The Last Look…
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: March 5, 2024
This is a short story demonstrating how I can be fair and balanced in my commentary…almost!
Last week, with some friends from the industry, I went to New Zealand to watch the cricket. On the morning two of us were to depart (the other was already there and one was flying) I got a message saying our accommodation had been cancelled. A quick check by a global travel giant revealed there was nothing else available nearer than 40km from where we actually needed to be. The person on the phone wasn’t tremendously helpful, but did their best (tip: if you work for a travel firm, understand that a dateline exists and someone from Australia can call you from tomorrow!), but the upshot was, at least three big, hairy men were either crashing the unfortunate fourth’s room, sleeping in the reception area of the aforementioned cancelled hotel, or on the street.
Luckily, I managed, after quite some searching, to find somewhere, albeit much more expensive, which I booked and then told the aforementioned global travel giant, who then said they would compensate me the difference (I found out they actually charged the original hotel most of it, but that’s not my problem).
We turned up in windy Wellington and found, to our delight, that where we had booked was much nicer and a lot better than the original – all for the same cost thanks to my refund. A fine long weekend ensued, replete with excellent “tour” stories, good food, drink and company.
The moral of the story?
Sometimes you can be rejected on last look and have a better outcome…
Can’t be fairer than that, although I would like to add that it helps if YOU ACTUALLY PROVIDE THE COST OF REJECTS!!!
Sorry, couldn’t carry it off…
