OMG, Could We Have Screwed Up Bigger?

When you're a spa owner, think twice about going on vacation, because chaos ensues in the wake of your departure. Case in point: my trip to Ojai last week. I come back to find out that we've made a mistake of astronomical, disastrous proportions.

1. One of my spa coordinators (let's just call her "Anna") quoted a package price for our Superwoman's Revenge of $330. A client (let's just call her "Flora") books it for 8/31/07.
2. "Anna" puts the wrong services on the calendar for "Flora's" package, causing the price to be inflated to $380.
3. When "Flora" goes to check out, she sees her credit card slip and says, "That was supposed to be $330." (Which it was!)
4. "Anna" then voids out the sale, and tries to run through a second one for $330.
5. Except that she enters the wrong key and punches in $230 instead.
6. So "Anna" then voids out that sale and by this time, "Flora" has added her tips, making it a total of $405.
7. However, the credit card starts declining every time "Anna" goes to charge the $405.
8. We then try the card again for the next two days, only to have it decline each time. I instruct "Anna" to call the original client and ask her to help us.
9. Well, "Anna" manages to call a totally different client (let's call her "Fauna"), who had nothing to do with the situation, to ask HER for HER credit card, and charged $405 to "Fauna."
10. The next day, "Anna" sits bolt upright in bed, realizing that she had made a terrible mistake. So even though it was Labor Day, she dutifully came into the spa to reverse the charge to "Fauna." In fact, "Anna" is so conscientious and feels so bad about the mistake that she charges HERSELF the $405!!
11. And the day after that, we find out that the reason "Flora's" card was cancelling on us was that we had made so many mistakes, Citibank thought we were committing fraud! I had to explain that no, we weren't fraudulent, just incompetent.
12. Yikes! We had to call the merchant processor for an approval code, and finally all went hunky-dory. Except that "Flora's" credit card company is telling her that she still has the $230 pending and 2 charges of $405 pending.
13. So I call my merchant processor and they tell me that only one charge of $405 has gone through, and that "Flora" need not worry. I ask them for a printout, but their printer is broken! AARRRGH! Could this be any more problematic?

Well, hopefully this Monday the printer will be restored, as will "Flora's" confidence in us. I sent her a $50 gift certificate because I felt so bad that we had caused stress, and not relieved it. I also am inviting her in for a salt glow, so hopefully she will end up blissful again.

Okay, well, let's chalk this one up into the annals of the majorly, galactically stupid mistakes that a spa (or anyone) can make...