Check and check

Finally the Hunt Valley Motor Coach saga comes to a close. The Consumer Protection Division in the Attorney General's Office came through for us. Thanks to our dedicated and tenacious volunteer mediator, we should be receiving a check for $90 in the mail today.

A brief recap for those of you who haven't been following our bus drama: On the way back from New York City several weeks ago, the Hunt Valley bus caught fire and left us stranded for hours on an overpass somewhere in New Jersey. The bus company was less than accommodating when we asked for compensation, offering a mere $20 per person for our trouble.

When our two letters to the company's owner went unanswered, we filed a complaint with the AG's office for mediation. A mediator began working on the case yesterday morning and within an hour, had a faxed copy of a check made out to us in his hands.

I'm glad Hunt Valley agreed to mediate with the AG's office and obviously I'm pleased they decided to refund us the $90 we requested, but I don't know how soon we'll travel aboard Hunt Valley in the future. Rich has an upcoming jaunt to Atlantic City where he will be taking Superior Tours and I think we're going to give Gunther a try as well. We took Golden Ring last time around.

So what lessons can we learn from this experience? First, if you run a business, respond to your customers' concerns, especially if they're good customers. Had Hunt Valley refunded our money up-front, we could have avoided all of this hostility and probably booked another trip without thinking. Now, who knows?

Next, the mediators in the Consumer Protection Division may just be volunteers, but they're still dedicated public servants who really give a damn.

And finally, the most important lesson of all -- Don't piss me off. (But you already knew that.)