Comcast and Time Warner Cable may be two of the largest cable and Internet providers in the country, but they’re also the two worst, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index. [More]
Comcast, Time Warner Cable Bring Up Rear In Cable Customer Satisfaction
By May 21, 2013
Printing Error Turns Pixar Kiddie Pool Into Informational Image On Bad Touching
By May 20, 2013
What should be a happy photo of a mom hanging out in the yard with her two boys in their cool new Pixar-themed pool is horribly, terribly, tragically transformed into something much darker, all thanks to an apparent error at the printing press that managed to slip through unnoticed. [More]
Owners Of Amy’s Baking Company Say Yelpers Are Endangering Their Lives
By May 20, 2013
After their appearance on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares catapulted them from being the cranky owners of a Scottsdale, AZ, restaurant to worldwide infamy, the owners of Amy’s Baking Company haven’t really been talking to the media, except to occasionally shout at the cameras that they can’t talk to the media. Then this morning Amy and husband Samy sat down for a local radio interview with another person who has Gordon to thank for her few minutes of fame. [More]
Google Thinking About How To Let Users Cherry-Pick App Permissions
By May 20, 2013
When you download an app from the Google Play store — or when an update to an already downloaded app includes a change in permissions — users are required to accept those permissions before downloading. But there is no way to say no to any single permission, so users are either begrudgingly downloading apps with permissions they don’t want or not downloading otherwise acceptable apps because they are concerned about these permissions. But one Google engineer says there may be some hope. [More]
Warranty On My Sears Air-Conditioning Might Be Voided Because Sears Won’t Call Me Back
By May 20, 2013
A year ago, Sears installed a new air-conditioning system for Consumerist reader Donna. The system also includes a warranty that requires someone come out once a year to do a maintenance check, but after two months of trying to get someone out to her house, Donna was looking that the possibility of her warranty being voided because no one would return her calls. [More]
Microsoft To Announce New Xbox Tomorrow; Sony Teases Video Of Playstation 4 Today
By May 20, 2013
It’s been three full months since Sony announced — but did not unveil — the Playstation 4 videogame console. And with Microsoft about to announce its follow-up to the Xbox 360 tomorrow, Sony must have figured today was as good a day as any to finally show a glimpse of the PS4. [More]
AT&T Customers Will Probably Have To Wait Before Using Google Hangouts Over Cellular
By May 20, 2013
If you’ve got an Android phone, you might have noticed that your pre-loaded Google Talk app has recently been updated and is now “Hangouts,” the name of Google’s video chat service. But if you’re an AT&T customer, you might have to wait a while before you’re allowed to use that app over the carrier’s wireless network. [More]
Graphic: Which Internet Biggies Are Even Slightly Concerned About Your Privacy?
By May 20, 2013
When it comes to online privacy, many consumers assume that their service provider, or the websites they are browsing, have the users’ best interest in mind and that these companies won’t simply hand over your information to authorities. These people are mistaken, as are those who believe that no online companies make user privacy a priority. The truth, as usual, is a bit from column A and a bit from column B. [More]
When You Cut Trash Collection To Every Two Weeks, Parents Will Still Find A Way To Get Rid Of Dirty Diapers
By May 20, 2013
In Oct. 2011, Portland, Oregon, switched from weekly trash pickups to an every other week system, which is fine for many people who probably just needed to invest in another garbage can or two to hold that additional refuse. Additionally, the city had a weekly pickup for recycling and its new composting program, so smelly bottles, cans, and food scraps were being hauled away every seven days. But some parents of babies with stinky diapers are not waiting for that next garbage truck to swing by, and are instead tossing out the dirty diapers with the recycling. [More]
Movie Studios Ask Google To Remove Links To Free Movie About Pirate Bay
By May 20, 2013
Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, movie and TV studios can send requests to Google and other search engines requesting the removal of links to illegally shared content to which it holds the copyright. But some studios have apparently been asking Google to remove links to a movie for which none of these studios holds the copyright, and which just happens to be about file-sharing mega-site The Pirate Bay. [More]
GrubHub And Seamless To Form Food Delivery Supercompany
By May 20, 2013
GrubHub and Seamless Web are two of the biggest players in the growing online food-ordering industry, catering to those of us who would rather not deal with looking up menus then going through the ritual of reciting our orders over the phone. Today, the two companies announced their intent to merge and save people the hassle of having to toggle between the two sites when they can’t decide what to order. [More]
JCPenney To Require Structural Inspections Of Factories In Bangladesh
By May 17, 2013
Retailers and manufacturers continue to react to last month’s tragedy at the Rana Plaza factory outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh, that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,100 people. Days after Walmart announced its own program to review and inspect manufacturing facilities in the region, JCPenney has outlined its plans to audit factories. [More]
Makers And Stars Of Porn Being Turned Away By Some Banks
By May 17, 2013
With so many people choosing to watch porn for free online rather than pay for it, the adult industry claims to be nowhere near as lucrative as it was at the height of the VHS and DVD era. Making matters worse, some in the industry say their banks don’t want to be associated with this particular form of entertainment. [More]
Spirit Airlines Only U.S. Carrier To Make List Of World’s Worst
By May 17, 2013
Spirit Airlines can call itself the “most consumer-friendly airline” all it wants, but that won’t change public opinion of the discount carrier. And a new round-up of the world’s worst-rated airlines would seem to confirm that Spirit is far from living up to its own description. [More]
McDonald’s Looking To Slim Down Its Bloated Menu
By May 17, 2013
The Angus burger has mooed its last moo, and Chicken Selects clucked off months ago, but it looks like McDonald’s isn’t done ditching menu items, as the company seeks to streamline its business by paring down the available offerings. [More]
Report Claims Many Walgreens Sales Items Are Out Of Stock, Mislabeled
By May 17, 2013
Last fall, Walgreens launched Balance Rewards, which isn’t just a loyalty program, but is also the only way to access many of the store’s advertised discounts. However, a new report claims that Walgreens stores in four major cities are having a hard time making these discounted items available to shoppers, and that the items are frequently mislabeled anyway. [More]
Abercrombie CEO Sorry That People Didn’t Like When He Said Plus-Size People Don’t Belong In His Clothes
By May 17, 2013
A couple weeks back, the Internet found more reasons to hate Abercrombie & Fitch after people resurrected a 2006 interview in which CEO Mike Jeffries said his company deliberately avoids selling to the “not-so-cool kids,” which was his way of referring to people who aren’t skinny. Now Jeffries is apologizing, not for what he said, but really just because people are upset about it. [More]
Steak ‘n Shake Waitress Scores $446 Tip On $6 Check
By May 16, 2013
It’s nice to ride toward the end of the week with a happy tipping-related story for a change. A waitress at a Steak ‘n Shake eatery in Indianapolis got the biggest bonus of her life when a diner left a 7,433% tip. [More]
