If you don't have kids, have no plans to have them, and have no young relatives to whom you'd like to give your first ring, melt it down and make something new. It's likely you've taken some positive lessons from your first marriage and applied them to your second, so there's no reason you can't get metaphorical and apply the same sentiment to your ring. Consider it something good from your past that you can build upon and make better for the future.
What are the rules for cancelling a table booking at a restaurant on the day? I recently had to do this due to unforeseen circumstances that came up at work on the day (four hours before) and the restaurant was quite unhappy and even mentioned a cancellation fee which I had never heard of before. - Bullied over a Booking, Wellington
Like almost everything concerning consumer rights and hospitality providers, restaurant bookings fall into the grey-zone that requires "reasonable" expectations of both parties. That is, you can cancel a reservation within a "reasonable" timeframe and not be penalised for it. What constitutes reasonable is up for debate - for most establishments, four hours is plenty of time to accept another table reservation for that evening's sitting and would thus be considered reasonable.
Technically, when you create a reservation you create a contract. Again, it's a very grey legal area as to whether or not you can be charged a cancellation fee for breaking that contract (after all, it's highly unlikely the restaurant has your credit card details, or even your last name, so they are in a tough position to get any money out of you).
But, because you want to apply some modern etiquette to this situation, consider doing the following. When you call to cancel a booking, ask if you can re-book for another night. The restaurant is technically then not loosing your business, and it shows you're genuinely keen to dine there, but current circumstances have made that impossible.
The restaurant should be happy to accommodate you. After all, you've already done the right thing by calling to cancel - others in your position might just do a no-show.
Is it fair to get really annoyed when people do not reply to e-mails quickly? I don't expect e-mails back in minutes, but I think three or four hours is more than enough time for anybody to get back to me. - E-mail Annoyances, Wellington
I'm often left wondering the same thing. Everybody has a smartphone. Everybody gets their e-mails within minutes of receiving them. No, we don't all reply instantly -it wreaks havoc on productivity - but it's fair to expect someone to get back to you that afternoon for a morning e-mail, or the next morning for an afternoon e-mail.
Unfortunately, the priorities of others are out of your control and what is "urgent" to you probably isn't urgent to them. That's why you don't get replies tout de suite. Your problems are not the same as their problems.
Is it fair to get annoyed? Of course it is. What can you do about it? Some people try and use the "urgent" flag, but it doesn't convert across all mail clients and many ignore it anyway. We all have one person in the office that uses that flag for every e-mail, and we therefore never assume anything from them is actually important.
Instead, if you have a timeline you're working to, just ask politely, "Could you get back to me by 2pm/COB (close of business) today/10am tomorrow?". It's not a fail-safe way to get your replies, but it does at least put a time in your recipient's mind to at least TRY and work to.
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