Puttin' on the Bitch

So today I made some hotel reservations online for a colleague and myself as we are going to a conference in Wichita in a few weeks.

Lucky for me I actually checked the confirmation e-mail only to discover that the reservation I made for my colleague was showing an incorrect check-in/check-out date.

So I called the customer service line for this particular internet travel organization was on hold for at least 20 minutes if not more while listening to the same movement of Vivaldi's Four Seasons over and over again. Once I was finally speaking to a person, I explained my dilemma. She put me on hold again, got back on and said they could fix the date, but I would be charged $50.

50 M-F'in dollars. To make the reservation one day earlier.

My reply was a very irritated, "that is ridiculous" and then repeated my request to assure that I had heard right, that it was really going to cost me 50 bucks to move a reservation up one day well in advance of the actual date of the reservation. (Voice tone and pitch rising with every word)

She put me on hold again (and I am pretty sure she heard me complaining with lots of profanity to Beloved before she actually put me on hold)

A few minutes later (and more Vivaldi)..... lo and behold! The $50 fee has been waived by her supervisor as a "one time courtesy."

Which just proves my theory that if faced with ridiculous things when making a purchase, getting in touch with and sharing my inner bitch usually makes the ridiculous go away.

I think it is the shrill tone of voice.

People will do just about anything to make it go away.