Director Disappointing News: Hubby Can't Join Me in Toronto Due to Work Restrictions

[Sheila]

Official word, Hubby's job won't let him go. With the Japan earthquake and everything that's been going on since then, it's just too busy at work for him to leave. I asked a couple of weeks ago if we could change the name & let someone else go in his place (considering the circumstances) and was told no. So we waited to see if the command would cave. No luck.

I know I'll still have fun, but I was REALLY looking forward to meeting up with my hubby for the weekend!!! :cry:

 

[Ginger428]

Official word, Hubby's job won't let him go. With the Japan earthquake and everything that's been going on since then, it's just too busy at work for him to leave. I asked a couple of weeks ago if we could change the name & let someone else go in his place (considering the circumstances) and was told no. So we waited to see if the command would cave. No luck.

I know I'll still have fun, but I was REALLY looking forward to meeting up with my hubby for the weekend!!! :cry:

Awww Sheila, SO sorry . Luckily you will have other people to hang with

 

[cincychef]

Sheila, I am so sorry, if you need anything while you are there, please let me know. Even if you just need someone to take the kids for a minute for you to get anything, like a drink . I have 4 of my own, so it wouldn't be a big deal to help you out.

 

[PampMomof3]

Oh Man!! I'm so sorry Sheila!! We'll be there so look for us!!

 

[Sheila]

Thanks girls. Chantelle, I didn't "buy in" the kids! I'm leaving them here in Texas with their grandparents. It will just be me.

 

[PampMomof3]

Sheila, that just answered my last question in the other thread. I'm sorry about hubby. i can't believe it.

 

[pamperedlinda]

I find it hard to believe that this isn't considered and "exception" and that HO isn't working with you more. I'm sorry, that's just appalling! It's not like he changed jobs or changed his mind. I hope you have a wonderful time though. Maybe you can chat with some of the HO people that are on the trip and when they ask you if you are having a nice time, you can work this into your conversation.

 

[chefkathy]

I find it hard to believe that this isn't considered and "exception" and that HO isn't working with you more. I'm sorry, that's just appalling! It's not like he changed jobs or changed his mind. I hope you have a wonderful time though. Maybe you can chat with some of the HO people that are on the trip and when they ask you if you are having a nice time, you can work this into your conversation.

I like the way you think, Linda!

 

[Sheila]

Oh, they were willing to break the rules & still let him fly from Japan without charging me the difference on his ticket. But to change the name on his ticket & change it from Dallas vs. Tokyo was not something that they could do. My sister is super bummed too. She was going to drive from Alabama to Texas, go with me to Toronto, drive me & the kids from Dallas back to Alabama for a 2 week visit & then bring us back the 2nd weekend of May for a family reunion that she was planning to attend anyway. She was all hyped at the thought of taking us home with her for 2 whole weeks. You have to remember that my children were born in Japan. This is our 2nd trip back to the US since we moved to Japan in Nov '06. We were here for 3 weeks in May of 2010. So for many of them, it's their 1st or 2nd time to EVER see the children.

 

[pamperedlinda]

Oh, they were willing to break the rules & still let him fly from Japan without charging me the difference on his ticket. But to change the name on his ticket & change it from Dallas vs. Tokyo was not something that they could do. ....

Well - you did earn it by selling Pampered Chef products in Japan so I think that is completely fair and should never have been an issue to begin with. I still think it sucks. The company is cutting corners and saving money every other way....seems like they would pounce on the chance to save some money by changing an international ticket to a domestic one....crazy!

 

[baychef]

The company is cutting corners and saving money every other way.

They are starting to remind me of my day job .

 

[Sheila]

I bet I get charged for the cancellation fee on his ticket!

 

[annew]

so sorry your hubby can't go w/you....

 

[Sheila]

***OMG - BIG update!!!***So the travel agency sends me an e-mail today that hubby has a credit of $1,522.70 with Air Canada that must be redeemed for travel before Feb 23, 2012 or he looses it. Here's how the e-mail conversation went:

