What Comes Around...
Friday, January 05, 2007
I could have had a free bike.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
Here's the story: I walk into the Trek store in October, pick out a bike and all of the fixings that go with it...which, if you've ever decided suddenly one day to "take up" biking, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Water bottles, water bottle cages, aerobars, spare tires, tire-changing tools, an under-the-seat pack to hold the spare tire and tire-changing tools, a tire pump, bike trainer, shoes, a fitting. I could go on for close to forever. But, you get the picture. Lots o' stuff.
In any case, I open up a Trek card (great deal - no finance charges for 12 months), promise to make good on all the goods by signing my name on the dotted line, and the store clerk realizes there was a shoe fitting or pair of shorts or something that didn't get rung up. So, she runs the card again, and I sign, again. Then, I go home happy.
About a month down the road, I get a statement from Trek. For $36. So I pay it. And, assuming the big whopper of a statement is not far behind, I pay an extra few hundred dollars toward the bike et al.
Two months come and go, and I get a letter from Trek indicating that I overpaid by several hundred dollars and they'd like to refund my money. I just have to call a specified 1-800 number.
After explaining the reason for my overpayment, the customer service representative tells me she sees no record of me having bought a bike and I should contact the store to see if they do.
I hang up the phone and realize I have two options: 1. call the store, alert them to their (rather large) mistake, and pay for my bike the old fashioned way, or 2. pretend the whole Trek-instigated letter/conversation never happened and go about my training a little bit richer.
Now, I'd like to say that I immediately jumped to #1, but I didn't. I don't know if that makes me a morally-marginal member of society, or just plain human. But we're talking a LOT of money here folks. Money that I wouldn't necessarily have to pay if I didn't pick up the phone and alert the Trek store to a mistake that they didn't even know they had made.
At the very least, it was tempting not to. I thought about it, and thought about it, and thought about it. I weighed my options. Over and over again.
In the end, one picture keeps resurfacing: me on a dishonestly-come-by bike, on a miserably hot (or, given this year's weather, cold and drizzly) day in September, struggling up and down hills and struggling just to keep my legs moving after 6+ hours on a bike, with the phrase "most difficult Ironman bike course in the world" (not sure where I heard it, but after seeing the Wisconsin course, there's not a doubt in my mind that it's true) narrating the scene.
The Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike, with a marathon tacked on to the end for good measure. It's one hell of a hard race. And, I figured, why make it even harder?
So, I picked up the phone. Because from what I've heard, Karma's a bitch. And I'd really rather not have her tagging along on September 9th.
Posted by Erin 11:19 AM