Perspective on Refunds

[chisoxfan]

Hello. I have posted here and on the MSC Board regarding the 'delinquent' refunds that 'everyone'  is  asking about. I finally did a CC dispute to move mine along.

We had also planned to travel to France this Summer and unfortunately, we had to cancel this trip also.  Having navigated the delayed and unknown waters of the 

cruise cancellations (all well within the time frame to receive deposit refunds) I saw that I had booked and prepaid in full a tour to the D-Day beaches.

I am ashamed to admit that in the back of my mind I could see this refund be delayed or denied (I was well withing the cancellation period for full refund).

Surely I felt, this is a small tour company who must be decimated by the Covid travel disruptions. I sent an e-mail and received an immediate response from the "CEO' who said I would receive my refund within 7 days. It showed up 5 days later. I followed up with a note thanking him for his timely refund and an appreciation of how difficult these times must be for him and

commented also on my cruise refund adventures.  He replied back to me as follows:

 

Brad

 

I came in to the world with nothing but I plan to leave with a lot. I don’t mean money! We are all human and I prefer to lose my business than keep money that is not mine. I was raised in a poor family but I was always taught to do the right thing. Despite all the stress worldwide, somehow though, I have this feeling deep down that the world is changing and we are all destined for a brighter, healthier and more loving world.

 

I send you my love to you and your family.

Kind regards,

 

This was a poignant note to me and struck a chord. This gentlemen clearly was not educated in our business schools (likely a positive) and it is doubtful to me he could claw his way upwards in management of the large cruise lines we patronize.  Our Country seems to be abandoning small businesses while we bail out and coddle the most 'connected' companies  which concerns me greatly. Anyway my intent was not to get into a debate regarding the state  of 'big business' but rather to share this refreshing and honest reply by a very small company with good moral compass.  Peace and Health.

[VennDiagram]

That's truly heartwarming!

 

Have you considered offering him some sort of deposit now for a future tour, at a date to be determined, within the next  X # of years?  Supporting him now might make a lot of difference to a small operator.   Just a thought ❤️

[DFD1]

Thank you for sharing this important message. There is something in it for all of us to ponder.

 

Patronizing small independently owned business whenever possible is a small, but important thing we can all do.

[fatcat04]

2 minutes ago, VennDiagram said:

That's truly heartwarming!

 

Have you considered offering him some sort of deposit now for a future tour, at a date to be determined, within the next  X # of years?  Supporting him now might make a lot of difference to a small operator.   Just a thought ❤️

Exactly. Great idea! Our pet sitter whom we have used for years now is struggling like so many small travel related businesses. They are fantastic folks who do a lot to help and support our community. We just moved our old reservation with them to later this year so no need for a refund, have bought a couple t-shirts to help support and advertise their business, and plan to get a gift card as well for a trip next year. Any little thing to help good community businesses with heart. 

[KirkNC]

Nice message.  In the struggling vein we received an email today from a tour company we have used in Peru several times.  They are really struggling.  The owner has a staff of twelve and he was able to pay them for the first month but not after.  He was asking for donations to pay his staff so they could take care of their families.  I sent him a small donation and hopefully he and his company will make it through this mess.

[kazu]

Lovely post, OP.

 

I too found my private tour companies very kind and accommodating.  My refunds from the small companies were very swift with lovely notes understanding our situation and hoping to see us another time.  

 

One thing is certain - I will definitely be booking with these companies in the future.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for sharing this uplifting event.

During these difficult times, we must look after each other. 

[Vict0riann]

This thread and the video on the Amsterdam from the Filipino crew bring a tear to my eye.  It's going to be an emotional day!  

[Storylady]

We just received we were getting a refund for a canceled flight from Ft Lauderdale home. We were excited until we saw the amount. More than $600 less than what we should have received and it was very late in coming. So HAL isn’t the only one.

 

[Cruise NH]

22 hours ago, chisoxfan said:

Hello. I have posted here and on the MSC Board regarding the 'delinquent' refunds that 'everyone'  is  asking about. I finally did a CC dispute to move mine along.

We had also planned to travel to France this Summer and unfortunately, we had to cancel this trip also.  Having navigated the delayed and unknown waters of the 

cruise cancellations (all well within the time frame to receive deposit refunds) I saw that I had booked and prepaid in full a tour to the D-Day beaches.

