confessions

(Someone Named Meg)

9 Confessions Of A Former Geek Squad Geek
By Chris Morran on June 10, 2011 1:00 PM   167 Comments
Consumerist reader K. recently ended his 4.5 year tenure as a Geek Squad member at Best Buy. And while he says that he considers his time there to be "generally a positive experience," K. did feel that there is some backstage info the public might want to know. More »

(Studio d'Xavier)

4 Magical Words Debt Collectors Use To Open Your Pockets
By Ben Popken on May 18, 2011 12:00 PM   66 Comments
Debt collection is all about mind games. NotSoDeepSouth blogged about the four magical words that he used to use as a debt collector that acted like a crowbar on people's wallets, getting formerly relcacitrant people to empty out their pockets. More »

(paul.malon)

Ex-Hertz Employee Shares 3 Tips On Saving On Your Next Rental
By Ben Popken on March 31, 2011 2:00 PM   52 Comments
A former slinger of keys for rental car company Hertz has stepped forward from the shadows to share his three tips for saving on your next car. More »

(Morton Fox)

Confessions Of A Staples Employee
By Chris Morran on March 8, 2011 11:15 AM   89 Comments
It's been more than three years since we received any confessions from an employee at Staples. Thankfully, Staples vet Dave decided to write us with the insights he gleaned from his time at the office supply superstore. More »

(DQD)

Apple Store Employee: Stop Asking Me About The Next iPhone
By Chris Morran on February 18, 2011 1:30 PM   43 Comments
Over at Popular Mechanics, they spoke to an anonymous Apple Store employee to get the inside scoop on what it's like working at the iPhone emporium. And the main thing he seems to want people to know is that he knows absolutely nothing about what the company is doing next. More »

(meddygarnet)

10 Confessions Of An Insurance Telemarketer
By Ben Popken on February 10, 2011 5:00 PM   70 Comments
One of our readers works sales in an insurance telemarketing operation. He's stepped forward to give us the skinny on how he gets commission, the real reasons that drive some of their tactics, and what personal information you should never give over the phone to a telemarketer. More »

(Ian Muttoo)

Best Buy Receipt Checker: 'I Do What I Do For Your Own Good'
By Phil Villarreal on January 24, 2011 3:30 PM   388 Comments
An anonymous reader who says he works part-time for Best Buy as a "loss prevention" guy whose job it is to check your receipt as you exit the store writes in to defend his practice. He says doing his job right is not only best for him and the company, but for you, the consumer. More »

(Rolyataylor)

Confessions Of Walmart Employees
By Chris Morran on October 19, 2010 12:20 PM   125 Comments
Over at our former sister site Gawker.com, several Walmart employees open up about everything from the reality of "rollbacks" to the poo problem. They also share a handful of helpful tips for Walmart shoppers. More »

(WexDub)

Flight Attendant Weighs In On Angry Passengers, Job Stress
By Chris Walters on August 11, 2010 10:30 AM   129 Comments
Steven Slater's dramatic job walk-off slide-down on Monday wouldn't have been anywhere near as cool if he hadn't used that escape slide. Another flight attendant named Bobby Laurie, writing about the stress of the job for The Daily Beast, says popping the slide and stealing alcohol are "the two most taboo things in the industry." He also says he's fantasized about doing something similar after being forced to deal with angry or obnoxious passengers. More »

(Kate - Spirited Earth)

Chase Banker: I Hate That We're Required To Pull People Out Of Line To Offer Upsells
By Carey Alexander on July 31, 2010 3:00 PM   106 Comments
Chase now requires bankers to drag customers waiting for a teller out of line so they can upsell other bank products. One longtime banker wrote in to apologize for the practice, which "blatantly exploits a customer's trust," and to encourage customers to call Chase and tell them that they hate it, too. Read the banker's full heartfelt note, after the jump. More »

(mightyohm)

Former Debt Collectors Tell All
By Chris Walters on July 19, 2010 9:00 AM   59 Comments
CNN's Money mag has published ten short confessionals from current and former debt collectors. A guy who's been doing it for twenty years says that "being authoritative and abrasive was like a high," and that it helped him provide for his two daughters. A woman who's been in the business for ten years says she knows collectors who hold contests to see who can make the most people cry each day. Another ten-year veteran quit after a debtor he was harassing shot himself. Yeah, it's a fun Monday morning read. More »

