It sounds counterintuitive, right? Normally, customers expect that extra effort, and we complain constantly that we don't get it enough. What we sometimes don't understand, though, is that the extra effort is at the root of many of the customer service problems we encounter. ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Consumer Activism
Travel professionals: stop going the extra mile
It sounds counterintuitive, right? Normally, customers expect that extra effort, and we complain constantly that we don't get it enough. What we sometimes don't understand, though, is that the extra effort is at the root of many of the customer service problems we encounter. ...Are the economics of Twitter airfares worth it?
More and more budget-travel tipsters are pointing towards Twitter, Facebook and social media outlets as the source for wild cheap airfares these days. And it's true, in a way. By subscribing to the pundit feeds online it's possible to get the inside scoop on a few good ...Poll: Have you ever passed up the cheapest airfare to avoid a bad airline?
People love to complain about the dismal state of air travel these days. Whether it's the stomach-churning airline food (and there's so little of it!), the complete lack of leg room, or the fact that your luggage was for some reason routed through Honolulu, we've come to ...Free press travel: necessary ... and certainly not an evil
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The blogosphere has been heating up over the issue of ethics and "swag." There's plenty of free stuff flowing through the media ...Responsible Travel changes their mind
ResponsibleTravel.com, a website known for providing eco-friendly vacation options, has changed their mind about something important. Especially after all our climate change talk yesterday (Blog Action Day), with the topic fresh in our minds, let's talk about carbon offsets. ...Bio jet-fuel: fact or fiction?
The new trend among all sorts of green energies is in bio-fuels, those combustible fluids made from renewable sources such as switch grass, corn or soybeans. They're all over the place in the automotive industry, millions of cars burning E38, offering flex fuel options and ...Bury the turtle.
At the Fairmont Kea Lani, the gift shop is stocked with some very eco-friendly fare. To make it easy for guests to see which items are greenest, they tag the items with turtle tags like this one. Yeah, yeah, a special tag. Whatever. Right? Actually, it's more special than ...World Monuments Fund announces list of endangered treasures
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The World Monuments Fund, a private organization battling to preserve the world's great man-made wonders, has published a list ...Should a medical exam be required before a major trek?
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Physicians and politicians in Australia are calling for mandatory physicals for any trekkers preparing to hike the Kokoda Track according ...San Francisco airport wants to sell you carbon offset credits
As of yesterday, passengers departing from San Francisco international airport can purchase carbon offset credits before taking their flight. The credits are called "Climate Passport", and they can be bought from electronic kiosks located throughout the airport. Each ton of ...The best from the weird and wacky world of tourist complaints
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We tourists are a curious bunch - apparently, by paying for our trip, some of us feel we are entitled to absolute ...Airports say no to sexy Pamela Anderson PETA commercial
Voluntourism in Costa Rica doesn't have to be expensive
Tropical Adventures is making it pretty easy for travelers to save the world. The company's new Cultural Encounter Package offers a six-night/seven-day package at a steep discount of 45 percent. The first two nights are at the historic Hotel Don Carlos, with the other four ...Bowermaster's Adventures -- Kamchatka v. Kodiak, What a Difference 225 Years Makes
We sailed into Kodiak on a somewhat rarified day for this part of the world, one filled with sunshine rather than rain. The weekend just past had been its annual Crab Fest, an event dampened by typical summer weather: horizontal rain and temperatures just above freezing. ...More power for the government to search your laptop at the border
For years, border protection agents have been permitted to inspect and/or seize your laptop, smartphone or other data storage device. Under new legislation introduced today, those rules grant even more power, while trying to give the appearance of increased privacy for the ...Bowermaster's Adventures -- Russia's nuclear legacy
Just around the corner from Petropavlovsk, ten miles by land or sea, located across Avachinskaya Bay on a small peninsula called Krasheninnikova sits Russia's largest nuclear submarine base. It is off limits to outsiders and a shell of what it was during the Soviet Union's ...Should travelers boycott Arizona because of gun laws? Frommer leans towards yes
Arthur Frommer, longtime travel book guru, posed a question about Arizona's "open carry" gun laws. In Arizona, Frommer found out, people can bring loaded guns to political rallies. That's what happened in Phoenix earlier this week when some of the protesters, who showed up ...Thought you'd heard the last of Clear? Think again!
Clear, the bankrupt airport service that let travelers speed through the checkpoint, abruptly closed up shop last month. The company had burned through all its cash, so within a matter of hours, the entire service was gone, and customers were left with a useless membership, ...Sustainble Farming Program in Uganda Offers Hope and Help
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) in Uganda is well-known throughout the world as the home for nearly half of the world's population of critically endangered mountain gorillas. However, gorillas are no longer the only entity on Uganda's endangered list. Bwindi's local ...Don't be "that" tourist - things to avoid when you are abroad
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We all make mistakes - but when you are heading abroad, little mistakes could mean the difference between being a prepared ...
