Elliott’s E-Mail/August 14, 2007

ELLIOTT’S E-MAIL
First aid for travel
August 14, 2007

It isn’t too late. Yes, customer service is on the decline in the travel industry, but this week’s issue of Elliott’s E-Mail shows you can still have a great trip (I did). There’s an MSNBC column about how to reverse the customer-service slide, several inspiring stories about travel companies that did the right thing, and a couple of blog entries about companies that didn’t. Plus, as always, there are more photoblog entries and stories from the archives. Enjoy!

» Read this week’s newsletter online.

This issue of Elliott’s E-Mail is underwritten by Priceline.com, the leading travel service for value-conscious leisure travelers. With both Name Your Own Price and everyday fixed low prices, no other travel service gives more ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. No one does deals like Priceline.com!

FIRST | Random thoughts about the week in travel

Burning question … doing it yourself? If you travel a lot, you’ve probably noticed the many places where the human touch is missing. You check in to your flight through a kiosk at the airport. A machine sometimes even issues a key at your hotel. Have you experienced the “do it yourself” trend on the road recently? Send me a note or shoot me an IM (celliottlive on AIM).

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SIGHTINGS | Noted Elliott appearances online and offline

New name, no credit — Gena Welsh and her husband each receive a $150 travel certificate when their flight is delayed. But now the company that gave them the vouchers — TransGlobal Vacations — has become Funjet Vacations. And Funjet is balking at giving them the credit. (From The Troubleshooter)

How to stop travel’s sad customer-service slide — It isn’t your imagination. The service is getting worse. Almost every measure of performance, from the federal government’s numbers to independent surveys by the likes of the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index, suggests that when it comes to travel, customer service is circling the drain. (From MSNBC.com)

Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by Cheapflights.com, which lets you search and compare flights to find the lowest-priced airfare for your next trip. Get the details at Cheapflights.com.

BLOGGED | New posts on Ellipses

‘Appalling and shameful’ flight on Continental — It probably doesn’t get any worse than this. The passengers on Continental flight 1669Y from Caracas to Newark say they were trapped on a plane for seven hours after their flight was diverted to Baltimore on July 29. They endured several medical emergencies, starvation and hostility at the hands of their crew and airline employees, according to a missive making the rounds this morning. (From Ellipses)

Airport security: there’s no backing out — Here’s something to keep in mind when you’re standing in line at the airport TSA checkpoint: there’s no turning back. At least that’s what a court has decided. (From Ellipses)

New mileage search engine prepares for liftoff — Full disclosure: I think frequent flier programs are the crack cocaine of the travel industry. Having admitted that, how can you expect me to say anything nice about the launch of ZooMiles, a new search engine that allows you to earn free airline miles for searching the Web? (From Ellipses)

Kudos to JetBlue for bringing civility back to summer travel — A packed flight. A weather delay. Angry passengers — many of them crying. It sounds like a flight to Anywhere, USA, this summer. Except that I was on this flight, and it didn’t end like you would expect, especially if you believe all the recent media reports about the state of air travel. (From Ellipses)

Watch out for these clever paper ticket scams — Paper tickets are supposed to go the way of the dodo by the end of the year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). But that isn’t stopping a few intrepid travel agents and ticket consolidators from squeezing every last penny out of the soon-to-be extinct pulp vouchers. (From Ellipses)

Here’s a smart way around the early-return rule — I’ve written about the early-return rule imposed recently by car rental companies, where you return your rental before your contract is up, and get charged more for the car. But I haven’t found a good workaround — until now. (From Ellipses)

Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by FirstClassFlyer.com, the only tool you need to fly first class for the price of coach — or close to it. Looking for free and purchased upgrades, two-for-ones and a fast-track to elite status strategies? Look no further than FirstClassFlyer.com

FLASHBACK | A retrospective from the Elliott archives

Surprise! Stories about great customer service …

Does Delta get customer service? Maybe — One of the best parts of my job as The Travel Troubleshooter is seeing customer complaints resolved through normal channels, without need for my intervention. That happened twice this week with an airline that I would have considered an unlikely candidate: Delta. (From Ellipses)

Getting human — In the small universe of customer-advocacy Web sites and blogs, I’ve always admired Gethuman, the site started by travel dot-com entrepreneur Paul English. Its development has coincided with my own customer-service blog, CSR. (From Ellipses)

Elliott’s E-Mail is also underwritten by the Alaska Travelgram, which gives you the inside scoop on Alaska, with information on activities, accommodations, hot air fare deals and secret insider tips — from the folks who live there. Subscribe here. It’s free.

POSTCARDS | The latest from Elliott’s personal photo blog

Where’s my rubber duckie? — Erysse is excited that she’s outgrown the baby bath. Now she can use the tub like a big girl. Plus, she gets to have it all to herself.

My hero — The Simpsons ride is coming to Universal Studios next year. But Iden isn’t waiting to hang out with his role model, Bart. Don’t have a cow, man.

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Elliott’s E-Mail is published 50 times a year by Christopher Elliott. (c) 2007 Christopher Elliott.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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