We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore! (Part 1)
August 13, 2014One thing my daughter and I share in common is our affinity for 80’s rock music. From Def Leppard to Duran Duran, she loves the classics and one of her all-time favorite 80’s songs is Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take It. This song—an anthem for my generation—has inspired my attitude about many things, including money. In our current culture, we are conditioned to accept the financial policies of businesses without question but since when were we here to serve businesses instead of businesses serving us? There’s a lot of competition out there for our money so when it comes to silly financial policies, maybe it’s time we STOP taking it!
Over the next several weeks, I’d like to share with you financial policies I’ve decided to stand up to. In each instance, there was a standing policy in place and if I kept my mouth shut I would have paid more than I did. May my financial successes inspire you to find your voice!
I’m not gonna take cancellation policies anymore!
One thing I pride myself on is my ability to find the lowest prices on hotel rooms but sometimes you get what you pay for. On a recent trip to Gillette, WY, I used an online travel site to book my hotel room. To save money, I prepaid for the room. Although it wasn’t my first choice of places to stay, the price seemed reasonable so I booked it.
I arrived early and the hotel was nice enough to provide me a room before the regular “check-in” time. I took one step into the room and was almost knocked over by the smell. I went back to the front desk and requested another room. Apparently, I was given a “pet-friendly” room by mistake so they gave me another room across the hall. This “upgrade” didn’t smell much better but I had the sense that this was the best I was going to do and having already paid for the room, I considered myself stuck.
That night a touring bus pulled in and for the next three hours all I could hear were kids laughing and screaming and running up and down the hall. By nine o’clock, I had to walk up to the parents and beg them to ask their children to be quiet. By ten o’clock, other hotel guests were yelling for the kids to go to bed—not their own mind you. I think it finally settled down around midnight and by the grace of God, I was able to fall asleep. I awoke early the next day to find the 13 x 13 foot breakfast area packed with, you guessed it, people from the tour bus. I decided to skip the continental breakfast and head straight to the job site.
For lunch, I drove to another hotel in the area—a much nicer hotel—to inquire about rooms and rates. A few days ago, they had no vacancy during my length of stay but much to my surprise, they had a room available that night. As a bonus, they offered a 10% discount. So here’s my dilemma: I had already prepaid for two nights at the other hotel so I could stay there another night and take my chances or I could eat the cost and book a room at this nicer place. What would you do?
I decided not to take it anymore. Even though I was well past the 24-hour cancellation period, I called the online travel site and requested a refund for the second night. I wasn’t mean or angry and I didn’t yell or get upset. I simply called and asked.
The customer service representative reminded me of the cancellation policy but agreed to contact the hotel about refunding the second night. Can you guess what happened? Of course you can, otherwise why would I be writing this blog? I got the refund and stayed in the nicer place.
The moral of the story is this: In truth, they could have said no but by calling and asking there was a chance that they could say yes. Don’t let a cancellation policy stop you from asking for a refund. You have nothing to lose.