(I reserve a room at a bed and breakfast via an online hotel reservation service. A few days later, I get an email saying my reservation could not be honored, and to please call their helpline to resolve the matter. I go outside during my lunch break to call and get things worked out.)
Representative: “Thank you for calling [Company]. How can I help you?”
Me: “I booked a room a couple days ago and I just got an email saying it couldn’t be honored and to call here to work it out.”
Representative: “Yes, it looks like the proprietor told us that he had a room available, but he booked it and didn’t let us know, so we didn’t update our site, but the room has been filled.”
Me: *thinking that sounds suspicious, but wanting to get things worked out* “So, what now?”
Representative: “Why did you choose this bed and breakfast? I will search my system and find something comparable.”
Me: “It is right down the road from my mom’s house. I’m not sure you’ll find something nearby; it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere and I don’t want to be much farther away since I’m going home for Mother’s Day.”
Representative: “I’m sure we can find something. I’m going to put you on hold while I search.”
(He puts me on hold for about 10 minutes.)
Representative: “Hello, [My Name], I searched and I found a room at [Budget Nationwide Hotel Chain] in [City 10 miles away]. Would you like me to transfer your booking?”
Me: “Um, that’s not really close by. I was hoping for something closer.”
Representative: “According to our maps, it’s only 3.8 miles from your original booking.”
Me: *thinking it will only be one night and not wanting to fight* “Okay, that’s fine, then.”
Representative: “Okay, the price for this room is $119 per night. Since you booked your other room at $100 a night, we will cover the cost of the increase, but I will need a credit card number to hold the room.”
Me: “Oh, I’m sorry, I just stepped outside to call and I don’t have my wallet with me. Can I call you back later today with my credit card?”
Representative: “There are only a few rooms left. We really need a credit card to reserve the room. We can’t guarantee there will be any rooms left if you don’t reserve it now.”
Me: *starting to get a little annoyed now; they are trying to get me to stay in a budget hotel instead of a bed and breakfast and not making it easy* “I’m sorry, maybe you didn’t hear me – I don’t have my credit card with me. It’s in my office on the 23rd floor of my building. I really can’t give you my credit card number at this time. So…”
Representative: “Do you have a friend nearby? Can you borrow someone else’s card and then use your own card when you get to the hotel?”
Me: *thinking – did you really just ask if I could borrow someone else’s credit card?!* “No, I can’t do that. I’m by myself.”
Representative: “Well, I’m not sure what we can do here.”
Me: “Okay, well, if I can’t call back later, I guess you’d better just cancel everything. I’m not sure what else can be done.”
Representative: “Well, I’ll place a note on your account and you can call back later and we’ll see what we can do for you then.”
Me: *at the end of my rope* “No, just cancel. I’ll take care of finding something else on my own.”
Representative: “Are you sure? There might be something here later if you call back.”
Me: “No, it’s not worth the trouble. Just cancel.”
Representative: “Okay, I’ll send a confirmation of the cancel to [email address].”
(I decided to just call the bed and breakfast directly to see what happened. They did have a room and were able to book me directly.)
