Having one young child can be a hassle (or so I read on Facebook every day), but having triplets makes everything that much more complicated. So it was a great relief for one Consumerist reader when her local Kmart went out of its way to help her in her search for three car seats. [More]
Ninja Offers Swift, Quiet Replacement Of Defective Blender
By December 4, 2012
Nathan expected stubbornness or indifference from Ninja complained about the mildew trapped inside the handle of his blender pitcher. Ninjas aren’t the fanciest blenders out there, but aren’t the cheapest, either. He e-mailed them first, then called customer service as they requested. That’s when they surprised him by actually replacing the defective pitcher. [More]
Woot Marks Item Down, Issues Partial Refund, Delights Customers
By December 3, 2012
There are a few (very few) companies that Consumerist readers seem to universally adore. Woot is one of these, even when they’re not sending their customers unexplained wads of cash. They did something pretty simple this week: sold an item for $200, then put it up for sale for $170 only a few days later. Instead of saying “tough luck” to those first few customers who paid $30 more, Woot issued a pre-emptive refund. [More]
How Dave’s Coffee Saved One Customer’s Thanksgiving
By December 3, 2012
When Consumerist reader and New Jersey resident Brian lost power for nearly a week following Hurricane Sandy, he also thought his plans to craft some homemade coffee ice cream for Thanksgiving had gone kaput too. [More]
Apple Takes Back Wi-Fi-Sabotaging MacBook, Replaces It With Shiny New One
By November 29, 2012
Micahel’s new Macbook had a very unusual flaw. Whenever it was connected to his home network, it would take out his modem. Unfortunately, it didn’t take the whole Apple Store’s network down, so he wasn’t able to replicate the problem for the Geniuses. After five trips and a variety of repairs, Apple finally gave up…and gave him a brand new MacBook. [More]
Grocery Store Gives Customers Free Food Rather Than Have Them Wait For Registers To Start Working
By November 19, 2012
Pop quiz, hot shot: You’re the manager of a grocery store and a computer crash leaves your cashiers without any easy way to tally up customers’ purchases, let alone process payments. Do you (A) tell customers they’ll have to wait; (B) pull out the old calculator; (C) give them their food for free. [More]
Dollar Shave Club Replaces Lost Handle, No Questions Asked, Wins Customer Over
By November 16, 2012
Consumerist reader Mark signed up for Dollar Shave Club after catching the razor subscription service’s ad that devoured the Internet earlier this year. Since then he’s been satisfied with his decision, but it’s how the company responded to his minor problem that has Mark saying he’s sticking with the service forever. [More]
Publisher Atones For Underwhelming 2010 Video Game With Free Downloads Of Latest Game
By October 29, 2012
Two years ago, Consumerist reader Joe purchased “Elemental: War of Magic,” a turn-based, strategy game for his PC. Alas, Joe’s response was like that of many reviewers, that the game was buggy and unpolished and not worth playing. [More]
Bed Bath And Beyond Applies Coupon After The Fact, Alerts Me To Rebate
By October 29, 2012
Where there is a mattress and there are small children, it is inevitable that the children will try to jump on the mattress. At least, that’s what happened when Kurt rolled out the air mattress for some out-of-town guests. He ran to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get a new one, but couldn’t find a precious 20% off coupon in time. When he returned to the store, he decided to be honest rather than buying another mattress and “returning” it using the receipt from the first purchase. His honesty paid off. [More]
Cosi Manager Wins Over Customers By Opening During Storm, Not Gouging
By October 29, 2012
With Hurricane Sandy about to hop on the Atlantic City Expressway toward Philadelphia, many area stores opted for the better safe than sorry route and closed for the day. But one Cosi eatery in Center City won over some hospital employees by not only opening just for them, but by also not charging. [More]
Shop Owner Drives To Customer’s House After Bad Yelp Review
By October 26, 2012
After receiving his first negative Yelp review, the owner of a California store made repeated attempts to contact the disgruntled customer in the hopes of turning him into a gruntled customer, and ultimately ended up at the Yelper’s doorstep. But before you go looking for the shop owner’s mug shot, this is actually a good thing. [More]
My Cats Ruin My Mouse, Logitech Sends A Free Replacement
By October 24, 2012
Cats and consumer electronics might be two of Consumerist readers’ collective favorite things, but they don’t always go together very well. Meow Maximus has learned this over the years, as he’s combined computer mice with scroll wheels with long-haired kitties. Normally, he’s been able to open them up for thorough hair removal, but that didn’t work with the latest Logitech gaming mouse he bought. Consumers can’t open it up. Fortunately, it has one key feature: it’s made by Logitech. [More]
Complaint About Disappointing Noodle Bowl Results In Bounty Of Noodles For Customer
By October 19, 2012
Consumerist reader Scott is a big fan of the noodle bowls made by the folks at Nongshim America. But when he recently went to heat up a bowl, he was let down by the half-full product he encountered. The way the company responded certainly made up for the disappointment. [More]
Noodles And Company Takes My Complaint Seriously, Then Sort Of Stalks Me
By October 15, 2012
Dustin was disappointed in a promotion at the restaurant Noodles and Company. He’s on their mailing list, and they shared a promotion offering free salads. Who doesn’t like free food? All you had to do was be online and go to the restaurant’s site at a certain time. That’s not so hard. He was poised at his computer five minutes before the free salads hit, refreshed the site and got… a page saying that all 500 salads had been claimed within seconds. That was impressive. He sent the company a sad e-mail, and wrote up a quick account of what happened for us to share his disappointment with the consumerverse. [More]
Little Caesar’s Employee Chases Me Down To Give Me Free Pizza
By October 8, 2012
Sometimes local franchisees of national chains don’t bother with customer service, hoping to coast on brand recognition and adequacy. Then there are franchisees like the Little Caesar’s restaurant near reader John’s bus stop. They didn’t have any pizza ready during the few minutes he had before his bus came, so he left to catch his bus. Someone from the Little Caesar’s chased him down and delivered a pizza to him at the bus stop. We can hardly believe it either. [More]
Jarden Can’t Provide A Replacement Crock-Pot Lid, Can Send You A New Appliance Instead
By October 2, 2012
The Crock-pot is a pretty basic kitchen appliance that you may take for granted. Remï’s dad bought her one years ago, and it outlasted most of her other possessions through a series of moves. It was more reliable than the rest of her kitchen stuff, and a reliable source of hot food when the gas company wouldn’t turn her service on. Recently, she knocked her trusty slow-cooking friend off the counter, shattering the lid. Nooo! She contacted the company that made it, wondering whether a replacement lid existed. Her model was too old, but they could send her an entirely new Crock-pot for free. Well… okay. [More]
Alaska Airlines Offers Free Tickets & Miles To Passenger Stung By Scorpion
By June 30, 2011
There’s nothing in the Alaska Airlines contract of carriage about arachnid attacks, so when a passenger on board one of its planes was stung by a scorpion, the airline could have easily shrugged it off as one of those crazy things that happen when you’re a world traveler. Instead, someone at Alaska Air realized this was an opportunity to go above and beyond. [More]
Bacon Love Story: A Man, A Dream, A Salted Meat
By June 26, 2009
Brooke’s husband, like many sensible people, loves bacon. As a gift, she bought him a subscription to the Bacon of the Month Club. For a few months, they received fantastic bacon and whimsical bacon-related merchandise through the mail, just as promised. Then, suddenly, things went awry in mail-order bacon paradise.
