I‘m leading off today’s newsletter with the unusual story about a passenger who says she suffered multiple bug bites on a recent flight. Did her airline do enough to help her?
Before I get to the rest of this week’s posts, I wanted to thank you for the outpouring of support during the first week of our holiday fundraiser. Many of you ordered my new book, Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals — and many more became underwriters.
By the way, Scammed is available as an ebook right now and copies have been sighted at bookstores, so now’s the time to order!
We’re continuing the fundraiser today with a very special offer from our newest corporate underwriter, TourSaver. As you probably know, TourSaver publishes a pocket-sized coupon book full of travel deals and attractions in Alaska and Seattle. The deals are really unbelievable — more than $20,000 in savings in a single book!
The first 10 underwriters to sign up at the benefactor level will also receive a copy of the TourSaver this week.
Here’s how to become an underwriter.
By the way, if you work for a business that puts customers first and want to support the consumer advocacy on this site, please contact me directly for details.
I have lots more in this issue of my newsletter. Check out my Washington Post column on how Congress is trying to help travelers during the holiday season. Are our elected representative doing more harm than good? Plus, find out why one reader’s Maytag microwave just won’t work, and what can be done about it.
Also:
• Read the latest TSA Watch column on efforts to strip officers of their title, and a few items of clothing. You can also read it over at the Huffington Post.
• Find out about the Sandals honeymoon that didn’t go quite as expected. There’s lots of drama, deception and intrigue in this installment of “Can this trip be saved?”
• Vote now on your favorite travel blogger. I compile these lists every year, mostly because I’m curious. Who are you reading? You’ll be surprised at the preliminary results. I sure am.
And a final note today: Whether you’re reading this newsletter online or offline, whether you’ve been a subscriber a day or a decade, you probably know these are challenging times to be a consumer advocate. News outlets are cutting their budgets to zero; companies are looking for uncritical, sales-friendly news outlets on which to advertise their products. It is thanks to your unwavering support that I can continue working for you.
Thank you for being there. It means a lot to me.
(Photo: Fly for Fun/Flickr)
