With e-mail we're limited to words. Another challenge is that we can never be certain that the person with whom we think we're corresponding is actually the person they say they are. Mike Manes shares a lesson he learned about poor customer service.
I'm such a poor country boy lost in a high-tech world that carbon paper still impresses me. Although I like “high touch,” I see my world slipping away into one of “high tech.”
What bothers me most isn't this reality of tomorrow; it's the fact that most of my most sophisticated friends and business associates tell me how wonderful this new “high tech” world is and is going to be.
I use and even like e-mail. It's like making a phone call and knowing that you can leave a message anytime. You don't have to worry about waking anybody up or getting a busy signal. You can send the e-mail and they can respond.
I know there's a down side to e-mail since it gives me an “altered” means of communication. According to the last study I saw, 7% of communications is verbal, 38% is tone and inflection, and the balance is body language and other sensory systems.
With e-mail we're limited to words. Another challenge is that we can never be certain that the person with whom we think we're corresponding is actually the person they say they are. Your own Momma might send you an e-mail or someone might send you an e-mail from your Momma's address. You can't be sure.
In more sinister scenarios, the person you're corresponding with might not be who they present themselves to be. For example, I'm a balding, overweight, clumsy, grouchy, 55-year-old guy, who never was an athlete. In certain electronic conversations or chat rooms I might appear to be a 21 year-old athlete with six-pack abs, great wit, and a charming personality.
I provide this information in the name of full disclosure — you need to know my e-phobias before I give my views on sex education on the Internet.
What does all this have to do with sex and education? Several years ago I read a great quote. It stated, “life is a demanding teacher — it gives you the test first and the lesson after.” How true!
A few weeks ago my wife and I took a little test on the Internet. It involved booking a special vacation package with one of the name-brand discounters on the Internet. To avoid being sued, I won't use their real name. I'll just call them “EX.” I hope you guess who they are so that you don't suffer through this same experience.
If I use their real name, I'll be sued, but when I spoke with their service people and asked their real names they indicated that they could only give me their code names. This could be our first lesson: Only deal with people who will tell you their real name, give you the number to their own phone, and at least tell you the city where they work.
Today, we got the lesson — that's the sex part. We were violated! For what it's worth, I'm going to share my experience. The major lesson I can offer is, to quote two old bromides:
- If something looks too good to be true, it probably is!
- Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
From here forward, I'll report — you decide.
My wife and a schoolteacher friend signed up on the Internet for a great vacation package to Las Vegas. It included the flight, hotel, tickets to a show, and a rental car. The total costs were:
Package $1,091.88
Taxes and fees for flight $116.88
Total $1,208.76
The confirmation package mentioned that “car taxes and surcharges are not included.”
The following weekend at a party a friend advised my wife to beware that the surcharges might be higher than they sounded. Being a prudent schoolteacher type, she called the rental car company to determine the amount. The first representative she spoke with indicated that these charges would be $277.39.
My wife figured this must have been a mistake. So she called for a second opinion. The second representative, named Johnson (probably a code name), was rude and didn't answer her questions. She asked me to speak to a third rep because her patience was wearing thin.
I called the 800 number and spoke with a young lady that I won't name since (I believe) she gave me her real name and was polite, professional, and helpful. I'm afraid this type of behavior might get her fired, in trouble with her boss, or ostracized by her peers. Obviously she's setting standards the industry can't live with. She was certainly the only positive exception to a highly negative experience.
This lady explained that “Internet Vacation Packages can be tricky.” She told me that, based on our confirmation number, our surcharge would be $277.39. She indicated that the “best buy” directly from her company on the car rental plan we had in this package would be $215.99 (before surcharge) if we picked the car up at the airport. If we picked the car up at a hotel, the cost would be $177.99 before surcharges ($204.30 including surcharges — please note that this is about a 15% tax/surcharge).
Although this lady couldn't tell me the allocation of charges in our package, she said the surcharges are based on:
10% Airport contract fee
6% Government Services fee
3.5% Reimbursement fee
7.5% Sales Tax
(As a sideline — add the aforementioned airport “best buy” on the rental car to these fees and taxes and you get surprisingly close to the $277.39 surcharge my wife must pay. Could it be that EX Company is misrepresenting their package and pocketing the rental car fee that's supposed to be included?)
After more than an hour on the phone, about half on hold and half talking to representatives of EX Company, I was able to finally get this explanation.
Hotel/Car Rental/Tickets $618.76
Flight $590.00
Total $1,208.76
I was assured that there would be no surcharges on the hotel.
After these revelations, my questioning became more simple and direct. If the rental car surcharge is 27% (according to the company), how do we get to a $277.39 surcharge? Even if the hotel and the tickets were free, the maximum charge should be only $167.06 ($618.76 X 27% = $167.06).
I hope our experience will help educate you before life and the Internet travel package industry tests you.