My Last Bad Check

A guest at the Hyatt had fallen ill and cancelled a flight. He had recovered, but the airline insisted on a doctor’s note before allowing him on board.

Determining if someone is healthy enough to fly usually requires only a few questions, but I do an exam. He delivered a steady patter as I worked, describing himself as a venture capitalist with an exciting but stressful life as he prepared for an important meeting in Japan.

As I composed the note, I saw him writing a check and immediately announced that I accept credit cards.

Apologizing, he told me that it would be a hassle unless payment came out of the company account. Seeing my hesitation, he added that he had credit cards and would give me a number in case there were a problem. He pulled one out and scribbled on my invoice, getting one number wrong. I noticed and made the correction. 

I’ve received a few dozen bad checks but only rarely after 2000 when I began accepting credit cards.

You can imagine my feeling later as I stood watching a teller fiddle at his computer…. and fiddle…. and fiddle… and finally explain that it wasn’t accepting the check.

Naturally, I felt stupid. Single males write almost all bad checks, and this guest fit the pattern.

Now came the tedious process of trying to recover the money which occasionally happens. As I expected, the address and phone number on the check were wrong. Asking the hotel for contact information sometimes helps, but in this case I learned that it must respect the guest’s privacy. The credit card was certainly worthless.

But it wasn’t! When I phoned the computer and entered the numbers, it approved. Some things are hard to explain.