Last month, while my son and I were on our trip, we ran into a number of problems with reservations made with Expedia.com. Up to that point, I had pretty much always assumed that when you made reservations with such a large and well-known company, that those reservations would be honored, with possibly a few exceptions.
However, that perception changed during the trip. Not once, not twice, but three times, we went to the hotel, only to find that they had no record of any reservations. And when I showed them proof, both on printed out paper and on my phone, these institutions still often were unwilling to honor the reservations. Usually, these problems came at the end of the day, when I was tired and my patience was wearing thin. I learned that sometimes, being forceful or assertive can yield results.
Something similar happened when we went to the Pearl Jam concert. My son seemed to feel embarrassed for a moment, perhaps thinking I was making a scene. But here's the thing: I had paid the full amount for the concert tickets months ago. Just like with the hotels, I had proof of my purchase on both printed paper, and on my phone. However, I had logged onto my Ticketmaster account, and it showed that there were no upcoming events, including that evening's Pearl Jam show.
So they took us aside. We spoke with a woman who, it seemed, had a nasty little demeanor. At first, it was not a big deal, and she took my phone (with my permission) and then was telling us to log onto Ticketmaster, but she handed me the phone with a log on for the local Wifi, and not for Ticketmaster. I reminded her that I had already logged onto Ticketmaster, and had showed her the result earlier.
Then, I explained that it was simply showing no events. I admitted that the storage on my phone was pretty filled. She asked me if I had downloaded the app, and when I tried to explain that this kind of thing had happened before, she stopped and, with a mocking smile, said, "Oh, so you never downloaded the app?" She seemed almost triumphant, as if she was Perry Mason or some high-powered lawyer, who had just nailed somebody in court.
Here's the thing: I was so startled to find myself under some kind of attack, that for a moment, I did not know what to do. This often has been the case in the past, and too often, I never fully recovered on time to actually say what was on my mind, to boldly talk back. Not this time.
"Wait a minute. Am I here to be judged, or something?" I asked, with a sudden edge in my voice, which had risen in volume. Out of the corners of my eyes, I saw other people (who were nearby and dealing with other event staff, presumably with similar issues of being unable to access their tickets) beginning to turn their heads and take notice. For that matter, I could swear that she was noticing that we suddenly had their attention, as well, even though she never actually turned to look at them.
Her smile immediately disappeared. She said no, and then went back to trying to help me. Within seconds, she simply waved me off, almost impatiently, saying, "Go ahead. Go in."
Again, my son felt like I overreacted. I told him, though, that after a while when you get older, you get tired of people treating you like garbage. There comes a point where you have just had it. Now, I know that the woman realized that she was being a jerk, and that she suddenly was nervous that perhaps I was calling her out for giving me an unnecessarily hard time. After all, she never made sure that we actually had our tickets scanned, or anything. I know that this is a basic necessity on her end. So for her to wave us off like that was, it seemed to me, a clear concession. And that nasty little mocking smile, which faded so damn quickly once I asserted myself, admittedly also felt like a small triumph. Somehow, we got into the show without our tickets ever being scanned (to my knowledge, there is no other way for them to scan them). Then again, we just gained entry into a show that I had paid for and obtained tickets to many months before. But the headache of sitting to the side and dealing with an obnoxious staff member who was delighting in the little power that she held over us was simply a relief in and of itself.
Problems With My Phone Bill
One last problem from the trip that I had to deal with yesterday (Friday the 22nd). My phone bill was outrageous. My provider (at least for now) is Verizon Wireless. They wanted to charge me well over $330 for my phone bill, mostly due to supposed overuse of data and using it while in a foreign country (Canada).
But I told them that I spoken with a number of representatives in recent years whenever this issue had arisen. With these people, my plan had been adjusted, at least in theory. Yet, it always seems like they are quick to charge me for "excess data use."
This time, however, they had gone way, way too far, I told the representative.
As if we were in a car dealership, she told me to wait while she went to speak to her manager. She came back, and said that they were willing to apply a credit of what amounted to $45. I told her that this was still outrageous for a phone bill, because it still was near $300. I also told her directly that if they did not lower the bill very significantly, that I would be hunting for another provider.
"Do you think that I will find somebody willing to provide services for less than $300?" I asked her. "Because I'm willing to bet that I can."
Once again, I was put on hold, while she spoke with her manager. Once again, I got the feeling of déjà vu. It really was beginning to feel like being at a car dealership. When she came back, she said that they would be willing to lower it by $58. She kept using the word credit.
Also once again, I told her that this still was damn near $300, and that this would make the phone bill about $140 per month, and that to me, the service that I was getting hardly felt worth that much.
She began to tell me that, in fact, the fees and charges were justified. But I cut her off and told her that she was wasting my time if she was trying to convince me that they actually were acting fair in this matter. Then, she asked me how much credit I was looking for. So I responded in a way that she probably was not expecting, explaining that using the word "credit" made it sound like I was asking for some kind of a favor or special treatment. From my perspective, they had charged me a ridiculous, simply outlandish amount, and then were slowly but surely getting rid of some of those ridiculous surcharges and fees once I had called them out on it. Again, I reminded her that I had simply had enough, that this was not the way to treat customers if they actually valued them.
Yet again, I was placed on hold. When she came back, she offered a "credit" of $100.
"This is ridiculous," I said.
Very quickly, she said that she could offer $150 credit, but that this was all that they could do on their end.
Again, though, I was still quite annoyed.
Will I begin searching for a better provider for my phone services?
You bet I will be. There are just points in life where you grow tired of being jerked around by huge, multinational corporations and/or their representatives. And while in the past, I might have shied away much earlier than I had in any of these cases, it seems to me that there are simply more and better results when you actually use a more assertive voice. It seems to be a reality in the world these days.
It should be noted here that, with these problems with my phone bill, it seemed like a good idea to Google the average phone bill that most people pay in the United States. I was astonished to find that the average phone bill was a whopping $166 per month! Now, I know that some people are willing to pay top dollar for the latest and greatest model of cell phone, particularly the Iphone. That simply was never my thing. I just want to have internet access, and be able to take pictures and text and receive texts. My phone is not there to impress anyone, but merely functional. And to me, spending anywhere near $100 monthly for a phone bill seems simply ludicrous. The price of everything is rising, so my guess is that eventually, it will get there anyway.
But not yet. Not on this day. And no longer without a fight, either.
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