I've got breaking news, people.

This morning I wrote about how glad I was to have all this Hunt Valley nonsense behind me. (See "Check and check, below.) That was until we got the letter today that accompanied our $90 refund check. You may wish to read my entry below first.

Please note that I have posted the letter exactly as written... bad grammar and all. I resisted adding my own comments, thinking it would be better to let Mr. Royston's words speak for themselves.

Here is the letter:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. S*****,

Enclosed is a refund check for $90.00 for the New York trip of June 18, 2006. I don't believe you should expect a refund or even a portion of a refund for your trip to New York on Friday June 16. There was no problem with that trip, so your 40% analogy makes no sense. I understand your frustration over the events of June 18. Contrary to what you may believe, you were not the only passengers who were put out. Fortunately the majority of our customers, both frequent and first time, were more understanding. Of course, standing in New York City, in the heat, it never came to mind what we went through to accommodate and solve this problem. From the moment we were made aware of the situation, at least two people were on the phone trying to find a local motor coach to get you home as fast as possible. We also had a bus leave Hunt Valley immediately, in case we couldn't find help. It happened to be the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Winged Foot in New York, so finding a bus was not easy.

We have contacts all over in the event of a breakdown. What more emergency procedure would you recommend? We found a bus as soon as we could and got it to the location. As far as your "hero" cop is concerned, it was the police who had the bus moved to the overpass and would not allow it to be moved again until another bus arrived. For as many good trips to New York you have made on our buses, it is a shame that you complain so adamantly and judge our service on the "one" bad experience. Perhaps it is a good thing that you have started traveling to New York with someone else. We work hard to keep our buses in the best condition that we can, and to suggest that we are not concerned about you and every customer's business and enjoyable experience is ridiculous. It is only a matter of time before you have a bad experience on another motor coach. I believe that you will find by comparison, we do a great job.
Ed Royston, President
Hunt Valley Motor Coach

So, there you have it. That's how Mr. Royston treats good customers. I'm glad I learned that relatively easily. It would have been a real pain to be stuck on the side of a road in a snowstorm. Darn, there I go thinking about myself again.