Advice Archives - Christopher Elliott

Can you ever be too old to travel?

January 22, 2021January 15, 2021

Slowing down was the last thing on Elaine Schaefer’s mind when she turned 70 last year. She’d enjoyed an ambitious travel schedule for the previous decade, which included a 10-day horseback safari in Botswana and a snorkeling tour of Bora Bora. She didn’t feel too old to travel.

Then the pandemic hit. Suddenly, with the exception of a cautious staycation or two, she was confined to her home. Being in a high-risk group didn’t help. But she says that’s not going to stop her.
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This is how to be the world’s smartest consumer every time

January 20, 2021January 20, 2021

Maybe you’re old enough to remember a time when the customer was always right. Back then, employees were friendly “yes” men and women who served you with a smile. Deals were made with a handshake. You paid less, but you felt as if you got more. You didn’t need to be the world’s smartest consumer because businesses treated you honestly and fairly.

But today, people don’t trust companies to do the right thing — probably because companies often don’t do the right thing. Businesses assume the customer is wrong unless proven otherwise. And the reason no one is screaming to high heaven about this is that the decline of trust and customer service happened slowly.
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Airbnb locked my account because I have COVID-19. How do I unlock it?

January 19, 2021January 13, 2021

Airbnb locked Paul Drews account because he has COVID-19. Now the company won’t unlock it. Is there a way to get his account back?
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This isn’t the bed I ordered from Groupon. Can I get a refund?

January 18, 2021January 13, 2021

Sherrie Segall isn’t happy with the bed she ordered from Groupon. She assumes it’s made of wood, bu it’s actually made of particleboard. Can she get her money back?
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Here are the travel dangers for 2021

January 15, 2021January 8, 2021

What are the travel dangers for 2021? Ask someone like Walt Meyer, and he’ll tell you he’s afraid of getting sick when he travels.

Too many people aren’t taking COVID-19 seriously, he says. He’d travel again this year if he could be sure that his fellow passengers were virus-free.

“If they could require everyone to arrive an hour early, get tested, then wait for test results before boarding a flight or entering a resort, it would eliminate some of the risks,” says Meyer, an author and professional speaker from San Diego.
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