TULSA, Okla. -- In an era when economists, public policy makers and even the president of the United States are bemoaning todays overly pervasive credit culture, what happens when a motorcoach operator rejects a credit-card payment from a large company and says hes willing to wait to be paid by an old-fashioned check?

Hes figuratively slapped upside the head, threatened to have future business cut off, and forced to wait for weeks and weeks and weeks to be paid. Hes still waiting.

Thats what happened to Michael Kraft, managing director of Kraftours of Tulsa.

Kraft got a call in late January to help a regional airline with a flight that looked like it was going to be forced to return to Tulsa International Airport because lousy weather was keeping it from landing at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Bentonville. It was the kind of call Kraft had gotten many times in the past and to which he had invariably responded.

When the bus arrived at the airport, however, the driver learned the weather had momentarily cleared and the flight was able to land at the Bentonville airport.

But, all seemingly was not lost. The driver was directed to the station manager for Continental Airlines which had a flight diverted from the same airport in Arkansas to Tulsa, and it wanted to bus its passengers to Bentonville.

Great. Krafts driver loaded the bus and inched his way through heavy fog to deliver his passengers safely to their destination. Days later, Kraft submitted a statement to Continentals on-duty station chief in Tulsa. A week or so later the station manager called Krafts office to pay the bill with a credit card.

"While we accept credit cards ... bank processing fees are substantial," notes Kraft. "In our case, 4 percent of the amount, not an insignificant fee on a $900 bill. I explained to (the station manager) that I would gladly wait for his check as payment, or I could accept his credit card with the addition of a 4 percent processing fee.

"(The station manager) harshly rejected any processing fee and insisted that a check would require four to six weeks. When I told (the Continental manager) I would willingly wait for his check, he forcefully proclaimed that I should know that Continental Airlines prefers to pay by credit card and would not knowingly tolerate any additional service fees.

"He went on to insist that if we refused to accept his credit-card payment without a service fee, even if we were willing to wait for a check, we should be advised that Continental Airlines would seek other services in the future."

Kraft said he politely reminded the station manager that he had raised a driver from his bed during terrible, cold, foggy weather and sent him to Continental Airlines, "no questions asked, without any insistence on how or when we would be paid because our help was needed that night to take passengers safely to Arkansas.

"We performed our work flawlessly, and (the station manager) elected to threaten us with no business because we are willing to wait for payment by check. (The station manager) argued that if I were willing to throw away the business of Continental Airlines over $36, then I should know Continental Airlines would not need our services in the future. I was stunned and incredulous," said Kraft.

It should be noted that in its 48 years in business Kraftours has never been called by Continental Airlines for emergency or any other bus services, so a threat to withhold business was not particularly persuasive to Kraft.

And, second, while Kraftours made no demands of the station manager, or Continental Airlines, before leaping to its aid, it apparently will be blacklisted by the airline just because it was willing to wait for payment by check.

"No one is more aware of the challenges faced by businesses today than are we," said Kraft. "That is the reason we attempted to do what we could to avoid additional, unnecessary fees for our services charged to our customers, or to us. What we received instead of cooperation was a bold and unequivocal threat.

"Conspicuously missing from my exchange with (the station manager) was any hint of appreciation for the service we performed instantly and faultlessly. Moreover, missing was recognition that we are occasional, sometimes frequent, air travelers, too."

Kraft has appealed to the president of Continental for payment. Hes still waiting to hear back ... and for his money.