From Fox Miami:

The gunman, who remains at large, ambushed several employees as they stepped out of the Taco Bell at 630 NE 79th St. at closing time, at about 3:30 a.m., Tuesday.

One of the employees took a bullet in the leg. It's still in there and she has to use crutches to get around.

"I couldn't believe it because I'm never rude to any of my customers, I never get any complaints," she told FOX. "The most I get is compliments and something like that, but when it happened I'm like, oh, my God, I couldn't believe it."

Police say the gunfire was prompted because the restaurant was closed and the man wanted food:

[The employee] took the bullet, according to Miami Police, because some guy was upset the store had closed and he could not buy any food.

She feels lucky to be alive and hopes to see luck run out for her assailant. "For you to do what you did, it was very unnecessary," Bouie said, addressing the shooter, "and I have a child. I didn't do anything or say anything wrong to you, and even if I did, that doesn't give you reason to shoot or to fire your gun at anybody, and I hope you get caught for what you did."

They're still looking for the guy, so if you know anything: call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

Taco Bell cashier speaks out after disgruntled customer shoots her [FOX7]

Local newspaper the Chronicle-Telegram talked to the store manager:

"Desperate people do desperate things," said Tracy Holmes, the store's manager. "At 6 o'clock in the morning when I got here, we had no doors at all."

The newspaper put together a YouTube video about the incident:

The thief remains at large. Consumerist recommends that if you want a sex toy that badly and can't afford it, you should save up your money rather than break into a store with your vehicle.

Man smashes car into store to get sex toy [Chronicle-Telegram]
(Photo: phototaker)
(Thanks, David!)

WTEN says:

They say the group ran 470 feet of extension cord across a four lane highway and through a Home Depot parking lot to power an electric drill they planned to use to remove the sign early Sunday morning.

The group was stopped when the restaurant's alarm went off, but officers say they planned to make their getaway with the sign in an SUV.

The AP adds that the sign is valued at $8,000 but neglect to mention how they arrived at that figure.

Cops: four jailed after they try to steal sign from Chili's restaurant [wten]
(Photo: wten)

"See, I told you I would shut her up," the man supposedly said after hitting the 2-year-old four times.

KTLA says the man was arrested and charged with felony cruelty to children.

Police: Stranger Slaps Crying Toddler at Wal-Mart [KTLA]

A passenger gave the paper a picture she took on her cellphone camera as the man was being arrested by quite a few uniformed individuals. We counted 6, but that might be another one behind him. We're not sure.

The paper says 10 sheriff's deputies boarded the plane.

Passenger takes it all off, plane turns around [SF Chronicle]
(Photo:Danielle Lichliter / Special to The Chronicle)

The teller cooperated and the man escaped with an undisclosed sum of money, says the FBI's press release. If you know who this guy is, call St. Louis Crimestoppers at 866-371-TIPS or the FBI in St. Louis at 314-231-4324.

FBI and Webster Groves Police are Searching for Bank Robber [FBI]

The Phoenix New Times says that after customer noticed she had been cruelly denied condiments, she stormed back into the KFC and began a shouting match with the employees inside. One of the workers then followed the woman back out to her car to take down her license plate number.

When the customer began to back out of her parking space, the employee hit her trunk in order to let her know that she was standing back there and did not want to die.

At that point, according to police, the customer ran her car into the employee.

The employee is ok, and the customer has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, plus disorderly conduct. Over some condiments. Sigh.

Customer Allegedly Bumps KFC Employee With Car After Condiments Dispute [Phoenix New Times]
(Photo:Morton Fox)

Apparently, the career services office at Monroe College gives preferential treatment to students with good GPAs. In her complaint, Trina Thompson of the Bronx wrote:

I recently graduated with my Bachelors in April 2009. I am seeking a reinbursement of $70,000 from my tutision because the Office of Career Advancement Information Technology Couselors are not making sure their Monroe e-recruiting clients call the graduates that recently finished college for a interview to get a job placement. They have not tried hard enough to help me. I am also seeking $2,000 for the stress I have been going through looking for a Full Time job on my own.

