Support better consumer advocacy by wearing this now

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By Christopher Elliott

When I visited Scott Jordan in his Ketchum, Idaho, home office a few weeks ago, his dogs greeted me. Scott, the CEO of SCOTTeVEST, makes awesome wearable luggage, including vests, shirts, and jackets.

I’ve been thinking about Scott’s puppies lately. My kids loved playing with them, but they also personify the best qualities of people like Scott — and you.

As our fundraiser continues, I’m so pleased to be giving away SCOTTeVEST attire to random underwriters. If your name is on this list, you qualify for the drawing.

A long journey to advocacy

Scott started developing travel attire almost two decades ago, when I was a young firebrand travel columnist at CNN.com. So, of course, we locked horns a time or two. (Confession: I was a little bit of a jerk back then.)

I never expected him to invite me to his home office in Ketchum, but when I mentioned we were in town, he insisted that I come over for a visit. And I did.

And so there we were, sitting in his living room, talking about the many years we’d spent working in the same industry — he as an entrepreneur, and I as a journalist. Scott and I share a love of skiing and hiking, and we’re also both gadget geeks. I have to admit, he has the best gadgets.

When I told Scott that I wanted to do something for the public good, to help people by creating a consumer advocacy organization, I was surprised when he offered to support the cause.

Like any visionary, Scott could see past me and my shortcomings and recognize the value in what I was trying to create: a self-sustaining organization that empowers people to solve their consumer problems and advocates for those who can’t.

Travel Leaders Group is transforming travel through its progressive approach toward each unique travel experience. Travel Leaders Group assists millions of travelers through its leisure, business and network travel operations under a variety of diversified divisions and brands, including All Aboard Travel, Andrew Harper Travel, Colletts Travel, Corporate Travel Services, CruCon Cruise Outlet, Cruise Specialists, Nexion, Protravel International, SinglesCruise.com, Travel Leaders Corporate, Travel Leaders Network and Tzell Travel Group, and its merger with ALTOUR. With more than 7,000 agency locations and 52,000 travel advisors, Travel Leaders Group ranks as one of the industry’s largest retail travel agency companies.

Faithful supporters

Scott and his entire company are fellow advocates in word and in deed. In talking with the people I met in his office, I got a sense that they were deeply concerned not only about good customer service, but also about empowering their customers when they travel.

I mean, wearable luggage, for cryin’ out loud. Take that, airlines!

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much sense it made for SCOTTeVEST to lend a hand with the advocacy. We’re aligned on a lot of issues, starting with helping consumers. But I also thought about his poodles. We had the pleasure of taking them for a walk around Ketchum when we were in town. They are faithful and loyal, just like all the people who support this advocacy effort. (Related: This is what an advocacy site for grown-ups looks like.)

By the way, I feel the same way about you, too. I will do whatever I can to help you with your consumer problem, and I’ll stick with you until the bitter end. (Here’s how to survive a long flight in economy class and avoid jet lag.)

We’re in this together. Thanks, Scott, for supporting this site.

Please join me now in creating a consumer organization that will serve you for many years to come. Become a supporter. This week, your name will go into a drawing for SCOTTeVEST merchandise.

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Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can't. He's the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes three nationally syndicated columns. He also publishes the Elliott Report, a news site for consumers, and Elliott Confidential, a critically acclaimed newsletter about customer service. If you have a consumer problem you can't solve, contact him directly through his advocacy website. You can also follow him on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or sign up for his daily newsletter. He is based in Panamá City.

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