Mine?

December, 1997. John Wayne Airport, picking up a rental at the Hertz Counter-

Me: I reserved a mid-sized.

Hertz Agent: We only have compacts left.

Me: Fine. But I prepaid for a midsized. I'll take a compact but I want a refund on the difference in price.

Hertz Agent: We're not a bank. We don't give refunds.

Me: Excuse me? Let's go over the rental agreement. You don't get to charge me extra because you don't have what I made a reservation for.

Hertz Agent: I'm too busy actually renting cars. If you don't want the compact, step aside.

The discussion ended up in a civil war due to the snottiness of the little bitch.(My family ran for cover) After 90 minutes I finally was given access to a manager who gave me what I asked for.

Gotta love customer service.

You know, "Bend over Mister Customer --trust us sweetie, it won't hurt. We service people all the time. Oh, you did remember to lube didn't you?"

Vote with your feet. Make sure and tell them why, regularly and often. Maybe it makes no difference, maybe it does. At the least, those schlubs will grow to feel badly enough about what they do to perhaps help things toward a more favorable end.

Maybe you just feel better. In fact, you can at least go home and feel some measure of self-respect. (not that you don't now)

Remember that bank check charging thread we had here a while back. People told me it would do no good? Guess what? I don't get charged for cashing a check anymore. They still nail all the other neutered schlubs, but not me.

And farther back yet, I damn near shut down a new store owner trying to sell crack pipes near the school. That no longer happens either.

(That fricking guy got introduced to the United States in a big way. Knows freedom cuts both ways.)

If more people stood up, we would have a far nicer time of things. Handling actual people, who know their rights and responsibilities does not scale well, unless the service is solid. Dollars are the only thing they understand. Make sure they spend them repeatedly, unless things are handled properly.

Buy local, know their names and the names of their kids. Those people will treat you right because they know you, and their business is on the line. The small price premium is more than worth it, particularly given the hassle so often associated with larger enterprises.

You will likely help somebody send their raised decent kid to school instead of lining some fat asses pockets with a performance bonus, tied to just how tightly they can squeeze us at any one time.

I know rentals don't work this way, but one still does not take shit that is unwarranted. I rent from one company in particular. Rental and insurance is direct billed to a company card on file. I give them nothing but my DL and that's it. The only way to go. Both companies can jerk each other off, while I go back to living my life.

Mine was Bally's / Paris Las Vegas.

Caesers properties are the absolute worst. They are aggressive about extracting revenue from the customer and must be watched at every turn.

Checked in, they put a big ass hold on my funds for the trip. Their answer? It will be released in 14 days, feel free to charge to your room, we will take care of the rest!

(I might want to enjoy some fun at someplace other than Caesers.)

Since I deal locally, my bank is cool and they know me. I called, had the hold reversed, moved the dollars to the other account I keep in reserve. Went back to the hotel, let them know the account was now defunded, paid cash, plus a modest deposit and let them know why and that I would spend a nice chunk of time letting other patrons know how they are gonna get treated.

(The look on that managers face was priceless)

Ended up dealing with them after the fact, over bogus charges that had nothing to do with our stay.

Again, the same answer. Can we just run your card and let it all sort out after we have had time to review the accounting?

Fuck no! Let's account right now, settle now and leave with no worries.

After discovering double charges and a forgotten deposit (I kept my receipt), I got offered the free room next time, etc... Screw that. I'm sorry means dollars, or it's just not worth it. This is, of course, exactly how they work. Why not return the favor in like kind? It's just business right?

Ended up with $100 to compensate me for the time and energy required to deal with their mess they call service.

The smaller hotels, looking to compete are much better experiences. My wife plays cards a few times per year. (damn good at it too --let's just say she is net positive by a significant amount from day one)

It's nearly always a free stay, and we return the favor with nice tips at the tables to people who know who we are. We enjoy the food and recommend their establishments highly.

My wife had a horrible time the last time she was in Vegas, her and her best friend stayed at the Luxor ... and between the obnoxious neighbors and the fact that someone overfilled their hot tub two floors above them (they sat in it and passed out while it was filling up, flooding everything below it) ... she got part of her money back but said they were rather rude about it.

I once flew from here to Dallas with a connecting flight at Las Vegas. The things my then 9-year-old heard during the Las Vegas to Dallas leg was an R-rated vocabulary builder to say the least. The lady behind us kept saying she needed to throw up during the whole flight. Some guy named "Billy" a few seats ahead of us was, well, lets just say he was the life of the party. One thing for sure, what happens in LV doesn't always stay in LV . . . sometimes it goes to Dallas, TX.

ps: My daughter enjoyed the trip anyway -- her first time flying. Of course, she did learn where losers go for vacations.

....."My wife plays cards a few times per year. (damn good at it too --let's just say she is net positive by a significant amount from day one)

Can I borrow your wife? I need to pay for a new roof.

Police in Gold Beach sure know how to extract undeserved funds from vacationers and spoil an otherwise wonderful experience.

Hehe She has taught me enough that I can place fairly regulary in tournament games. I know just enough to see just where she is at. Scary good, and I'm not sharing :P

It's funny how that works. I need to pay for a bunch of stuff too. That's not when to play poker.

Sucks too Really sucks.

I should amend my other post. We used to play a few times per year. This one has been brutal. We aren't going anywhere for a bit! Thanks go to our fine state of healthcare for that whole affair.