In an interview with CNN, Thompson also noted:

It doesn't make any sense: They went to school for four years, and then they come out working at McDonald's and Payless. That's not what they planned.

Many Americans, of all ages and walks of life, have found that their lives haven't quite turned out as they planned. Even when there's no recession going on. It just doesn't occur to most people to sue anyone about it.

Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job [CNN] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)
Original Filing (PDF) [CNN]

(Photo: Paul Lowry)

Crocs guy says:

Anyway, it was about mid-afternoon when someone came up to me. I'll call her generic mommyblogger because I couldn't pick her out of a lineup if I tried.

"Are you the Crocs guy?" she asks, timidly.

I look up and smile. After all, it's nice to be recognize and it's a sign that I'm doing my job right.

"Yes, I am."

We continue with small talk. She says her name but, while I probably caught it at the time, it slipped out of my memory as the events of the next couple moments transpired. She asked how I was doing at BlogHer. If I was having fun. How it felt to be one of the only men there – all those typical questions that were being asked of me. Then her demeanor changed completely. She mentioned how she didn't get any shoes at the SocialLuxe lounge. I apologized, saying that we provided what we could but it's hard because we didn't know everyone's shoe size. She nodded but I could tell that wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. Then she says something that I couldn't believe.

"Ya know, if you don't give me shoes – I could totally write something bad about you on my blog."

"Excuse me?" I asked – hoping she would laugh or give me some indication that she was just joking around. Nope…

"It's just a pair of shoes. It's a lot easier to give them to me than deal with the negative press I could make."

Meanwhile, Valleywag says that there is no shortage of freebies at BlogHer, including, yes, Crocs, as well as makeovers and gift cards.

Do freebies influence bloggers? We can't really say, other than to note that Consumers Union, our parent company, doesn't allow them.

The Low, Low Price of a Blogger's Soul: A Pair of Plastic Shoes [Valleywag] (Thanks, David!)
(Photo:largeprime)

Guess it's better to just mind your own business.

[Clallam County Undersheriff Ron Peregrin] said she was upset with the employee, saying she had sold her the wrong kind of ammunition.

After she received her refund, she walked out to the parking lot, removed a gun from her car and confronted the customers she had argued with earlier inside the store, Peregrin said.

"The long and the short of it is, she didn't like what was happening at the store . . . and as a result, pulled a weapon and threatened people with it out in the parking lot," he said.

No one was hurt, thankfully, but let that be a lesson to you all. It's probably best not to intervene during loud disputes about guns and ammo.

Port Angeles woman allegedly pulls gun on Wal-Mart customers [Peninsula Daily News]
(Photo:frankieleon)

The Victoria's Secret and Aeropostale stores were hit between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday. Victoria's Secret reports that about 400 bras and 350 pairs of panties were stolen, worth about $23,000. Aeropostale says more than $2,000 worth of T-shirts were stolen.

Police believe that their M.O. is to have one team member distract the sales staff while others help themselves to the merchandise, stuffing it in specially lined bags.

I sent the link to one of our contacts in retail management for an opinion. She says that this method is quite plausible. A similar group, if not the same one, has hit other malls across the country, including hers.

Victoria's Secret gets hit a lot at [my mall.] Banana Republic and Ann Taylor both got hit bad last month, too. It was the same deal, with lined bags and decoys.

Lined bags are usually done with [aluminum foil and] duct tape. What you have to look for is a bag from a store that's not in your mall, or one that is exceptionally square. A typical bag from a clothing store will crinkle and not be stiff and flat.

There's also taking the contents of a whole table and bolting, which happens to Victoria's Secret a lot. What they do is you take everything but a few sizes, skim the table, and that way it looks like it hasn't been hit.

Now, we're not providing this information as tips, but simply to allow you to be an informed citizen or retail employee. Be vigilant. Keep the panties safe.

