Chronicles of the watchman

Late night musings

It is now 1:37 a.m. as I type this. I am sitting outside the back door to the place that I call home. I have had a tumultuous 24 hours filled with the greatest of highs and a few low spots as well. So here is what has transpired since I left home (Empowering Grace Christian Center – An Apostolic House) this past Sunday. Well I guess I should start by detailing events from Saturday…

I have had a membership with a particular travel company for quite some time. I have used their services quite frequently and they have been quite beneficial in allowing me to travel to Austin during events when I could make some really good money really fast. However, as I used their app on Saturday evening, it showed a special of $45 at Fairfield Inn & Suites. After taxes it equated to a little over $66. Well due to my mistake of not confirming the dates I ended up booking the room for next weekend. Due to how late it was in the evening, it was tedious trying to get a hold of anyone at customer service for assistance. Also keep in mind that due to the COVID – 19 precautions there is limited staff to take phone calls. I had to use the virtual text option to converse with an individual. Unfortunately, the person wasn’t very knowledgeable and the information I received was a bit alarming. So it took all of 10 minutes to confirm the room and have payment deducted from my account. Unfortunately, it could take up to 30 days to have the funds placed back into my account if I canceled and that would have not allowed me to be able to pay for a room for Saturday night. Needless to say, I didn’t like the options so I waited and had a conversation with my spiritual father, Apostle Milton K. Smith, to get clarity on the situation. I called Fairfield Inn and was trying to get the room switched through them directly. Due to complications in procedure, I ended up spending Saturday night in my car. I was able to get enough rest to make sure I was able to be in attendance for our church service. Prior to service I was able to get a full understanding of the situation as to why I was not able to pay for the room for that particular night. Here’s what it boiled down to…

The service I used offered a cheaper rate, however they are what we know as “middle-man” or third-party provider. If the provider increases their rate, then they have no choice but to increase theirs as well. Unfortunately, the third-party service was not aware of the price increase and quoted an incorrect amount. After asking several questions about normal procedure that the customer service agent was not able to adequately answer I went to attend our local assembly and afterwards had a wonderful time of fellowship. Once we concluded I was able to go to the hotel and check in. I had a lovely conversation with the manager on duty and I apologized for being so impetuous in the prior conversation as well as thanked her for being understanding. I enjoyed a wonderful night of rest!!

Moral of the story:

1) Know who your point of contact is in the chain of supply

2) Cheaper isn’t always better

3) Pay attention when confirming details of itineraries