Me: He's in the military and stationed in Japan. He won't be able to use the credit. So how does that work?Her: If he won't be able to use it, the value would just be lost.Me: I asked this 2 weeks ago. Can it not be applied to another traveler? I'm leaving tomorrow, so it's too late for my sister to come from Alabama to Dallas to travel with me. But if Brian can transfer the credit, I can have her fly from Alabama & meet me in Toronto for this trip.Her: The answer is still the same. The credit is in Brian's name and the airlines do not allow name changes, so I can not apply the credit to someone else.Me: If you have it, please send me the phone number for the department that handles the credit at Air Canada. I had NO idea 2 weeks ago when I spoke with you that this is how it would work. I thought that Pampered Chef would be reimbursed the money. I'll give them my situation and see if a supervisor can make an exception to their normal rules. Her: Air Canada's number 800 247-2262Me: I'm on the phone with Janet (on the main #), she said the rules read that as long as it's canceled 24 hours prior to departure (which is was) then there's just a $300 and something (Canadian) cancellation fee & the rest is refundable since it was canceled PRIOR to the departure. She's checking to see if I can request that, but since you guys are the ones who made the reservation, she thinks you guys will be the ones who need to request the refund.I don't care if it goes to me, Brian or Pampered Chef. I just don't want to pay taxes at the end of the year on $1,500 that I didn't actually see. (No response)Me (17 minutes later): Okay, here's the deal. They have special rules for military. Since he's active duty, I need to get him to get a letter from his command stating that they were unable to release him on leave for this trip. Because the trip has not yet occurred AND because of the special circumstances with the military, they will refund 100% (even if the ticket said "non-refundable") with that documentation. Had the reservation showed a credit card number, they could have just refunded it to the card number. But since is says "miscellaneous", they have to go the scenic route to refund the money.Hubby will need to e-mail the letter to [email protected] and their finance department will have to process a refund. I completely forgot to ask if it would go to you guys or to Brian in Japan. But either way, it's a done deal.Now I'm wishing I had all the facts 2 weeks ago. We might have been able to get the refund & pay for someone else to go with me from the states!

As if I don't have enough on my plate, now I have to spend TWO freaking hours of my time doing their job for them! I've left a message with someone at PC Corporate who handles the trips to let them know about the issues. She was in a meeting, waiting for a call back.

 

[pamperedlinda]

Sheila - that's just crazy! I'm glad they can do something, but I agree, if they can do it now then they could have done it 2 weeks ago. Personally, I'd be pissed about it and I'd let HO know it.

 

[Sheila]

Girl, I'm planning to tell them about it ... if they freaking call me back!

 

[PampMomof3]

oh wow! please let me know what happens.
I'm in an awful situation as well. My hubby's grandma passed away last night and the funeral is this thursday at 10am. So i called ITA and they said that i'd have to pay the airlines $150 change fee (we want to get an afternoon flight to be there for the funeral) plus the ITA fee of $48.20 for a total os $198.20 PER ticket. PLUS i need to pay the difference for a different flight. She did say she would refund me a little from the previous ticket but i told her i would talk to my hubby and get back to her. UGH!! I'm not even looking forward to going. We're going to be in the air while the funeral is going on, my kids are going to be sad and my oldest son is a Pallbearer since my husband won't be there. I'm so upset. I have no energy to start packing obviously since i'm on here. I mean it was her time to go and everyone is at peace with it but we lost our cat 3 days before Christmas, our best friend died February 10 at 40 and completely took the wind out of our sails. Now we told our kids this morningand my eldest kid broke down and bawled crying. I'm so emotionally depleted and that's SO not like me.

Thanks for letting me vent....

 

[Sheila]

Awe! (((hugs))) sweetie! I'm sorry for your loss and the timing!!!If you cancel all together 24 hours before the flight you have to give a $300 & something (Canadian Dollars) cancellation fee and you get the rest in a refund. So if you decide to just skip the trip, make sure that you cancel before the 24 hour mark!!!

 

[pamperedbecky]

Girl, I'm planning to tell them about it ... if they freaking call me back!

Holy cow, this is crazy!! I'm so sorry! Have you heard back yet??

 

[pamperedbecky]

oh wow! please let me know what happens.
I'm in an awful situation as well. My hubby's grandma passed away last night and the funeral is this thursday at 10am. So i called ITA and they said that i'd have to pay the airlines $150 change fee (we want to get an afternoon flight to be there for the funeral) plus the ITA fee of $48.20 for a total os $198.20 PER ticket. PLUS i need to pay the difference for a different flight. She did say she would refund me a little from the previous ticket but i told her i would talk to my hubby and get back to her. UGH!! I'm not even looking forward to going. We're going to be in the air while the funeral is going on, my kids are going to be sad and my oldest son is a Pallbearer since my husband won't be there. I'm so upset. I have no energy to start packing obviously since i'm on here. I mean it was her time to go and everyone is at peace with it but we lost our cat 3 days before Christmas, our best friend died February 10 at 40 and completely took the wind out of our sails. Now we told our kids this morningand my eldest kid broke down and bawled crying. I'm so emotionally depleted and that's SO not like me.

Thanks for letting me vent....

Ooooh Kristi, I'm SO sorry to hear this. I'm so sorry for Anthony and your whole family.

I hope it all works out. You've had a TON to deal with these last few months. Maybe the trip will be good for you to just go enjoy it and try not think about anything else. Although I'm sure that's hard with knowing what's going on while you're on the way there. ((((hugs))))

 

[Sheila]

***Another update***The travel agency just called, they haven't responded to my e-mails because they were asking corporate for another exemption! Corporate says since Air Canada says that hubby can get a full refund, they WILL buy a ticket for my sister to fly from Alabama to Toronto this weekend! Since her ticket is less than they were originally going to pay, they are willing to let her fly from a different airport! So I had to call her to verify if she still wanted to come & she said yes. She's scrambling to get ready to fly out & the travel company is scrambling to find her a flight for Thursday. The travel agency said she could go Wed (the day I'm going) or Thurs - whatever worked best for her. She couldn't have everything done for Wed, so they are looking for tickets for Thurs. WooHoo!