Shoplifters loot Vienna mall of $25K worth of items [Charleston Gazette]

(Photo: coreyann)

Sources familiar with the case, and the fast food worker's account of what happened, say two off-duty Denver police officers placed an order from their car in the early morning hours of May 21. But once at the drive through window, the employee said the men became agitated and angry at how long their food was taking. The men thought they were being ignored, according to contacts familiar with the worker's account. The male clerk then said one of the officer's flashed his police badge and pointed a pistol through the drive through window in a threatening manner, before driving off without paying.

What is it about McDonald's that makes people think that any snafu that occurs there is a dire emergency? And now that at least one police officer seems to agree, can we really condemn the morons who keep calling 911 when their orders are messed up?

McMenacing? Cop Accused of Pulling Gun at McD's [CBS4 Denver]

(Photo: jaycoxfilm)

He fled in a tan pickup truck and was spotted at another Walmart, where he was apprehended by law enforcement. The Walmarts had been alerted to keep an eye out for the arsonist. The fire was said to have damaged thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and caused significant damage to the store. Dang, who even knew the men's section at Walmart was worth that much.

Jilted customer starts fire in Manatee Wal-Mart [HeraldTribune] (Thanks to Gregory!)

Here are 2 of the 6:

"Liquid Soap Lady": A woman on a United flight allegedly took pills and alcohol, then tried to bite a crew member's leg. She also reportedly drank down the contents of a lavatory's liquid soap dispenser (apparently for its alcohol content). Her explanation to the cops: "I sometimes do crazy things."

"Get Me Outta Here": An American Airlines jet had landed but was still waiting for gate space when an impatient passenger decided, "Enough!" He opened an aircraft door, deploying the emergency slide that he then used to make his getaway. He was detained by the cops but so were all the other passengers because they had to wait for "slide removal" before the aircraft could get to the gate.

The Six Worst Airplane Passengers of 2009 [ABC]
(Photo:balmes)

When they were stopped near the exit by a checker who asked for their receipts, two of the men allegedly pulled out handguns. All three then walked out of the store, stepped into a vehicle and sped away.

Look, we're not exactly fans of mandatory receipt checks around here, but arming yourself is taking things a little far.

Armed Men Walk Electronics Out Of Serra Mesa Fry's [KGTV]

(Photo: dooleymtv)

Brad writes:

I recently had a poor experience with Chase's (formerly WaMu) credit/fraud division. See *the meat* to get to the point.

[BACKGROUND]

I entered the wrong address during a wire transfer and my account got flagged. I got a robocall that let me input a bunch of 1's saying that yes, these were approved transactions. Done! Or so I thought.. I tried to swipe my card and get gas and got DECLINED. I called a CSR at the # they provided and after using your tip to get a real person (simply stay quiet and wait until they transfer you to a real person; they assume you are on a rotary phone) I was questioned extensively about my identity and the person said "OK NO PROB GO AHEAD EVERYTHING IS FINE".

Then I went to buy $108 worth of groceries and swiped the card. DECLINED. I was livid.

[USER TIP]

I went home and called the # and after using the above tip to get a rep, I said "I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE F*** IS GOING ON WITH MY CARD!". She told me not to use profanity and put me on hold. I waited no longer then 30 seconds until I got wise, hung up and dialed back to get someone new.

[MEAT]

I called back and gave my basic info to a new rep. They told me they saw that I had previously called (no less than 30 seconds ago!) and used profanity at one of their operators. So it is in my file now that I am an official asshole. I have always tried to be kind to CSRs in the past because I can relate to their shitty job, but at this point I was beyond reproach and needed to vent! I am an adult, and so are they! If I want to curse I feel it is my right! Should your readers be wary of this, or is it our consumer-given right to demand "WHAT THE F*** IS WRONG WITH MY ACCOUNT?!"

[EPILOGUE] After my tongue-lashing and a triple-assurance that my account is in working order and not flagged, I hung up. We'll see what happens when I try to buy some smokes in a couple hours.

