In the travel world, Christopher Elliott is a bit of a hero – on his blog, he regularly saves passengers from lost tickets, rental car horrors and other travel mishaps.
Since there is only one Christopher Elliott, he’s started a site designed to aid travelers in resolving some of their own problems. On Your Side is built as a blog and Wiki, which means anyone can add and edit information. The current content covers airlines, car rental companies, cruise lines and online travel agencies.
Each entry provides things like the mailing address, phone number, an overview of the company, rules and regulations and even shortcuts on how to get an operator on the phone. For some companies, the site also lists executive customer service contacts.
I’ve spent about half an hour going through the site and am amazed at how comprehensive a lot of the content is. Next time you find yourself with a customer service issue with a travel company, check out On Your Side and see whether a well written complaint letter can resolve all your problems. The site is easy to navigate, and by signing up, you can add your own information to it. My only minor complaint is that there is (currently) no mobile version, making it less useful if you need quick access to information on the go. Other than that, kudos to Christopher Elliott for creating On Your Side.
[Image from Flickr/AComment]