 

[pamperedbecky]

WOW!!!! THat's awesome!! I'm so happy for you, Sheila!! You deserve to have an awesome trip with your sister!!

 

[Sheila]

We got to spend some time together last year in May when I came to the states for vacation. Before that was 2006! I think she & I will have lots of fun together!!!

 

[pamperedlinda]

So happy for you and your sister!

 

[finley1991]

oh wow! please let me know what happens.
I'm in an awful situation as well. My hubby's grandma passed away last night and the funeral is this thursday at 10am. So i called ITA and they said that i'd have to pay the airlines $150 change fee (we want to get an afternoon flight to be there for the funeral) plus the ITA fee of $48.20 for a total os $198.20 PER ticket. PLUS i need to pay the difference for a different flight. She did say she would refund me a little from the previous ticket but i told her i would talk to my hubby and get back to her. UGH!! I'm not even looking forward to going. We're going to be in the air while the funeral is going on, my kids are going to be sad and my oldest son is a Pallbearer since my husband won't be there. I'm so upset. I have no energy to start packing obviously since i'm on here. I mean it was her time to go and everyone is at peace with it but we lost our cat 3 days before Christmas, our best friend died February 10 at 40 and completely took the wind out of our sails. Now we told our kids this morningand my eldest kid broke down and bawled crying. I'm so emotionally depleted and that's SO not like me.

Thanks for letting me vent....

SO SO SO Sorry Kristi!!!! {{HUGS}}

 

[cincychef]

***Another update***

The travel agency just called, they haven't responded to my e-mails because they were asking corporate for another exemption! Corporate says since Air Canada says that hubby can get a full refund, they WILL buy a ticket for my sister to fly from Alabama to Toronto this weekend! Since her ticket is less than they were originally going to pay, they are willing to let her fly from a different airport!

So I had to call her to verify if she still wanted to come & she said yes. She's scrambling to get ready to fly out & the travel company is scrambling to find her a flight for Thursday. The travel agency said she could go Wed (the day I'm going) or Thurs - whatever worked best for her. She couldn't have everything done for Wed, so they are looking for tickets for Thurs. WooHoo!

I am so happy for you!!!! Pampered Chef really is amazing!!!

 

[cincychef]

oh wow! please let me know what happens.
I'm in an awful situation as well. My hubby's grandma passed away last night and the funeral is this thursday at 10am. So i called ITA and they said that i'd have to pay the airlines $150 change fee (we want to get an afternoon flight to be there for the funeral) plus the ITA fee of $48.20 for a total os $198.20 PER ticket. PLUS i need to pay the difference for a different flight. She did say she would refund me a little from the previous ticket but i told her i would talk to my hubby and get back to her. UGH!! I'm not even looking forward to going. We're going to be in the air while the funeral is going on, my kids are going to be sad and my oldest son is a Pallbearer since my husband won't be there. I'm so upset. I have no energy to start packing obviously since i'm on here. I mean it was her time to go and everyone is at peace with it but we lost our cat 3 days before Christmas, our best friend died February 10 at 40 and completely took the wind out of our sails. Now we told our kids this morningand my eldest kid broke down and bawled crying. I'm so emotionally depleted and that's SO not like me.

Thanks for letting me vent....

Kristi,
I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[chefkathy]

So glad this is working out for you Sheila. Too bad you had to do all the leg work for them. Ugh!

 

[Sheila]

I was a little bummed that I had to do the leg work, but man did the travel agency jump on the band wagon when they realized that Air Canada was going to give a 100% refund. THEY are the ones who called PC, asked if my sister could now come & then called me to tell me what they did! So I can't complain about that for sure! I was just going to come alone. I'm at the hotel here in Toronto. There are representatives from the travel agency set up at a table in the lobby. They are SUPER nice. They knew who I was, that plans had been changed at the last minute and that my sister is coming in from Alabama tomorrow. So far, they have been super nice. One of my local friends came to the hotel tonight to see me & have dinner. When I was walking her out, they asked if we were going for a walk & needed directions to anywhere. After I walked her to the door & came back into the lobby I chatted with them for a few minutes until the next shuttle came in with more consultants. (Apparently they flew in all the ones from Hawaii and me today to rest up from the trip?) We were talking about all the Japan issues, radiation, moving to TX, etc. Nice long 15 min or so conversation until the next group came in the door. Then I wished them well and came to my room so that they could work.

 

[Malinda Klein]

Love how things worked out for you Sheila - you deserve it - i'm sure you'll have a blast with your sis!