Companies keep notes on their customers, and if you curse at their CSRs, you're going to be deservingly flagged as a troublemaker. We know dealing with companies can be infuriating. We all want to curse, but we're adults, and the guy on the other end of the line didn't cause your problem. Recognize that you're dealing with a fellow person slogging through their day, and be nice. They just might go the extra mile to help you out.

(Photo: Lisa Brewster)

Charleston Police Sgt. E. L. Hodges said Burr reported the offer to police on Sunday. Taylor was arrested Wednesday.

Hodges said the child is in state custody. He said he did not know anything about the baby's father.

Hodges said the two women were acquaintances, but he did not know the extent of their relationship. He also said he did not know anything about Taylor's financial situation or whether she was employed.

Burr does not have a published phone number and could not be reached for comment Friday.

Hodges said he's heard of similar cases across the country, but said such crimes are rare in West Virginia.

"We've been lucky," he said.

Taylor now faces felony charges since it's illegal to sell children. Trying carries a $2,000 fine, and if Taylor's lucky, she'll end up in a state-funded apartment for five years, complete with a snazzy orange outfit and a new set of bracelets.

WVa mother charged with trying to sell infant son [AP]
Mom charged with trying to sell baby for new apartment [NBC Augusta]

"They saw two women servicing two men in the restroom," Robert Schumann says. "Eleven years old is still not old enough to learn about such things as that."

"My 11-year-old asked me, 'How come two women were coming out of the bathroom and why were two guys in there?' Melissa Schumann, the girls' mother, says. ‘And they were making funny noises.'"

In Taco Bell's official statement, they said they were going to put new locks on the doors.

"The safety of our customers is our number one priority, and although this is an isolated incident, we're having self-locking doors installed as a precautionary measure."

Guess you might want to check to make sure nothing weird is going on before you let your kids use public restrooms. Gross.

Young girls walk into four people having sex in restaurant bathroom [WNDU]

"Apple iPod 30GB Video" [Woot]

"It was nasty. It reeked," said Sgt. Phil Anderchuk.

Anderchuk called a U.S. postal inspector to see if federal law had been broken, and learned that it's not against the law to mail a box of bodily fluids, as long as it's properly packed and doesn't emit an obnoxious odor. (Court staff could only smell the contents once they opened the package).

So the sergeant sealed up the box and mailed it back to Lynch — with $27.30 postage due if Lynch wanted his change back.

The Multnomah County courthouse mailroom supervisor says that obscenity-laced payments are "a common daily occurrence," and the office refuses to accept more than $20 worth of coins.

Lynch tried to pay the fine with a standard check, but he addressed it to the wrong agency. He tried again, but made it out for the wrong amount. His ticket is now with a collections agency, which might be more accepting of urine-soaked payments.

Washington man streams his anger — but still must pay traffic ticket [The Oregonian]
(Photo: formatc1)

A witness told police that Mr. Johnson lifted the vehicle, which was parked at Southeastern Equipment Co. on Mike Padgett Highway, off the ground twice and then let it fall.

After causing $1,600 worth of damages, Johnson fled. Police are now searching for him so they can haul him up on felony charges.

Augusta man accused of using forklift to move car "in his spot" [NBC Augusta]
Police hunt man after car moved with forklift [The Augusta Chronicle]
(Photo: bucklava)

McDonald's statement:

"Satisfying each and every customer that visits our restaurants is very important to us.

Regarding this isolated incident, we apologize for the inconvenience caused.

In the event that we are unable to fill an order, a customer should be offered the choice of a full refund or alternative menu items. We regret that in this instance, that wasn't the case.

We want to correct our mistake. We will be sending the customer her refund, along with an Arch card for a complimentary meal on us.

We never want to disappoint a McNuggets fan or any McDonald's customer.

Customer satisfaction is our top priority."

