Flight school bravo-sierra... I mean "update"

Now the school is pretending they don't know what I'm talking about. I wrote the woman in the office (who seemed nice and actually responded to my requests) on Thursday, requested that I wanted a letter and my $25 back that they overcharged me. I also asked if we could clear up everything by the afternoon today.

She writes back at 4pm, doesn't even mention the letter and says she doesn't know what the problem is because they credited my account for the money I was overcharged.

They credited my account with THEM $25, which is pointless because I won't ever be flying with them again EVER. I sincerely doubt I will ever see that money again and I guess I should be thankful its $25 and not $250. But considering they overcharged me in the first place, then the right thing to do would to refund it. But then again, we've all seen how they run a business, so.... Yeah, not holding my breath.

But the letter I DO want. Especially considering now that I've seen how they run a business. I don't trust them. Period. I don't need them running after me years down the line, asking me for that money. And if they do decide to charge me, then we need to go to small claims court. This is ridiculous. How long has this been going on since the window broke? About a month? Craziness. You know, I saw a review online that said it was run more like a high school environment than a business. I should have listened. How hard is it to type a one-line letter to get me to stop annoying the crap out of you? Gotta be annoying them because it's annoying the hell out of me.

As of today, they have told me to fill out a refund request form and have warned me that I may only get 50% of it back, per their "refund policy". No way - you overcharged me. You need to be adult about it and give it back.

And "no news on the letter" is all they have to say about the letter I keep asking about. I wonder what makes this so difficult? It's just a simple one-line letter, saying "She is not responsible for the window". It's been a month already! What's the big deal? What is it so difficult for them??

My mom used to volunteer for Clark Howard, so I asked her advice. She suggested I contact the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs and hopefully, the flight school will be better about responding to their request. I hate being mean like that... and everyone tells me I'm not being "mean". But I just wish a business would act like a business and be professional about this sort of thing. It could have easily been solved sooner, with a lot less drama & frustration and if they had business-like practices from the start, I might still be there.

Just want to get this out of the way so I can do onto my next school. Second CAP meeting tonight, hopefully (if I'm still feeling well enough - been out of commission the last two days due to pollen). And I still need to update about the first one...

1ST CIVIL AIR PATROL MEETING!!! SQUEE!!

I feel like a kid on their very first day of school: excited with a touch of nervous butterflies! :)

My first Civil Air Patrol meeting is tonight. I haven't joined yet officially; they recommend that you attend a few meetings first to see what they are all about. I've been waiting for this day allll week and fortunately, it has gone by quickly. I called the guy in charge on Monday during my lunch break and began playing music from Top Gun after I spoke to him!  I'll let you guys know how it goes after.

In other news, hopefully my troubles with the previous flight school will come to a close. Obi-Won wrote back and said he just wanted to talk to me - in person. Pffft, no way. If I'm not coming down there for a "free" flight, then why would I come down there to just talk? No way. He always reminded me of a used car salesman when things weren't so bad. No way in hell.

I wrote back, being as nice as possible. I thanked him for responding, and thanked him for trying to meet with me. However, I said that I was firm in my decision to leave and would like my letter stating I wasn't responsible for the window. No surprise - no answer. So I wrote back to the woman in the head office, who responded to me last week. She said to contact her again if this didn't get resolved by late this week, so here we are. Next step: reporting them to the Consumer center. I'm not a mean person and I hate conflict, so I don't like resorting to things like this. I just wish they'd be more business-like and we wouldn't have gotten this deep in the first place. Makes me a little sad, actually.

Gotta say that I have some reservations about finding a new school, like what if I have to go through all of this again? How do I notice this sooner so I DON'T get this far in? I've had the answer all along and I knew this school wasn't good all along, as well. Just need to trust my intituion more. It is hard though to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again. It really reminds me of relationships - you've been hurt, you fear you are going to get hurt/let down AGAIN, and are hesitant to step forward so you won't have to deal with that ever again. But I guess that lends into the whole 'fear conquering' thing - you can't let fear hold you where you are. You just need to trust yourself enough to know you WILL recognize the signs sooner and are strong/couragous enough to walk away to try again, if ever does happen again. Doesn't make it any easier though.

Ah well... enough thought towards that flight school. I need to focus my energy on being excited about tonight!!! ;)

Grrr...

Frustrations. Mark my bloody words- Frustration BEYOND anything you've ever experienced before. Although the good news is that if you have a good flight school and a good instructor, then your frustrations will be significantly less than mine.

No word yet from the school on the issue about the window. I've sent multiple emails with no response. As I was writing to the guy above Obi-Won (the one I was previously writing to), I get an email about a flight reservation for this weekend.

...No way. I KNOW all of these have been cancelled. I saw all of the emails coming into my email to verify that they were cancelled too. What's going on...?

I email my instructor to ask him what's up. He writes back to say he cancelled Saturday, but would really like for me to fly with Obi-Won on Sunday "just for fun". They just want to see how I'm doing and see how things are going. Here's a hint: TRY RESPONDING TO ME EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE AND YOU WILL KNOW HOW I'M DOING!!!!!!

(Sorry - this JUST happened, so suffice it to say, I'm a little miffed.)

I'm suspicious, and I believe I have good reason to be. What kind of a school treats you like crap and then is dishonest about trying to get you back in there? If you had done your bloody job at the beginning, then I'd still be there!!! And it doesn't help that a little tiny part of me says, "But I want to fly...". It's been 6 weeks.  I know I need to be firm. I don't know what they are trying to do or what tricks they have up their sleeves, but from my experience with them thus far, it can't be good.

I sent my letter to the head marketing guy, seeing if he could help. If no response still, then my mom gave me the name of a governmental consumer action center and I will be going to them for help.

In other happier news, I have plans to go check out another flight school on Sunday. I'll let you know how that goes...

Back to Square One

I'm doing a bit better today. Ended up going over to a closer airport to check out a flight school with a friend on Sunday. One down, two more to go. I'm so very tired and can't believe I am back right where I started.

This school had 152's, 172's and Cirrusis (Cirrusi?). Figured pretty much that once I moved away from my last school that I would have to transition to Cessna's. They are more universal, and plus, if I ever buy a plane, it will most likely be a Cessna (unless I build my own!). Also, if I fly with the Civil Air Patrol, they fly Cessnas. It's good and it'll be a challenge - getting to learn how to fly another plane! Imagine how many planes I can add to my record!

I'm trying to be positive. I had to wait a bit before completing this lastest post as the events from the other school were still weighing upon me and I feel let down. And to top it all off, Sunday was an absolute beautiful day and a perfect day for flying. I didn't want all of that to seep into my writing. Just wanted to get rid of this feeling as soon as possible and move on.

I saw a great post on my facebook. It had nothing at all to do with flying, but still spoke to me all the same:

"Whenever you feel down, alone or unable to face a situation that you are in right now, let me tell you, that it’s totally fine. It is okay not to be okay all the time. It is okay to be on the ground, to cry and to hate everything. But it is only okay as long as you get back up again. Take your time to get all of your emotions out, but always keep in mind that the moment you’re in won’t last forever. Just don’t give up. Life isn’t about being strong all the time, but about the ability to become strong again after a defeat or bad experience. It’s about not losing hope in life and first and foremost – in yourself. So, don’t give up. Life is worth to be lived."