The Flagg Agency

Last year, when my daughter was preparing to go to summer camp for the first time, she read about a nightly ritual. On the daily schedule she saw the following entry:

10:15 pm – Devotional, Milk & Cookies

For weeks she thought about those cookies. She had visions of the type of cookies. She thought about how warm would they be; how cold would the milk be; how many would she get? She could feel them in her mouth, she could practically taste them. I think she was dreaming about those cookies. When we dropped her off thinking about all of the adventures she would have: Horseback riding, sports, leadership, team-building while we are sure all she thought about were those cookies.

Yesterday I was stuck in voicemail purgatory for 15 minutes. I couldn’t reach a human being.  I had received my mortgage statement and payment coupon. The paper indicated that the servicer had received no payment. They had also added a late fee and of course the payment due for February. After trying every combination of button pressing, I went to go a website called Get Human to see if there was a secret way to get out of this prison. It turned out that there was for this company. Even after reaching someone, I had to explain to two different people on the phone the problem. The situation was resolved and the issue that had caused this problem was explained. However, I spent a total of 45 minutes trying to deal with this late yesterday afternoon.

I have some thoughts to share about the news media and the cruise industry. Before I begin, I want to stress that my thoughts go out to the families of those who are missing and who lost their lives as a result of the tragic accident of Costa Concordia on Friday January 13, 2012. I am reserving judgment and speculation on what actually happened and the aftermath until all the FACTS are released. With that said, I think what has been written and broadcast about the cruise industry in the weeks since the accident shows a lack of integrity by many of those in the media

I often ask my clients – Do you walk into your favorite restaurant and tell the waiter “Just bring me the cheapest thing on the menu, it doesn’t really matter what it is, price is most important”? Of course not! Here is a great explanation of the differences between getting a “good deal” and getting a “good value” for your vacation time and money investment. Remember travel does give you a return on life. The link is 4:30 minutes and it entitled “When to use a Travel Agent.”

Chuck and Laura Flagg are fee-based travel consultants.

I wanted to post some thoughts and videos from the latest racers to be eliminated from The Amazing Race: Season 19. Grandparents Bill and Cathi were Phileminated last Sunday as they came in last in this leg of the race. They were already significantly behind from the last leg which was ended up not being a pit stop but a continuation of the race day. Knowing that ‘reality’ shows are edited in a way to enhance the drama, Bill and Cathi were still in a race for a million dollars. Maybe it was their age and experience, but I always felt they were the most level headed racers I have ever witnessed. I felt this was certainly the case among the teams this season.