Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
MONEY MANNERS
JEANNE FLEMING AND LEONARD SCHWARZ DEAR JEANNE &
LEONARD: Three friends and I have been getting together off and on since college to sing four-part harmony, and about a year ago we hired a vocal coach. In between sessions, we’re supposed to work on our parts and, in particular, practice incorporating the new things the coach shows us each week. Unfortunately, I’ve been busy at work and have had difficulty finding time to practice. Still, I was stunned when my friends asked me to pay for half the cost of each session (we’ve been splitting the fee equally). According to them, our coach has been forced to spend half of each session trying to bring me up to speed, so it’s only fair that I should pay more. But to me, this is crazy. While it’s true I’ve been struggling to find time to practice, this also is likely to happen to the others at some point. Plus, things should soon be easing up at work. So please tell me, do I really have to pay half the fee for a session four people are attending just because I’m currently having a little trouble staying up to speed? I thought we were friends.
— P.G. DEAR P.G.: If you want to stay friends, pay up. And consider the possibility that these folks would actually prefer that you resign from the group, so they can find a fourth member who has the time to keep up. Because when the coach has to give you remedial instruction, it’s wasting their time as well as their money, and probably is boring to boot. So if you can’t turn things around soon, do the right thing and bow out — before your old college friends are forced to ask you to. DEAR JEANNE & LEONARD: The banquet manager at the ritzy hotel where we were holding my daughter’s wedding reception told some prospective customers that they could “peek in” to see how nice an event the hotel could put on. Well, this couple didn’t just peek, they joined the party, helping themselves to our expensive food and drinks, before I discovered them and escorted them out. My wife and I were flabbergasted by their chutzpah, as well as the chutzpah of the banquet manger, who never asked our permission when inviting these strangers in. Your thoughts?
— Steamed
DEAR STEAMED: Did someone, we hope, video the party crashers bellying up to the bar and sucking down the shrimp cocktails? If so, post it on social media and send a link to the head of the hotel, as well as to the producers of local TV news shows. In other words, our thoughts are, show no mercy.
With or without a video, though, we hope that, at minimum, you refused to pay for what the interlopers consumed. If you didn’t, it’s not too late to demand a refund and an apology. While there may be no way to get satisfaction from the two unwelcome guests, you should insist that the hotel make you whole for having invited strangers to your party.