There were no credit cards involved. No pre-paid cruise ship vouchers.
When we stepped ashore in Skagway, Alaska, we simply looked for the gentleman in a stove pipe top hat.
Dyea Dave was waiting at the end of the dock. He soon dispatched us with one of his staff drivers to pick up our rail passes and head toward the White Pass mountain depot in a shuttle bus.
We had hoped to actually make the drive with Dave himself, but his driver gave us an adequate narration of the various mountain passes and wildlife sitings.
The only glitch occurred as we departed the shuttle two hours later at Canadian Customs.
Dave's bus driver quoted a higher fee - almost double - than we had discussed two months earlier with Dave.
We were in a quandary. There was no official quote, we'd found Dave directly from his web site phone number. He'd suggested we transact on the actual travel day because bad weather might force us to cancel. To his credit, we wouldn't be out the ticket price if we decided not to go. Now, as we hurried to catch the train, Dave wasn't there, we didn't have cell phone coverage, and the Custom's agent looked a bit impatient. We paid the higher fee.
A few hours later, back down the mountain in Skagway, I called Dyea Dave's cell phone and explained the situation. Had we misunderstood the fee?
"That's not right, she made a mistake, where are you now?" Dave asked, with sincere concern. "I'm driving right over."
Within the hour, Dave had refunded our overpayment and given us a personal drive through town complete with apology.
He could have chalked it up to "miscommunication" or "increases in fuel prices."
Instead, Dave simply referred back to our original conversation and his commitment to service. There was no question of the outcome.
Jesus said,
"Simply let your 'yes be yes,' and your 'no,' 'no.'" Matthew 5:37
You don't need a pre-paid voucher with integrity like that.
What do you believe?