I am ashamed to admit that in the back of my mind I could see this refund be delayed or denied (I was well withing the cancellation period for full refund).

Surely I felt, this is a small tour company who must be decimated by the Covid travel disruptions. I sent an e-mail and received an immediate response from the "CEO' who said I would receive my refund within 7 days. It showed up 5 days later. I followed up with a note thanking him for his timely refund and an appreciation of how difficult these times must be for him and

commented also on my cruise refund adventures.  He replied back to me as follows:

 

Brad

 

I came in to the world with nothing but I plan to leave with a lot. I don’t mean money! We are all human and I prefer to lose my business than keep money that is not mine. I was raised in a poor family but I was always taught to do the right thing. Despite all the stress worldwide, somehow though, I have this feeling deep down that the world is changing and we are all destined for a brighter, healthier and more loving world.

 

I send you my love to you and your family.

Kind regards,

 

This was a poignant note to me and struck a chord. This gentlemen clearly was not educated in our business schools (likely a positive) and it is doubtful to me he could claw his way upwards in management of the large cruise lines we patronize.  Our Country seems to be abandoning small businesses while we bail out and coddle the most 'connected' companies  which concerns me greatly. Anyway my intent was not to get into a debate regarding the state  of 'big business' but rather to share this refreshing and honest reply by a very small company with good moral compass.  Peace and Health.

 

Thank you for sharing this.  Going to Normandy is on my 'list' ...could you share the name of the tour operator? He sounds like someone I'd like to do business with.

 

 

[gigianne]

I had deposited with two tour companies in Greece.  I cancelled the tours in March (for May tours).  They quickly confirmed the cancellation and said the € would be returned.  Knowing that they would be enduring hard times I told them to keep the money.  I received lovely emails back from them both saying that if/when we were able to travel to their area they would personally escort DH and I on a private tour.  Meanwhile 70+ days have passed while we wait patiently for our $ refund from HAL.

[SFO Peter]

Hi gigianne,

Peter & Harry here.   We got refunded today from HAL cancel cruise.   Hang in there.

May take them a while for FCC.  We had a lot of OBC and other credits.

 

 

 

 

[Nymich]

A fantastic post.  Thank you

[DFD1]

1 hour ago, gigianne said:

I had deposited with two tour companies in Greece.  I cancelled the tours in March (for May tours).  They quickly confirmed the cancellation and said the € would be returned.  Knowing that they would be enduring hard times I told them to keep the money.  I received lovely emails back from them both saying that if/when we were able to travel to their area they would personally escort DH and I on a private tour.  Meanwhile 70+ days have passed while we wait patiently for our $ refund from HAL.

 

What a kind and generous thing for you to do.  I hope you can finally go and enjoy your tour. You deserve it.

[HALrunner]

2 hours ago, gigianne said:

I had deposited with two tour companies in Greece.  I cancelled the tours in March (for May tours).  They quickly confirmed the cancellation and said the € would be returned.  Knowing that they would be enduring hard times I told them to keep the money.  I received lovely emails back from them both saying that if/when we were able to travel to their area they would personally escort DH and I on a private tour.  Meanwhile 70+ days have passed while we wait patiently for our $ refund from HAL.

First of all, how incredibly kind of you! These stories of goodwill should have more threads on this forum!  Secondly, would you mind sharing the name of your tour company in Greece? We have tentatively scheduled a cruise out of Greece in 2021 and I would love to support this company!

[PROCRUISE]

We likewise had to cancel two private tours we had booked for our June Alaskan cruise. We notified both companies. Both assured us that we would not be charged their 10% cancellation fee and our credit card was credited by both companies within 4 days. I assured both companies that we will rebook with them in 2021. We have also received our full cruise fare and air refund one day after filing a dispute with our credit card company. I was planning on waiting on HAL until I simply called to make sure our cancellation had been received, after NO communication from HAL after 40 days, and was told it MIGHT BE another 90 days for our refund.

[gigianne]

HALrunner If you could send me an e I will send you the names of the tour companies in Greece.  Gigianne22 at gmail dot com.

Edited May 23, 2020 by gigianne