Seriously Hilarious….

Barely an hour after getting his air ticket booked for the next month, my dad succumbed to a heart attack. After we had recovered from the shock (partially), I decided to get his ticket cancelled and claim the refund. Unfortunately, the cancellation policy of the airline concerned did not provide any refunds, but only an open ticket for the passenger. Since they had no policy specified in case of the passenger's death, I decided to speak to their customer care associates after a series of failed e-mails. The conversation that followed was hilarious (and painful)*:

Me: Hi, further to our emails, I would like to request for a cancellation/refund on my dad’s ticket, in the wake of his sudden demise.

Customer Care: We are sorry, Madam, but we can refund the money only if your dad submits the request.

Me: But this is a different case, wherein I am making the request on behalf of my deceased father. Please could you do the needful.

Customer Care Scare: Sorry Madam, we have a protocol. Your father will have to come in person.

Me (totally losing my temper): I would not be wasting my time talking to you had my father been here. And I would so love it if he could come all the way back! Don’t you understand the terms “demise” and “deceased”????

Customer SCare: We do understand, Madam. But we are sorry, your father will have to be here.

I slammed the phone down. Huh! Would I even be requesting for a refund had he been around?

Luckily, I managed to get access to one of the top authorities; the amount was eventually refunded.

*: Hilarious now; painful then!