 Why was the Southwest customer upset?
An explanation: Last week, the magazine you are currently reading forced the Shopping Avenger at gunpoint to read a series of treacle-filled self-help books, and then to . The Shopping Avenger does not make light of the Dalai Lama or of the notion that there is more to life than the impatient acquisition of material goods. If the Shopping Avenger were not, for a superhero, extremely nonjudgmental--as opposed to his alter ego, who is considered insufferably judgmental by his alter ego's wife--the Shopping Avenger would tell the occasional correspondent to let go of his petty grievance and get a life. But the Shopping Avenger also believes that the Dalai Lama has never tried to rent a truck from U-Haul. The complaints about U-Haul's nonreservation reservation policy continue to pour in through the electronic mail. One correspondent, B.R., wrote in with this cautionary tale: "Last weekend, I went to San Francisco to help my brother and his family move into their first house. I warned my brother about U-Haul's 'not really a reservation per se' policy that I learned from the Shopping Avenger. B.R. continues--as if you don't know what happened already--"I went to U-Haul with my brother to get our 'reserved' truck. When we got to the front of the line, the clerk informed us that our 'reserved' truck had not yet been returned. B.R. and his chastened brother--the Shopping Avenger is resisting the urge to gloat--went to Ryder. The Shopping Avenger has still not received a call from U-Haul spokeswoman Johna Burke explaining why U-Haul refuses to provide trucks to people who reserve trucks, but the Shopping Avenger is pleased to note that several correspondents have written in over the past month saying that, based on what they have read in this column, they will be taking their business to Ryder or Budget or elsewhere. Before we begin, though, the Shopping Avenger nearly forgot to announce the winner of last month's contest, in which readers were asked to answer the question, "What's the difference between pests and airlines?" Tom is the winner of a year's supply of Turtle Wax, and he will receive his prize just as soon as the Shopping Avenger figures out how much Turtle Wax actually constitutes a year's supply. The new contest question: How much Turtle Wax comprises a year's supply of Turtle Wax? This month's airline in the spotlight is Southwest.
 There was an endless string of confusing communication about policy which seemed to miss the point
 The Shopping Avenger was not able to help with her case  She was not able to win the case in court  She didn't get replacements for her belongings quickly enough  There was an endless string of confusing communication about policy which seemed to miss the point