that nothing could be done to fix it. Then she started crying. She was really embarrassed and she kept telling me not to tell anyone else. Momentarily I thought that maybe it was my fault for not explaining it earlier but, who on earth would do that without consulting someone first? She actually took a hammer to it a matter of days after it was completed. A S/.200 stove.