A couple of weeks ago, I booked a laser tag party for my younger son, who just turned 9. When we arrived at the venue Sunday, it seemed completely closed. I nervously checked my confirmation, but all was in order. Then I double-checked the hours on Yelp and discovered, to my dismay, that the firm that booked the party sold this location long ago. Frankly, it looked like full-blown fraud. The website was selling parties it had no ability to supply.
At that moment, anti-libertarian laughter erupted all over the internet: “Ha ha, Bryan trusted the free market. Now his son’s party is ruined!”
By this point, my wife was rushing to book another party at a competing laser tag place, but it wasn’t open yet. Kids were arriving from all over the area, and we were stuck in the parking lot.
When all seemed grim, the door of the laser tag place opened up. I explained to the puzzled gentleman inside what had befallen us. While his firm had nothing to do with the website that sold me a phantom party, he was eager to help.
After inviting all the kids and parents inside, he immediately got the owner on the line. What a relief! They were more than happy to open two hours early to save the children. A couple of workers dutifully arrived early within minutes. The laser war began on schedule – and at the normal price.
When the party ended, I called my credit card company. Within five minutes, the bogus charge was reversed.
All’s well that ends well, but what do we learn?
I would have preferred a system where the original business behaved properly, leaving me with no tale to tell. But no system is perfect, so we should also study what happens when something goes wrong. When one business was negligent, another business bent over backwards to undo all the damage. Nor did the wrong-doer earn a penny of profit. I call that fair – and functional.
P.S. The heroic business in my story is Ultrazone Loudoun. I withhold the name of the malefactor lest I ruin my own happy ending.
READER COMMENTS
Fazal Majid
Sep 18 2018 at 2:06am
Better yet, the malefactors made a loss because of the chargeback their credit-card processor fined them.
John
Sep 18 2018 at 2:43am
If they are any good at being fraudsters, the wrong-doer probably did actually make off with all the money and the acquiring bank probably ate the charge.
Source: I worked on credit card processing disputes at Square, and we ate a lot of charges.
Matt C.
Sep 18 2018 at 5:36am
Theft exists in totalitarian and socialist states It is not exclusive to capitalism.
Kudos to Ultrazone. Good service is usually rewarded with profit.
Steve Fritzinger
Sep 18 2018 at 9:56am
I hope you didn’t withhold the name of the malefactor from review sites and even the authorities. You could save another family from the same experience.
Grant Gould
Sep 18 2018 at 10:18am
Having worked with companies that dealt with credit card chargebacks — that malefactor is definitely going to have a bad day. Chargebacks with a smell of fraud make the credit card companies go from “happy to have your business” mode to “we are going to need several months’ revenue as a deposit and also meet your new service fees” mode in about seven nanoseconds.
Daniel Klein
Sep 19 2018 at 1:20am
Great story, thanks for sharing it. Private enterprise is more resilient than people give credit for.
Dave Smith
Sep 20 2018 at 11:10am
Great story, and a great lesson. But you booked a party at a place you knew nothing about? That seems odd to me.
N. Joseph Potts
Sep 22 2018 at 11:05am
Voluntary sellers to voluntary buyers want buyers’ goodwill.
The absence of this condition with government suppliers to buyers who have no alternative will hit you right between the eyes – every time.
And I, for one, don’t want to live that way. But all too often, I do. And so do you.
And day by day, every day, it is getting worse. And it’s our (collective) fault.
As Pogo said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” And as John Derbyshire said, “We are doomed.”
A Country Farmer
Oct 6 2018 at 1:34pm
Why withhold the name of the malefactor? Valid shame is a public service.
Comments are closed.