Contributed by Tyler Garns, Director of Marketing
At a previous job, I received a $2,500 prepaid American Express awards card for being amongst the top performing sales people. Since the expiration date on that card is approaching, my wife and I decided to book our vacation to Mexico for this March. We’ve had it all planned out for a few weeks now. We’re going to an all-inclusive hotel in Zihuatanejo – she can hang in the sun all day, and I can surf at some great spots nearby.
This weekend I went online to book the vacation and was shocked at how difficult it was. Orbitz had the lowest price for the vacation we wanted (air, hotel, and car rental) – $2,604. When my prepaid American Express card was declined, I figured it was because I went over the $2,500 limit. So, I called Orbitz and asked if I could charge $2,500 to the Amex and the rest to my Visa. The rep informed me that they don’t accept prepaid cards at all. STRIKE ONE!
So, I found the same vacation on Priceline except they didn’t offer the car rental. Their price was still just over $2,500, so I had the same problem. I called Priceline to see if they would allow me to split the charges. No can do. But they kept talking about their “best price guarantee”. STRIKE TWO!
Thinking about the best price guarantee, I went back to Orbitz and searched for the same vacation without the car rental. It ended up at $2,378. I was stoked! I figured all I’d need to do was get that info over to Priceline (since Orbitz wouldn’t accept my prepaid card) and have them “match” the “best price”. The lady at Priceline told me that I would have to purchase the vacation first at Priceline (for the higher price) and then submit a request for the “best price guarantee”. I told her my situation and asked if I could buy it first on my Visa, then when they did the “best price match”, they could refund my Visa and charge my prepaid Amex. She told me they could not switch credit cards for a particular vacation once its been paid for. STRIKE THREE!
Doesn’t it only take 3 STRIKES and YOU’RE OUT? You shouldn’t be striking out when you’re trying to give people money. I was going nuts. All I wanted to do was give someone my money so I could take my wife to Mexico, and that was proving and impossible task!
Needless to say, I finally found a version of our dream vacation on Travelocity and they let me charge my prepaid card.
The moral of the story is – IF SOMEONE WANTS TO GIVE YOU MONEY for a service or product that you offer, FIGURE OUT A WAY TO ACCOMMODATE THEM. When I told the lady at Priceline that I was going to have to go somewhere else, her response was, “Well, thanks for calling”. Are you kidding me? I’m trying to give you $2,500 and that’s all you can say?
Crazy!
Posted In: Small Business
