During the guest comment section of the May 1, 2023 hybrid Toastmasters meeting of Club 31, Jim asked me why I came to the meetings with some regularity but had not reinstated my membership.
At the time, I was in a room with real people and he was on a ZOOM camera appearing on a screen from his home.
I answered his question with a question. “Why aren’t you here in person, Jim?”
“I live 25 miles away and I enjoy not spending $25 on gas every week.”
“Very true,” I said. “But to get better at public speaking, you have to speak in public.”
The exchange brought back memories of the short epistolary farce I composed when I tried to press pause on my membership due to COVID-19.
The Stakes Are So Low
(Email exchange between BRUCE and JIM.)
BRUCE
I’m going to bow out of ZOOM Toastmasters. I enjoyed the live meetings, but there’s no current opportunity to practice public speaking or critique a speech, and if I want to learn to use ZOOM, I think there are better places to learn. Please feel free to have the VPPR email me if you resume physical Toastmasters meetings. Please refund dues for period beginning April 1, since you won’t be offering meetings.
JIM
Sorry Bruce, dues have already been paid to Toastmasters International, so I do not have any way to refund the dues.
(Three-Minute Pause.)
I have sent a question to Toastmasters International about a refund.
BRUCE
I appreciate it. It was impossible to predict when I paid that there wouldn’t be any actual meetings. First Concordia (University closing), then Corona. Crazy times.
JIM
I agree! Hopefully we will return to normal meetings soon.
BRUCE
If you need additional leverage with Toastmasters International, I can enlist PayPal’s dispute resolution for non-delivery of service, since there’s no club option to actually advance on Pathways in place right now. If dues were contributions rather than mandatory I wouldn’t have any issues, but since it’s very much a fee-for-service effort, I feel obliged to be a good consumer. 🙂
JIM
The problem with the dispute resolution through PayPal is that only impacts our club, and results in a large fee against the club. It does not get to Toastmasters International. You could send an email to membership@toastmasters.org to inquire. I already sent them a message, but they are slow right now.
BRUCE
It’s sad that as Treasurer you have to be the middle man between an unresponsive organization and club members. I can wait until March 31 before I take action through PayPal.
JIM
If I had not already paid Toastmasters International then I could just do the refund through PayPal. Without a refund from TI I would need to get club approval to pay you the refund, since it would need to come from the club dues.
BRUCE
Again, totally unfair. Reminds me of the situation with Nike. On the day Governor Brown ordered non-essential workers to stay at home, Nike told their salaried workers to work from home and ordered hourly workers in (even though they couldn’t provide social distancing). I’ll do my best to keep the club out of harm’s way.
(Three-Day Pause.)
TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL (to BRUCE)
At this time, a refund will not be processed, but as we gain more information on how clubs and members are being affected, updated policies regarding the situation will be considered. We have recorded your contact and ask that you reach back out to us at the end of April, on whether the situation has improved. It is essential that World Headquarters receive feedback from clubs and members, to provide the Board with valuable information for further considerations.
BRUCE (to JIM)
Proposed Solution: I appreciate the club situation. I see this as a TI challenge. I’m willing to waive the amount paid to the club if you wish to issue a check for $45 from club funds and seek reimbursement from TI.
Alternate Solution: After noon, 03/31/20 (last day of current dues period) I can pursue repayment through PayPal. Again, nothing personal in any of this. I appreciate the club and the live meetings. TI’s early-to-mid-twentieth-century management modules and top-down unresponsive, obsolete corporate management style, not so much. 🙂
JIM
Portland Club Officers, Please be aware of the situation outlined below. Bruce is asking for a refund of dues since he cannot get out of Toastmasters what he expected when he joined, due to the cancellation of in-person meetings. I could issue him a refund through PayPal, but I have also already paid Toastmasters International for his dues. If he simply submits a “chargeback” to PayPal to cancel his payment, it ends up costing the club an additional $20 fee from PayPal.
(Two-Minute Pause.)
Hi Bruce, One other option, would be for the club to approve refunding you each month that we do not have in-person meetings. This would reduce our cost, and would only last until we can re-start in-person meetings.
BRUCE
Nice counter-offer. Unfortunately, cumbersome administratively (from my side).
(Pause. 36 minutes.)
Is there a way to transfer my membership (log-in privileges) to the next person who joins? I won’t be using Pathways after 03/31.
JIM
Unfortunately I don’t think there is any way to transfer it. We’ll take this up at the club meeting tomorrow.
BRUCE (to PayPal on 03/31/20 at 12:06 PM)
Paid dues to Toastmasters Club 31 on February 9, 2020. The club is no longer offering the service of live meetings. I requested a refund but have not received a reply.
PAYPAL
We’re sorry you received merchandise that wasn’t as described.
Your message regarding the purchase you made on February 9, 2020 for $52.45 USD has been sent. You need to allow time for the seller to respond.
(Pause. 24 minutes.)
Portland Toastmasters Club 31 refunded $52.45 USD from your purchase on February 9, 2020.
A much more interesting question would have been why do I come to Toastmasters meetings at all?
Find out in Part Two tomorrow.
