Tag: RULES

Should companies break their own rules? Yes, and here’s when …

By Christopher Elliott |
Andresr/Shutterstock
Andresr/Shutterstock

Last week, when I suggested that consumers should sometimes apologize to a company, a few of you thought I had completely lost it.

You believed I’d gone soft or turned into a corporate shill — or both — for suggesting that sometimes you should apologize to a business.

So today, in the interest of fairness, I’ll look at the flip side: when companies should offer a no-questions-asked refund on a product, even though they aren’t required to.

A recent study by researchers at the University of Vermont and the University of Iowa found that retailers with restrictive exchange policies may be losing potential business, a finding that should find some traction among highly competitive businesses.
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Changing the rules of engagement (for the better, let’s hope)

By Christopher Elliott |
Lurii/Shutterstock
Lurii/Shutterstock

It’s been an interesting few months for this site. Late last year we introduced a crew of volunteer moderators and a few simple rules of engagement.

But like everything else, both the rules and the roles played by the moderators evolved.

Today, I’m proposing to clarify some of the rules of engagement and to more clearly define what the moderators do.

Until now, we’ve had a very succinct comment policy and no real definition of moderator duties.
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What to do when your airline tells you to shut up

By Christopher Elliott |

Ryan Ludtke’s family vacation in Fort Myers, Fla., ended on a bad note when they flew back to Chicago on Spirit Airlines.

Oh, I know what you’re thinking: Of course it did. He was flying on Spirit Airlines.

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Who’s really to blame for these absurd luggage rules?

By Christopher Elliott |

Just the mention of the words “baggage” and “rule” in the same sentence is enough to raise the blood pressure of the average air traveler.
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New rules for airline fees are a partial victory for travelers

By Christopher Elliott |

If airfares confuse you as much as they confuse me, then I have some good news: Several new rules are going to make it easier to calculate the total cost of a ticket.

Maybe.

Starting Jan. 26, a new U.S. Transportation Department rule will require airlines to include all taxes and fees in their advertised fares. Other provisions of the rule — banning post-purchase price increases and allowing passengers to hold certain reservations without payment or to cancel them without penalty for 24 hours after booking — will take effect Jan. 24.
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Ridiculous or not? Airline rules were meant to be broken (by elites)

By Christopher Elliott |

You don’t have to fly frequently to know the airline industry has some of the most ridiculous rules in the travel business. But if you fly enough, you may not have to follow all of them.

For example: Most passengers are herded through boarding areas in large, disorganized groups. Unless you’re an elite-level frequent flier; then you skip through a “breezeway” or over a red carpet, away from the long line, directly to your preferred seat. Frequent fliers also get to shortcut the lengthy security line at some airports, and they don’t have to pay many checked luggage fees and other surcharges.
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When should travel companies waive their change fees during bad weather? Survey says …

By Christopher Elliott |


More often than they do.

A majority of travelers (69 percent) said change fees and penalties should be suspended when bad weather prevented “a significant number” of travelers from from reaching the airport, hotel or port. Slightly fewer (62 percent) also said they should put the rules on “hold” when bad weather prevents the travel company from operating safely.

More than one-third (35 percent) said the rules should be waived when bad weather prevents an individual traveler from reaching the airport, hotel or port. And only 3 percent said a weather-related exception should never be made.

Your comments reflected the responses on the survey. Reader Jim Johansen said rules should be bent on a case-by-case basis.
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