I actually had a entirely different topic for this post but I just had to write about this topic today. A wonderful experience turned sour because of one thing. What turned my smile upside down? Read until the end to find out.

   Last Friday after I had my MRI, I decided to grab a bite to eat. It was raining so my friend and I decided to go to IHOP two blocks away. Once we were inside we were seated and looking at menus in less than five minutes. We ordered two entrees and one appetizer, nothing special. We received the food and it was exactly what we ordered. Food was good and service was great. When the check arrived I paid it with my American Express Platinum card. The card even sparked a five minute conversation with the waiter about how to increase his credit score. After the conversation I signed the receipt for the grand amount of $39.12 and gave him his tip in cash. After leaving I made a payment to my card for the exact amount that was charged and I went home.

   After reading the previous paragraph, everyone would think I had a wonderful experience. That is correct it was pretty good and I couldn't complain, that is until Monday morning. Every day in the morning I sit on the toilet and take a look at all of my accounts. So when I checked my Amex account I noticed that IHOP charged my card $45. As I stated in the last paragraph the total was $39.12. since I gave a cash tip I put a line through the tip and wrote the total as $39.12. Immediately I grabbed my phone and called up Amex customer service and explained the situation. They credited my account for the $5.88. The next thing I did was contact the IHOP and asked for the manager. I explained the situation to the manager and they looked for the receipt. After finding the receipt they saw that the waiter charged my card for a tip that I never authorized. They then asked if I wanted them to call the credit card company to get me my money back. I told them that it wasn't necessary and I just wanted to bring it to their attention.

   Some people reading this post might wonder why I reported the waiter to their manager even thought I already received my refund. It's not about the money, I reported them because of the concept behind what they did. There is no telling how many time this person has done this before I caught on. Think for a moment about if the waiter did this to someone who is elderly who is on a fixed income. Not everyone checks their accounts as often as I do or pay their card off the instant they swipe it. The waiter marked me as an easy target based on the conversation we had. They figured because of the type of card I paid with and how I carried myself I wouldn't notice what they did. Boy were they wrong. I monitor my money and know how much comes in and out of my accounts.

   This post wasn't what many of you expected but that's because it's from a day in my life. Life is unexpected and different opportunities and problems arise everyday. This site is my take on topics and why not talk about events in my life. That's it for this post and I'll catch you guys in the next one.