Carlos Solorzano
McDonald's Operations Manager Florida Region

"McDonald's out of nuggets; woman calls police" [WPTV.com] (Thanks to Jeff!)

RELATED
"Woman Calls 911 Three Times Because McDonald's Is Out of McNuggets"
(Photo: mynameisharsha)

Latreasa Goodman was obviously not an early reader of the Consumerist, otherwise she would have known that calling 911 over fast food menu disputes is a no-no. Instead, she called 911 up thrice because the McDonald's cashier informed her they were out of McNuggets and tried in vain to offer her a McDouble and fries. Goodman was charged with misuse of 911.

The sad/funny thing about this is that Goodman had a valid complaint: the cashier didn't tell her they were out of McNuggets until after she'd paid, and then refused to refund her money (and claimed she was the manager). Goodman actually sounds pretty restrained on the calls, even as she calls again and again to request an officer.

It's too late to help Goodman, but the next time you have a fast food emergency, at least try 3-1-1 (after talking to the manager and perhaps calling corporate) before you call the first responders.

Update: McDonald's has apologized.

Fort Pierce Woman Calls 911 Three Times When McNuggets Run Out [TCPalm] (Hasaudio of the three calls)
(Photo: Morton Fox)

"The Girl Scouts are not immune to the economy," said Sharon Bellinger, spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of Connecticut.

As if that weren't enough to deal with, some jerk in Washington state is buying Girl Scout cookies with fake $20 bills. One troop is out $100.

"I went to the bank, right inside Safeway, and she told me two of the $20s were fake," said Gettings.

Gettings quickly left, returning with a counterfeit detecting pen. Its mark shows yellow on real U.S. currency, but the mark turns black on fake money. She discovered an additional $60 in fake bills.

That brought the total to $100 Troop 40411 may make up themselves. Two of the bills even had the same serial number. Troop 40411 isn't alone; others around Bremerton invested in the pen.

"Another troop has come to buy them because they noticed they were getting fake money," said Gettings. She said they're being told to stop accepting $20 bills unless they use the pen.

So evil!

Fake money used to buy Girl Scout cookies [MSNBC]
This is How the Cookie Crumbles [MSNBC]
(Photo:DeJay!)

The Sedalia Democrat says that the pranksters (who were caught, by the way) "used a scanner to find the drive-through frequency, then tuned into the frequency using a modified radio."

"They were just saying vulgar things to (customers)," said Sgt. Matt Wirt, a detective.

Bad. Apparently, despite the availability of how-to videos on the internet, this particular prank is becoming less popular due to vast improvements in headset technology. Still, Taco Bell is not amused.

"This may seem like a harmless prank, but it's both illegal and inappropriate. Our franchisee has been speaking with his customers who have been very supportive and understand that he had nothing to do with this," A Taco Bell spokesperson told the paper. "Our franchisee is continuing to cooperate with authorities in their investigation and is hopeful the pranksters will be caught."

2 teens admit to Taco Bell prank [Sedalia Democrat]
(Photo:Morton Fox)

I spoke with Walker Monday and he tells me he has flashbacks and, since Christmas Eve, has trouble sleeping through the night.

No criminal charges have been filed.

The police officer in question has been suspended 28 days without pay for conduct unbecoming an officer, execessive use of force and improper procedure. He allegedly threw Mr. Walker into a vending machine when asked for his receipt and then tossed him through a glass door after another customer tried to intervene.

Wal-Mart Greeter Suing [Channel 9]
(Photo:genebob)

Detective Kenneth Freeman was leaving the Walmart with another officer when the greeter asked to see his receipt and reached for it. Freeman shoved the greeter into a vending machine. When another customer tried to intervene, Freeman allegedly pushed him through a glass door.

The best part?

Officer Freeman was on-duty at the time of the incident, the report states. He said he stopped at the Wal-Mart with another officer to buy last-minute Christmas gifts.

