I'll kick this off by stating that this is a total first world "problem" so please excuse my rant as I know there's a lot worse going on in the world. I'd just be interested to know if anyone else would feel the same or if I'm just being a brat?
At the very beginning of the pandemic I got an award at work. These are usually in the form of an online shop where you can buy items from loads of different retailers (including the ability to get vouchers for the likes of Amazon or John Lewis to be used at leisure). This award, however, was different as it was for an "experience", which had to be booked via an online "concierge" service, who would hand pick the booking for you. Unlike the usual rewards you weren't able to see the monetary value.
I didn't book anything until recently, as Covid restrictions meant that the vast majority of experiences were unavailable and it was mostly "Learn French from home" (which with two small children at home in lockdown, while trying to WFH and home-school, was not really what I wanted to use a reward for!).
Anyway I finally got around to booking a spa day recently and went through the online booking process with my concierge - basically filling out a form with how far I'd be willing to travel, and allergies, the kinds of treatments I'd like, etc. Throughout this process I had no idea of the budget so it was a bit awkward as I didn't know what it was reasonable to request.
I was offered a spa day (5 hours) in a city centre (no parking!) at a small Thai beauty spa type place. Less of a day spa, more of a beauty salon. The treatments included sounded nice enough, reviews relatively reasonable, no food included though (will be there 11am-4pm). Also no spa facilities (pool, steam room etc). It was also right at the maximum distance I'd said I was willing to travel, and not the easiest to get to (I'll have to park and ride it or get an Uber due to the lack of city centre parking). Anyway, I decided to go for it, as I assumed it was the best deal to be found within whatever budget the concierge was working with (and I don't like being an awkward customer!). The package it turns out costs £325, which I thought was pretty generous.
But within the booking confirmation email I was sent £600(!!!) worth of vouchers for the spa. There was a note to say the remaining vouchers could be used (up until Nov this year) on anything I wanted to book at the spa (they're non-transferable as in my name).
Now I will probably sound like a spoiled brat (hence the name change!), but I am a bit irritated. With a budget of £600 I could have booked myself into a really lovely day spa (which is 6 minutes from my house) and with a package that includes lunch, some lovely treatments, and use of the spa facilities too. That would still have come in well below budget at £370, been so much more convenient, and it would have been much easier to use any remaining vouchers up as won't take an hour to get there and another hour to get back. A quick Google using my postcode (which the concierge had access to) actually produced a plethora of closer options in fact.
The way the concierge service was presented made it sound like they would go above an beyond to find the perfect package for me, but I'm actually left feeling like they just booked the first thing that popped up and didn't consider location or budget at all, or comfort for that matter (lack of food).
I also know I'm unlikely to use the remaining vouchers due to the difficulty getting to the spa. I was prepared to sort out the travel (about an hour each way due to traffic) for a one off really special treat, but as a single mum-of-two I know I'll be unlikely to find an opportunity to find another day to go back and use the remaining vouchers. I was really looking forward to a special day of self care, for the first time in many, many years, but now I'm just feeling a bit annoyed. £600 is a LOT of money to me and the idea of wasting any of the vouchers doesn't sit right with me at all.
I dunno - am I being unreasonable? I fear I might be but this has left a sour taste in my mouth!