Who wouldn’t want to start their prom by watching a stretch limo cruise down their street an hour and a half late before crashing into their parent’s car? Apparently a bunch of high school students in Washington state, that’s who. And they’re not the only ones angry that they booked with Blessed Limo. The notorious local operator apparently has a knack for showing up late and then stranding kids at prom. Complaining to state authorities only goes so far because these guys don’t even bother with bureaucratic backaches like “operating licenses.”
By May 12, 2009
Please Stop Texting While Driving Two recent incidents with conductors of public transit vehicles getting into accidents while texting have magnified the consequences of using cell phones while operating a vehicle. Surprisingly, there are few complaints about other drivers sexting while driving. [Consumer Reports Cars]
Ride For Free On Jet Blue (If You Can Get Yourself "Trapped" In The Cargo Hold)
By April 2, 2009
A Jet Blue employee hitched a free flight from JFK Airport in NYC to Logan Airport in Boston this past weekend, after getting trapped in the cargo hold before takeoff. Police aren’t charging him with a crime, but they told the Boston Globe that, “Even after talking to him, we were a little uncertain as to how it happened.” He apparently called the company from the cargo hold once the plane was in the air—which is exactly what we would do to deflect suspicion in a scheme like this. Tokyo, here we come via new part-time job as a baggage handler!
Toys R Us Bathroom Stall Falls On Child Safety Advocate
By March 9, 2009
In 2006, Jennifer—the co-founder of popular parenting/consumer advocacy site Z Recommends—took her two-and-a-half-year-old to the bathroom at the local Toys R Us store. What she didn’t know was that this particular store featured the awesome striking power of the Action Toilet Stall with Collapsible Mom Trap! As she closed the door, the entire partition fell over on top of her and her daughter. Jennifer managed to protect her daughter from harm, but in the two years since the event, she’s developed chronic pain from the accident—and the response from Toys R Us has been “don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
This Walmart Guard's Loss Prevention Strategy Includes Tackling
By November 14, 2008
Joseph Gregorie, a (former?) Walmart loss prevention officer, is going to make sure nobody steals on his watch, especially not in this economic climate. After seeing a 58-year-old woman stuff several items in her tote bag and head for the exit, he introduced himself. She dropped the bag but continued to leave the store, so he “grabbed [her] in a bear-hug and threw her to the ground,” giving the woman a pretty impressive looking black eye in the process. They’ve both been arrested.
California Tortilla Cashier Screams At Disabled Customer Who Accidentally Spilled Tray
By September 28, 2008
Update: The owner of the California Tortilla left an excellent response, republished inside in full.
Always Test The Merchandise Before Demonstrating It
By September 22, 2008
Where is the salesman in this screencap? He’s behind the table, holding his ribcage and crying out in pain. Don’t keep striking your $45 samurai blade against the table, kids—otherwise you might find yourself saying things like, “Ohhh, that got me good,” instead of talking about the awesome swordlike qualities of your sword.
Comcast Crashed A Truck Into My House And I Don't Even Get Free Cable
By June 30, 2008
Reader Ryan sends us a gallery of photos depicting the aftermath of an unfortunate meeting between a moving Comcast van and his house.
By May 30, 2008
As if you needed a reason not to wear Crocs, here’s another story of a kid whose foot got caught in an escalator while wearing the damn things. The kid was fine, the escalator was repaired, the bottom of the Croc is chewed up, and “Crocs stands by its design.” [CBS5.com]
Warning: There Are Scorpions In The Walmart Produce Department
By May 27, 2008
12-year-old Megan Templeton was shopping with her father for some watermelons and hamburgers for their Memorial Day cook-out when she was stung by a stowaway scorpion that had made a home in the produce section of her local Walmart.
Cut Your Hand At Kmart? The Manager Will Provide Paperwork Instead Of Help
By May 23, 2008
Having Your Credit Card Stolen = Accidentally Free MP3 Downloads From Amazon?
By May 6, 2008
Amazon.com apparently has a glitch whereby if you have 1-click ordering set up to buy MP3 downloads, and you forget that you canceled your credit card because it had been stolen by a random French person, you’ll end up with a bunch of “free music.” And, if you’re an honest person like Jeff Somogyi, when you try to contact Amazon to pay for the music, they’ll chuckle at you.
U-Haul Must Pay $84 Million To Man For Injuries
By April 22, 2008
A Dallas court found U-Haul guilty of negligence for failing to maintain its vehicles properly, and awarded 74-year-old Talmadge Waldrip $84 million in damages, $63 million of which are punitive. “The truck’s parking brake did not work at all,” said the man’s lawyer. “He stepped out of the truck and it rolled right over him.”
By March 25, 2008
We hear a lot of horror stories about bad satellite TV installers, but they do serve an important function in the world. If one had been available to this gentlemen he might not have shot his wife. [KSDK]
US Airways Pilot's Gun Fires During A Flight
By March 24, 2008
THE QUOTE:In a statement, the TSA said that the agency and “Federal Air Marshals Service take this matter seriously and it is receiving immediate attention.”
Best Buy In Illinois Catches Fire, Then Floods
By March 4, 2008
A fire broke out in a Best Buy in Quincy, Illinois, over the weekend, and although the sprinkler system put it out promptly, it flooded the entire store in an inch and a half of water. The store manager told the local news station that it would take a few days to clean up and restock inventory—but we prefer to imagine that there’s going to be an awful lot of CompUSA-style “AS IS” deals in the Quincy Best Buy very soon.
Woman Dies On AA Flight After Being Refused Help, Then Given Empty Oxygen Tanks
By February 25, 2008
A 44-year-old Brooklyn woman was returning from vacation in Haiti when she began to have trouble breathing. According to her cousin who was on the flight with her, she was refused help twice by the flight attendant, then she was brought two oxygen tanks with masks—but both were empty. Her cousin requested an emergency landing, but before they could touch down in Miami she was dead, so the plane continued to JFK. The airline isn’t commenting on why the emergency tanks were empty in the first place. “After the flight attendant refused to administer oxygen to Ms. Desir, she became distressed, pleading, ‘Don’t let me die,’ Mr. Oliver recalled.”
US Airways Planes Clip Wings At Reagan International
By February 18, 2008
Courtney Prebich, a MWAA spokeswoman, said that the two planes — a U.S. Airways Airbus A319 headed to LaGuardia Airport and a smaller U.S. Airways Express regional jet on the way to Rochester, N.Y. — were in an area at the north side of the airport waiting for their turn at the runway when the collision occurred.
