AOPA credit card --- WARNING.

Did you ever think that maybe it's not just pilots that find themselves in
circumstances beyond their control? I just hate to see anybody lumping whole
groups into a category like "scum" or "low-life" unless the facts warrant
it. I'm sure there are some, but I'm equally sure that there are some
no-shows that have legitimate reasons. Hopefully, they do everything they
can to contact you in a timely manner, but even that's not always possible.

mike regish

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:AbFqd.108236$V41.44108@attbi_s52...

Sometimes we just have to realize that the world is full of scum, and a
few of these low-lifes will stay at our inn.

(Or, as in this case, WON'T stay at our inn.... ;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"David Lesher" wrote in message
...
Roger writes:

BTW, every since the checking account has existed, people have
depended on the time for a check to clear. That is coming to an end
as are the jobs flying canceled checks. In the not too distant
future, when you write a check, it will be debited against your
account and credited to the payee almost instantly. It's this way in
some areas now, but it's becoming universal.


Make that "past" as Check21 went into effect this month. Note your
deposits
STILL 'anti-float'....

Whereas many other places on the planet have been doing electronic check
clearing for years and years... and years. Banking systems in the US are
archaic, dinosaurs...

Did you ever think that maybe it's not just pilots that find themselves in
circumstances beyond their control? I just hate to see anybody lumping
whole groups into a category like "scum" or "low-life" unless the facts
warrant it. I'm sure there are some, but I'm equally sure that there are
some no-shows that have legitimate reasons. Hopefully, they do everything
they can to contact you in a timely manner, but even that's not always
possible.

I've yet to meet a no-show that even attempted to contact us. In fact, I
have yet to meet a no-show that even remembered they had a "guaranteed
reservation" until they got the bill, and disputed it.

These are dishonorable (or disorganized -- or both), unscrupulous people
with no intention of honoring their word. We practically bludgeon people
with our cancellation policy, stressing the importance of calling us if they
needed to cancel, going all the way to sending a reminder postcard a week in
advance of their arrival -- so it's hard to portray these folks as "victims
of the system"...

Only once have I sent a no-show a free night's stay certificate after
charging them -- and that was after the guy told me that his wife had gone
into premature labor! That seemed like a pretty good reason to not show
up...

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 08:08:31 -0500, Ron Rosenfeld
wrote:

Doesn't sound as if you were "hassled". Just caught in traffic.

No, I wasn't hassled at all.

When the daughter & son-in-law came home that December, they put all
the high-value stuff with no proof of American origin into the Subaru
station wagon, under piles of dirty diapers and children's clothes.
Both the children had measles.

The bulky stuff that was NAFTA-proof went into the U-Haul truck with a
Microsoft Excel inventory and proof of origin.

The boat they'd built traveled separately, through the wilds of Maine
in order to avoid the need to hire state trooper escorts in New York
and Massachusetts.

The whole move was accomplished without paying any duty, and only the
usual half-hour inching through U.S. customs on this side of the big
bridge.

I suspect that most of the delay was post-9/11 examinations of cargo.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
the blog www.danford.net

On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 09:32:27 -0500, Corky Scott
wrote:


Too bad Bush didn't get aggressive with Al Qaida prior to the attacks,
when being aggressive might have stopped them.

Highly unlikely, since he'd only taken office in January. The lads
were already in place by that time.

It was the Clinton administration which would have had to be more
aggressive with Al Qaeda.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
the blog www.danford.net

On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 15:39:08 -0700, "Jay Beckman"
wrote:

All republicans deserve to be murdered.

"PLONK"

Evidently I already had him in the kill file.

It's hard to believe there are such sickos walking around unsecured.
But it does make it a bit easier to understand the minds that flew
the airplanes into the World Trade Center, doesn't it?

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
the blog www.danford.net

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:n3eqd.164904$R05.161886@attbi_s53...
That ain't right. I can see the guarantee thing during a known busy
weekend, but if I make a reservation (contingency) and show up at or ahead
of the reservation time just to find out you don't have a room because
somebody else showed up before me with cash, I'm hauling somebody into
court.

With only 27 suites to rent, we're in no position to play the "will they
show up?" game.

Which is why, if you want a guaranteed reservation, you've got to guarantee
that you're gonna show up. Since wiring money in advance is pretty awkward,
we must do it the credit card way -- even though I absolutely despise the
credit card companies, and it pains me to no end that I must pay those
*******s 4% of everything I take in.

But, if we didn't accept credit cards, our longevity would be measured in
weeks. Sadly, very few guests actually pay with cash.

(P.S. Hey, while I'm bitching, let's talk about the 5% I've got to pay to
the State of Iowa, and the 7% I've got to pay to Johnson County. Yep, a
whopping 16% of everything we bring in, off the top, goes to someone other
than Mary and me. Remember that next time you wonder why it costs so
damned much for a hotel room.)

(P.P.S. Of course, it would be much worse if we were part of a chain, or
used on-line booking agencies like Travelocity. Then we'd be giving away
upwards of 46% of everything we earned.)

(P.P.P.S. Which, by the way, is why we can afford to *include* a delivered
breakfast on a suite for which we only charge $59.95 per night, while the
chains cannot. That same breakfast, delivered to your suite at the
Sheraton, by itself will set you back over $40!)


Just out of curiousity, Jay. If someone were to pay cash, will you
split the 16% with them?

Bryan

On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 12:38:03 GMT, Bob Noel
wrote:

right. But your hotel is the only one that I've heard of that doesn't
take American Express or Diners. I don't have a Visa card
(just a debit card)

I don't know about hotels, but many enterprises don't accept anything
but MC and Visa. I presently carry a Delta/Amex card (12,500 free
miles for signing up, and no fee for the first 12 months) but I make
sure to carry a backup Visa card in my wallet.

To get back on subject, I don't use my AOPA credit card except when
shopping at Sporty's. I am reimbursed for money spent on gasoline, and
the amount I spend isn't enough to make it worthwhile to file for the
rebate.

The one time I went to an FBO for training, where credit cards were
accepted, they didn't take MasteCard! (Chandler AZ.)

Anyhow, I don't particularly like MasterCard. It seems rather low-rent
to me.


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
the blog www.danford.net

On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 14:05:24 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

4% pay cash.

Wow. The only reasons I can come up with for paying cash for a hotel
is 1) you earn a lot of money under the IRS radar, and this is a way
to spend it; or 2) the lady with you is not your wife, and your wife
or her lawyer has access to your credit-card records.

It is now almost unheard of not to have a credit card that pays you a
1 percent rebate or 1 frequent-flier mile per dollar spent, if not 2.
Who would not take such a discount?

Furthermore, it's more difficult and time-consuming to pay with cash.
I now use my credit card at the post office for transactions even
under five dollars. (Double miles for the USPS!)


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
the blog www.danford.net

On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 03:16:22 +0000 (UTC), David Lesher
wrote:

I disagree. It's my understanding tha AMEX really holds the
line on denied rooms; the original hotel eats the cost of
the replacement room, or they lose their merchant account.

The only time I was ever denied a room (members of a convention had
overstayed their reservations, and it is against the law in DC to
evict a tenant willing to pay for his room), the hotel called a taxi,
gave five dollars to the driver, and instructed him to take me to a
sister hotel, where I had a much finer room than I would have been
willing to pay for.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
the blog www.danford.net