TBI Investigating Chattanooga Cop's Wal-Mart Conduct [Chattanooga Free Press] Thanks, John!
(Photo: dooleymtv)

That's what one mad at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport did — and now he's in police custody:

[Police spokesman Sgt. Tommy] Thompson says the flight taxied into the gate at Sky Harbor Terminal 3. As people were getting off the plane, the man opened an emergency door and walked out on the plane's wing. Police and federal authorities questioned the man. Thompson says charges are pending.

Man arrested after exiting plane, walking on wing [AZ Central]
(Photo:JohnKit)

According to The Chattanoogan, Detective Kenneth Freeman took umbrage when the employee asked to check his receipt after the security alarm went off. Freeman then shoved the man against a vending machine. When another customer got involved, Freeman pushed him through a glass door. Incredibly, a judge threw out the employee's complaint, and Detective Freeman will not face any charges.

Look, we don't like it when stores try to check our receipts either. We think it's an invasion of our privacy, and, unless you're shopping at store whose membership agreement requires that you submit to receipt checks, stores can't force you to show your receipt. But we don't think you need to use actual physical force to resist the checker.

Office Will Not Face Charges In Shoving Of 71-Year-Old Wal-mart Greeter [The Daily Chattanoogan]
(Photo: dooleymtv)

We've gotten a couple emails with similar stories, but we saw the chaos of GameStop in person yesterday, so this one caught our attention:

Hi Consumerist, I saw this go down in a southern California Gamestop today and I thought you might be interested.

Apparently, Activision and Red Octane, the makers of the new Guitar Hero World Tour have a notice inside the box for the game saying that if you have a problem with any of your instruments malfunctioning, you are to contact them via a provided website and direct phone number rather than bring the item back to the store. It sounds reasonable to me, as I had this issue with EA's Rock Band last year. My guitar didn't work, I brought the entire bundle back to the store (same store btw), the employees explained the procedure, showed me the paper that I'd missed in the packaging, and I left. Yes it was annoying to have to bring all that stuff up there just to have to turn around and go home, but EA had my new guitar to me in like 4 days and I didn't even have to send them the old one first. Anyway, the point is this is not uncommon, and it seems to work. But not in this case.

I was waiting in line to purchase a few items and a man walked into the store holding the GH bundle, which was clearly opened. Keep in mind that the store was PACKED and the guys working there were doing all they could. One of the employees noticed the bundle and told the guy what he needed to do, at which point the guy lost his mind. Spewing profanity, in front of lots of kids no less, threatening the employees if they didn't process his return, Another customer at one point asked the guy to chill out in front of the kids, to which the guy replied "you need to mind your own fucking business." It was at this point that the store's assistant manager walked up to the guy, sympathized with the situation, and asked him politely to leave. The guy got into the employee's favce and said "Switch this shit, or I'm gonna fuck you up."

Needless to say, the employees at this point had no intention of processing the return, and security was called. The man left before they arrived.

Just wanted to drop you guys a line because I think we get so wrapped up in our own sense of entitlement with regards to retail that we sometimes forget that the people working at the stores are not always the cause of our frustrations. I've never seen people treated that way.

The presence of children aside (they were probably buying games with much worse language), there's no excuse to treat people like that, especially when you're wrong. We express no opinion, however, on the issue of profanity after spending more than an hour on hold with rude customer service agents.

(Photo: Getty)
Thanks, Clifton!

If only we'd known to suggest this before a man from Bolingbrook, Illinois got upset with the quality of service he received.

"As odd as it sounds, we took a bank robbery (call) from the bank robber," Lt. Ken Teppel said.

Teppel said the man had attempted withdrawing some money that the bank had a hold on. When the bank wouldn't release the funds, "he stated he was going to shut the bank down."

"He picked up his cell phone, called 911 and reported that the bank was being robbed," Teppel said. "He never relayed to the employees he was going to rob the bank, and he never showed a weapon."

It apparently took about 20 minutes for the police to determine that the bank wasn't actually being robbed. The man was charged with disorderly conduct.

