Living Trust: My Expertise for Your Enrichment

Flight Frustration and Tipping Troubles: Words of Warning for International Entrepreneurs

Flight Frustration and Tipping Troubles: Words of Warning for International Entrepreneurs

I had a meeting to attend in Washington DC, and the best route I found was flying from Los Angeles to San Francisco, then catching another flight from there to DC. My plan was to arrive in Washington DC the night before my meeting the next morning, giving me plenty of time to sleep and prepare beforehand, but even the best laid plans can go astray.

I had no way to account for the inclement weather we encountered during my first flight from LA to San Francisco, so I was caught quite off-guard when it delayed our plane from landing on schedule. I was traveling with my family at the time, and we ran to the next terminal as fast as we could the second we touched down, but I’m afraid it wasn’t enough. They closed the door in our faces the moment we arrived, arguing we were the ones who were late. I brought the matter up to the manager, and while he acknowledged that our first flight had been delayed in its arrival, it took a great deal of back and forth for him to finally admit that my next flight was overbooked to begin with.

There wouldn’t be anywhere to sit even if they did let my family and I aboard, my plan had been doomed from the start.

Resigned and resentful, my family and I had no choice but to stay the night in San Francisco, the only silver lining being that I was successfully able to reschedule my meeting for after I arrived in Washington DC later the next day. I wasn’t the only one affected by this petulant practice, there were six other people that were supposed to make the same flight but were turned away all the same, all because the airport insisted on overbooking. I don’t know for sure if arriving any earlier would have gotten me my seat, perhaps they didn’t sell it off until after I didn’t arrive on time? There’s no way of knowing for sure, but I now know that you should always give yourself even more time than you think you’ll need. Better to have too much time on your hands than be desperately grasping for more, a lesson I paid dearly to learn.


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Speaking of paying, always be on your guard when getting charged, especially abroad.

I always tip when I’m satisfied with the service I receive, after all, they deserve to be rewarded for their work. However, an obnoxious expectation of a reward, especially when it hasn’t been properly earned, really rubs me the wrong way. Doing business internationally has exposed me to many cultures, though I’ve found they all seem to share the same perspective in one regard.

Namely, they equate American customers to high prices and big tips, regardless of the quality they deliver in exchange.

I’m sorry to say I’ve had several experiences, in various countries no less, where I would pay my bills only to find the service provider had taken the liberty of keeping the change for themselves. When I’d ask for the difference between the money I provided and the price I’d been quoted, they would inform me they took it as a tip. A tip is supposed to be given by the customer based on the quality of the service they received, not automatically taken without the customer’s consent. Had they returned my change to me, I would have been more than happy to leave them a tip as a sign of thanks, but by assuming on their own and making me feel robbed, I firmly yet politely demanded my change back and left them with nothing.

Actually no, I think I’ll leave them with a negative review to spare others from a similar fate.

No one should have to suffer being ripped off by an unscrupulous business, you have to know your rights and stand up for them, like I did when staying at a New Deli hotel. I was trying to make use of their in-house printing services, yet I found their prices to be unbelievable. The price guide listed their printing fee at 75 cents per page, the same price as a full meal in this country. Had I been in a rush and not paying attentions, I wouldn’t have noticed until it was too late. Thankfully, I caught myself just in time, and took the matter up with the manager of the establishment to confirm if the listed charge was accurate or not. He told me over the phone that there must have been some sort of mistake with the price guide, which I couldn’t help but notice was missing when I returned to make my prints. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait for them to update their pricing guide, the manager apologized for the inconvenience and provided my prints for free.

I understand not everyone is comfortable with being confrontational, and that there are plenty of people who would’ve suffered through the scams in silence rather than stand up for themselves, but that is the kind of mentality that stops people from achieving their goals. You can’t move forward if you keep stepping aside, you’ll only end up getting passed by and pushed back. I’m not saying you have to be overly aggressive or instigative, I’m saying that if you want others to respect you, then you have to start by respecting yourself.

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