(jeknee)

4 Myths About Tipping From A Former Pizza Delivery Guy
By Chris Morran on March 30, 2010 12:05 PM   319 Comments
When we posted a simple poll about tipping delivery drivers, we had no idea it would garner the kind of mammoth response it did, with folks on both sides of the tipping divide ardently defending their position. In an effort to clear up what he sees as common misconceptions about tipping, Consumerist reader and former delivery guy Justin wrote in to take a sledgehammer to a handful of "myths" about his past profession. More »

(Photo: tjriley82)

10 Things To Know To Keep Your Luggage From Getting Lost
By Ben Popken on December 18, 2009 12:31 PM   84 Comments
It's late night at the airport and you're the only one left standing at the baggage couresel, waiting for your luggage to arrive. The same blue duffel passes you like a broken record. Reality sinks in. Your baggage is lost. Tears form. Then, a rustling of rubber flaps. A form begins to emerge from the wall. Could it be, your lost bag? No, it is a man, a baggage handler man, covered in dust. He pats himself off and plants himself before you and begins a soliloquy. He is here to tell you you the 10 ten things you need to know to keep your bags from getting lost:

(Photo: Giorgio Montersino)

Secrets Of Waiters
By Chris Walters on December 1, 2009 10:35 AM   144 Comments
Michelle Crouch at Reader's Digest has compiled another list of secrets that your waiter won't tell you. Some are just going to make you annoyed, like the waitress who lies for sympathy tips. But there are plenty of useful secrets on the list that might improve your experience the next time you go out to eat. More »

10 Confessions Of A Telemarketing Insider
By Ben Popken on November 12, 2009 4:31 PM   206 Comments

—>Out of the shadows steps a dark figure, sporting wrinkled khakis, a retractable namebadge, and a headset dangling from his ear. It's the telermarketing insider, and he's going to confess to you how his industry really works and how you can resist and even fight back:  More »

Alan Thicke Can't Save Tahiti Village Timeshare Company From Going Under
By Chris Walters on June 24, 2009 7:58 PM   49 Comments

—>Even the hearty television presence of Alan Thicke couldn't help Consolidated Resorts, Inc., a company owned by Goldman Sachs that sold timeshares, from going belly up. An anonymous tipster emailed us yesterday to say that they "just laid off most of their staff, including all collections, customers service, marketing, information technology departments." And according to this insider, this is good news for consumers.  More »

More Insider Tips When Buying From Radioshack
By Chris Walters on June 17, 2009 5:46 PM   124 Comments

—>There's clearly no love lost between D. and D's former employer, RadioShack. A little over a year ago, D. sent us some insider tips on what to watch out for when you shop at RS. Now here comes a follow-up, with more information on cell phone sales tricks, warranty pitches, and used merchandise.  More »

Dusty PS3 Inspector Threw Dirt On PS3 So He Wouldn't Have To Repair It
By Ben Popken on June 10, 2009 4:00 PM   180 Comments

—>Well well well. New information from an inside source says that the tech threw dirt on the infamous "dusty PS3" to deny the warranty claim because he didn't feel like repairing it. Shocking! His confession, inside.  More »

Insiders: Countrywide Made Racist Sub-Prime Loans
By Ben Popken on June 8, 2009 7:22 PM   90 Comments

—>The Wells Fargo racist sub-prime mortgage lawsuit reminded me of an old post we did where an ex-Countrywide employee alleged that that loan company had racist practices too. Here's the insider email we posted back in February, 08:  More »

Hank Paulson Admits He Never Really Understood How Mortgage-Backed Securities Worked
By Chris Walters on May 25, 2009 3:04 PM   21 Comments

—>Here's more proof that the people who probably should have known how they were making all that housing bubble money never did—even those who personally made tens of millions off of it. The Business blog at The Atlantic notes a quote Hank Paulson, former Goldman Sachs CEO and Treasury Secretary, gave Newsweek: "I didn't understand the retail market; I just wasn't close to it."  More »

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