'Robber' reports bank heist [Sun-Times]
(Photo: tagurity )

Many of the shoplifters are first time offenders who panicked and did something stupid, but others are professionals taking advantage of cutbacks in retail staff.

“More people are desperate economically, retailers are operating with leaner staffs and police forces are cutting back or being told to deprioritize shoplifting calls,” said Paul Jones, the vice president of asset protection for the Retail Industry Leaders Association.

The problem, he said, could be particularly acute this December, “the month of the year when shoplifting always goes way up.”

Two of the largest retail associations say that more than 80 percent of their members are reporting sharp increases in shoplifting, according to surveys conducted in the last two months.

Compounding the problem, stores are more reluctant to stop suspicious customers because they fear scaring away much-needed business. And retailers are increasingly trying to save money by hiring seasonal workers who, security experts say, are themselves more likely to commit fraud or theft and are less practiced at catching shoplifters than full-time employees are.

The Times says that $35 million dollars of stuff is stolen every single day nationwide, and about 1 in 11 people have shoplifted. Tsk, tsk.

As Economy Dips, Arrests for Shoplifting Soar [NYT]
(Photo: saramarie )

The AP says that the state of Michigan would have $10 million more a year for environmental cleanup if it weren't for people from redeeming money on out-of-state containers.

Michigan is the only state with a dime deposit on all carbonated beverage containers — other states have a nickel deposit on most cans — so people buy drinks in Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin and redeem the containers in Michigan.

"It's like a rebate, $2.40 a case for pop and beer," said Jim Wanty, president of O & W Inc., a beer distributorship in four Michigan counties near the Ohio state line. O & W lost about $65,000 last year from picking up more returned containers from stores than it had delivered.

The party may soon be over for bottle deposit fraudsters (some of whom are fairly sophisticated and collect and crush millions of cans), thanks to some new technology. The makers of the machines that collect the cans are working on a method to distinguish Michigan containers from out of state ones.

In Maine, requiring an address discourages out-of-state people from taking advantage —

In Maine, a new company has found success with redemption machines that put people's bottle returns in a debit-card-like account that requires personal information initially.

"People who were coming in from out of state aren't willing to put their name and address down saying what their home address is," said Hal Prince, director of the Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations in the Maine Department of Agriculture. "They try to find other ways to redeem them or they take them back home."

Despite the hassle, bottle deposit laws are popular are effective. Michigan says that 97% of containers are recovered.

States find a can of worms in bottle deposit laws [AP]

Here's the situation: Reader Bryan ordered an item from Adorama's Amazon store. After the item shipped, he decided to change the shipping instructions so he could pick up his package at the UPS store. Amazon's policies kept Adorama from changing the instructions on a shipped item, so, after apologizing, Adorama gave Bryan two options: a full refund, or once the item returned undelivered, they could re-ship the item with the right instructions.

Bryan didn't send us his original request, so we'll start with Adorama's response. The writing isn't the clearest, but the content speaks for itself:

hi!

unfurtunaly this is an Amazon order and we wont be able to have you pick it up. I apologized for the inconvenience this may have caused you.

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Brian responded:

I don't see why it being an amazon order changes anything. It's MY package that I paid for, and paid shipping for. UPS is not able to deliver to my location, all I want is to be able to pick up the package THAT I PAID FOR.

Make it happen, or I'm just returning all of it, and then you'll be refunding my money.

Right off the bat you can tell Bryan is trouble. "Make it happen?" Tell that to a waitress and you'll rightly end up with a drink down your shirt. Let's see how Paola responds:

I apologized for the inconvenience but our contract with Amazon is like that we cant make any changes to the order or have ups hold it for you , if you are unable to be at the address you provide with your order for shipping the order will come back to us and we will give you the money back for the item.

have a nice day!!

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Paola provided a direct explanation to Bryan's question. Adorama's contract with Amazon prevents them from changing the shipping address. Simple enough, but Bryan kept pushing:

Well, I guess you just lost some money. I have NEVER had any issues with getting UPS to hold a package that I have bought from Amazon.

