I probably shouldn't be cross but I am and here's the reason why:
Richard is the son of my lifelong friend that died a few years back and we have kept up our friendship with Rich and meet with him several times each year and always take him to lunch for his birthday. His birthday was last Saturday so we decided that the following Tuesday would be a good day to meet.
As I have blogged previously our favourite haunt, the Kwiana pub, has closed so we decided to try another old Aussie pub that we also used to go to with Richard and his mum. We found out that they still do lunches so I booked for the 3 of us for 12.15 Tuesday (in my name).
We drove through some rather heavy rain but arrived on time and into the pub we went. The menu was rather limited but adequate and we all decided that pan fried barramundi with chips and salad would go down well and this is what we ordered. It was well cooked and quite delicious so no problem there.
MOH went to the counter with Richard to order our lunch and bring back some drinks. We stayed there for a couple of hours and then walked around to a coffee shop nearby to have a coffee before heading off in our respective directions homeward.
Yesterday MOH went to do some grocery shopping and on going through the checkout he discovered he no longer has his credit card in his wallet. This must be a dreadful feeling but fortunately MOH shares my credit card so he used that to pay for the groceries.
He arrived home to share the news of the missing credit card and we realised the last time he had used it was at the hotel where we had lunch. He phoned them and after speaking to a few different people he was told yes he had indeed left it behind (not sure if he left it or whether or not it was handed back to him) and as it is their policy with any cards not claimed within 24 hours...... THE CARD WAS SHREDDED.
He was also told that they had checked their computer but our name didn't appear on it. I thought this rather strange as I'd booked the table only the day before and given our surname so why didn't anything appear on their computer.
Ours is a rather uncommon surname so it would have taken a couple of seconds for them to check the phone book or, alternatively, they could have contacted our bank. This obviously is too much like hard work so shredding the card is the easy way out. I was also rather upset that we have to take their word that the card has actually been shredded although I am confident they were quite honest about that.
I know part of the fault lies with MOH who was probably chatting with Rich about what drinks to order etc., at the time of ordering our lunch but we were in the hotel for at least another 90 minutes and one would think they would have found the card during that time but apparently not.
I was all for writing the a letter of complaint but MOH said just let it go so I agreed I would. He probably feels a wee bit guilty about not being sure he had the card but I don't lay the fault completely at his door. The bank has been phoned, the card cancelled and a new card will arrive within 5 working days which is great but I'm still feeling a bit cross. They say you should write down things that bother you and that is what I am doing....just to get it off my chest.
Oh Mimsie, I'm cross for you too - what a silly policy! Sometimes it takes more than 24 hours to discover you've left behind your card. I know one time it took me three days - thank goodness they hadn't shredded it.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got that off your chest, and very happy that you had a catch-up with your friend. x
Hi PPMJ. There is more to the story. MOH cancelled his c/card but the bank cancelled mine instead (he is the primary card holder) so we had to ring them again and he was without his card for nearly 2 weeks. Fortunately I have my own Mastercard so we used that. I ended up telephoning the hotel and spoke to the manager who told me they don't shred c/cards for a week or not at all if folk ring to say they can't get there within the week. So it appears we were told an untruth about the 24 hours bit and in fact nobody had bothered to check their computer or they would have found a name on the booking. Fortunately all's well that ends well but we had to go to our bank to change the new PINS back to our original ones. P.S. When the lass checked her computer it showed MOH has TWO Visa cards which of course he hasn't so we were able to have that fixed as well. This modern age of technology does often have a lot to answer for. Thanks for taking the time to read my grouch. xxxx
ReplyDeleteMessage to PinkPatentMaryJanes....I visit your blog which I always enjoy but have to let you know that for some reason I can't leave a comment. It tried again today when I was reading about your delicious menu for the coming week but still unable to comment. Is there any way this problem can be rectified? If so, do please let me know. xxx
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