Saving the Customer when Rats appear at dinner

So...given the justifiable response to the CC debacle, it reminded me of a "Win pulled from the clutches of defeat" moment that happened to me back in the 70's.
I was in Pittsburgh, and took my girlfriend out to dinner at the Station Restaurant (which used to be the old Railroad station)--very swank place, great ambiance. The upstairs had all that wonderful architecture, the high ceilings, etc. and downstairs, in what used to be the baggage area, was a very intimate part of the restaurant--low lit, romantic and cozy. We had a table downstairs (by our choice)--our table was right next to one of the support columns from the building.
So we are having this wonderful dinner, when a big rat comes climbing down the column right to our table. Needless to say, we bolted.
Now when i tell this story, I often get interrupted, and asked..."I bet you never went back to that restaurant.."
Well listen to what happened.
As we were rushing out the door, the maitre de stopped us, and said "We have arranged for a table for you upstairs, your dinner, dessert and drinks are on us"
With that offer we decided to stay, and had a wonderful albeit it "rat'less" dinner. But the story doesn't end there. As we were leaving, the Maitre De stopped us, and gave me a gift certificate for $200 for the restaurant. (remember this was the 70's so that was a lot of money)---The Maitre De told me "We apologize profusely for what happened, we want to keep you as a customer, so please, come back, bring your friends, have a dinner on us..."
Which we did. And all our friends had a wonderful time, and they told their friends the story, and we all kept going back to that restaurant and told more friends and for that Maitre De, from a potential disaster, he created a ton of more business for his restaurant.
Now STRAT is in the same situation. People are upset, quite a few have indicated that they will no longer buy any more credits, STRAT is going to lose business. But they could turn this around. They could and should offer free credits to all customers whose cards got hacked. So instead of customers bad mouthing STRAT, the reverse would happen.
This mistake, though not initially caused by STRAT, is an opportunity for them to turn it into a positive. Lets hope they seize the moment and bring all their customers back and more....

great story, and idea for strat, thanks for posting.

Thanks for sharing your tale.

I have refrained from commenting on this disappointing fiasco...I too was significantly impacted....I share your sentiments two-fold. It is time for SOM to step up and show some sophisticated and creative class.

Great story. What will Strat do? Remains to be seen, but I'm not holding my breath.

that IS a great story,
totally agree with the prior comments

Great story.

Strat is deaf. (Not in a good way)

They won't do a damn thing.

If we stay positive, the ATG cards will drop in June and the new 2020 cards will drop in July.

Well they finally got me. I last used my card on Jan 4, 2021 and I should have used common sense and cancelled it based on everyone's comments that it isn't just that 5 Jan to 8 Feb timeframe. I think anyone who has used their card here in the last six months should cancel it and get a new one. But when are these ASHOLES going to own up and take full responsibility because it is obvious that the time frame of 5 Jan to 8 Feb is incorrect and far more people are affected.

Well they finally got me. I last used my card on Jan 4, 2021 and I should have used common sense and cancelled it based on everyone's comments that it isn't just that 5 Jan to 8 Feb timeframe. I think anyone who has used their card here in the last six months should cancel it and get a new one. But when are these ASHOLES going to own up and take full responsibility because it is obvious that the time frame of 5 Jan to 8 Feb is incorrect and far more people are affected. But they still have the 5 Jan to 8 Feb timeframe listed on their warning.

Mine hacked too. Crickets from SOM.