Judging by the number of stories we see every week about airline passengers who have a few too many drinks, we sometimes wonder if the cabin crews are being a bit too free with the in-flight beverages. But then we hear about those terrible travelers who bring their own booze, freeing themselves up to cause a higher level of mayhem. [More]
bad consumer
What's The Best Way For A Cashier To Handle Problem Child With Complaining Mom?
By 8.10.12
Learning how to handle problem customers in retail isn’t easy. If you treat them with even a fraction of the lack of respect they show to you, it can balloon into a full-on “situation.” And things can get especially complicated if that bad consumer has a little kid in tow. [More]
T-Mobile Store Rampage Caught On Video For Everyone To Enjoy
By 7.2.12
For several years, Consumerist and our readers have offered tips and suggestions for getting refunds from wireless providers without resorting to violence. Apparently, there is a man in the UK who does not read Consumerist. [More]
Trying To Cook Your Own Meal At Denny's Will Probably Get You Arrested
By 2.24.12
If you’re in the mood for making your own burgers, we suggest picking up ingredients at a grocery store and trying it at home. We certainly don’t suggest what one Wisconsin man is accused of: Telling the staff at his local Denny’s that he was the new boss and then going straight to work in the kitchen. [More]
Does Accepting A Better Fridge Than The One I Ordered Make Me A Bad Consumer?
By 12.5.11
Last week, a reader wrote in wanting to hear from the Consumerist hive-mind if he’d been a Bad Consumer by badgering a carwash into giving him some wiper fluid for damage that might not have been the carwash’s fault. Inspired by that post, another reader wants to hear your verdict — and this time it’s a lot pricier than a bottle of wiper fluid. [More]
McDonald's Customer Eats Burger, Punches Cop, While Her Car Burns Up In The Parking Lot
By 11.17.11
It’s not exactly Nero fiddling while Rome burned, but when a Mississippi woman’s car caught on fire at a McDonald’s drive-thru, she stayed and ate her food — and then got arrested for allegedly punching a police officer. [More]
Man Accused Of Tossing Molotov Cocktail At Taco Bell For Not Giving Him Enough Meat
By 10.28.11
There’s better ways to lodge a complaint against Taco Bell than by lofting a Molotov cocktail at the drive-thru window, but filling out a suggestion card wasn’t the one this incensed Georgia customer chose at 5am. [More]
Teen Freed From Coke Machine He Tried To Steal From
By 9.28.11
The recession continues to inspire people to do stupid crap to avoid paying money. This week’s case in point, the teen who got stuck in a Coke machine after he tried to get a free can of soda. [More]
Extreme Couponer Arrested For Stealing 185 Newspapers
By 8.10.11
A woman who “just loves to save money” is in legal trouble after surveillance cameras caught her stealing bags of unsold newspapers from newspaper boxes. Her goal was to snatch up as many coupon inserts as possible. [More]
Extreme Couponer Arrested For Stealing Coupon Inserts
By 7.1.11
Some people really don’t even deserve the label “extreme couponer.” We should just call ’em “jerks.” The Denton Record-Chronicle reports that a woman in Texas was arrested for buying just one newspaper from the vending machine but then taking all the coupon inserts from all the newspapers inside. [More]
Woman Calls 911 Because Her Chinese Food Order Was Wrong
By 6.15.11
Savannah police have released the recording of a call a woman made to report that she got the wrong food in her Chinese food delivery. They published the call as a reminder to the public that it’s a misdemeanor to call 911 unless there’s an actual emergency. Here is a transcript and the audio of the call: [More]
Alleged Walmart Shoplifter Goes On Violent Rampage After Being Asked For Receipt
By 5.27.11
This is a textbook example of how not to behave when asked for your receipt at a store’s exit. According to the Bradenton, Florida police, a 22-year-old woman tried to leave a Walmart with 43 items she hadn’t paid for, worth a total of $211. When asked for her receipt, she went on a destructive rampage, causing more than $1,000 worth of damage to merchandise. She also punched and spat on store employees, and hit a manager with a bar stool from inside her cart. Police officers discovered marijuana in her purse, and she has been charged with, among other things, aggravated assault and battery. [More]
Before Taking That Hotel Towel Home, Check For An RFID Chip
By 4.18.11
If one of your favorite parts about staying in a hotel is loading up on all the free towels, you may want to take a pause before stuffing your suitcase next time. A few hotels, which don’t want to be named, have started to use a new washable RFID chip that can be sewn into towels, robes and bedsheets. [More]
SWAT Called, Gunman Pissed Over Price Of Taco Bell Burritos
By 3.21.11
A SWAT team was called in to deal with a gunman who was enraged the price of Taco Bell Beefy Crunch Burritos had risen from their promotional price of $.99 to $1.49. [More]
Woman Goes On Destructive Rampage At Liquor Store After Being Denied Use Of Bathroom
By 3.7.11
We don’t know about you, but when you can’t use the bathroom, the urge to lay waste to whatever is around, be it a liquor store or anything else, inevitably sets in. Such was the case when a woman was denied bathroom privileges in a liquor store in Nyack, NY, last week. [More]
Even After Bankruptcy, Couple Continues To Splurge
By 2.25.11
This couple filed for bankruptcy but still kept going on vacations on at exotic four-star hotels, despite not paying their mortgage since September. A financial planner helps them get a grip on reality. [More]
Waiter Thwarts Dine And Dashers By Leaping Onto Their Speeding Car
By 1.25.11
A brave waiter threw himself onto a customer’s SUV as it sped away from the restaurant. They had tried to run out without paying their $51 bill. The 24-year old jumped on as the car pulled out of the parking lot, grabbing onto the roofrack and planting his feet on the running board. Listen, you just don’t mess with a waiter’s tips. [More]
Dine And Dashers On The Rise, Wearing Ties
By 1.12.11
In the last year the NYPD says there was a 20% increase in the number of “chew and screwers” – customers who run up a restaurant or bar tab and then duck out before paying it. And it’s not just the usual “live fast die young crowd,” entire families and guys with Monopoly mustaches are getting in on the action. [More]
