GoodH,

U R right on the money! It's just a normal way to do business, since there is a need to protect your business (and your shareholders) when dealing with customers.

- A good customer who has never given you any trouble, always kept their words, paid on time, and has earned your trust...then a handshake or phone call would secure his/her place for the service of your choo choo. You would probably "move mountains" to give this preferred customer top priority.

- On the other hand, with problem customers you would need to negotiate very carefully, everything would need to be on paper, and you wait... until the lawyers are ready to give the green light after all the "i" and "t" checked out. In addition, some advance payments would be required to make sure that the contract for this service is as air-tight as it could be.

All this would be within the law, I would say. There is nothing wrong with this practice and it should not be considered as discrimination. It's just a prudent way of doing business. LOL.

goldhunter