I'm so sorry for the inconvenience maybe you place the order through Amazon and it was ship by another company. I don't want you to feel like if we don't appreciated your business but unfurtunaly we can not hold the pack. if the order was place directly from us we wouldn't have this problem.

again I apologies.

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Another fairly direct response from Paola, and a way to avoid the problem in the future. Fine.

How Bryan choose to advance his case?

Please learn proper grammar and english. It would make your messages much easier to understand.

At this point, Paola could have stopped responding. The substantive interaction was over. If we were in Paola's place, we wouldn't have been able to respond with anything approximating a polite response. And as we'll see, advancing the conversation doesn't help anyone, even if the intent is to help an unreasonable customer.

Oh thank you.... For the compliment... am just trying to give you good customer service. at least someone is paying attention to your problem.

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

See, this is what I'm talking about. Re-read your last 2 messages. They are written poorly. "unfurtunaly" is spelled "unfortunately".

All this poor grammar and spelling lets me know is that the employees at this place are incompetent, and that I would never order anything from you again. No one is paying attention to my problem and I am NOT receiving "good customer service". If I was receiving "good customer service", my problem would have already been taken care of when I called yesterday. I can't believe all this hassle is being put into this situation. All I want to do is pick up my package; this should not be an impossible task.

You fail. I will never order anything from adorama again.

Are you a teacher? All I m trying to do is help you and "unfortunately" you don't see that you are just looking for mistakes in the grammar. I hope you have a very nice day!

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Yes. I am a teacher. I teach 4th grade, and they spell better than you

and can complete sentences using proper punctuation. It reflects poorly on you and the company you work for. If you can't do this, maybe this is the wrong job for you. You are doing NOTHING to help me. If you want to help me, offer to overnight me another camera with no restrictions on the package, so that I can pick it up at the UPS office. Sitting here and arguing with me does nothing to fix the problem.

Today, I will be contacting any management/owners that I can get ahold of and informing them of the awful customer service I've received. If you can't solve the problem and just type gibberish to me, then you are of no use in your current place of employment.

With the respect you deserve let me explain you something. I was trying to assist you since the first time that you call , but you just say that you wanted your money back and started complaining about my grammar instead of telling me that you wanted the item expedited, is very frustrating for me as a customer service representative that is doing her best to assist you, to only get this kind of email in response like if I was one of your students . Am really sorry this is going the way is going, you are the first customer I get that is a "teacher" and act like a student.

If you want the item I will be more than happy to place a new order for you, I will need to charge you for the item again and am supposed to charge you for shipping as well because I don't see where we mess up with your order we send it to the address that you provide Amazon for shipping. if you will like I can ask my manager as a first time courtesy to give you free shipping. And if you want fell free to contact my manager to complaint about my customer service skills her ext# is 2219 her name is Leah, I am sure she will be happy to listen to you and read our emails....thank you and have a nice day!!!!!!

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Can we all agree this is a reasonable solution? Paola offered to resend the item, possibly even waive the shipping. And she volunteered her manager's number and rightly suggested that any third party might find Bryan's behavior offensive.

So how does Bryan respond to the olive branch?

Wow. I have no clue what any of that says since your sentences are all run-ons and really really long. Go back to school.

The situation deteriorates from there.

I just feel sorry for the kids you teach ... You are very disrespectful, maybe my problem can be solve going back to school but in your case you will have to be born again.. Respect others is easy and make others life easier too. Here at Adorama we treat our customers with respect because that's how they treat us. but that's not you case. Have a good life.

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Spend less time telling me to be 'born again' and more time studying an English book. Religion is just a crutch for the weak.
Sent from my BlackBerry(r) smartphone with SprintSpeed

Be happy!! Have a nice day!! "teacher"

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

I was happy today until I had to deal with you. And for some reason you decide to bring religion into this. I'm making phone calls right now, doing my best to make sure that you don't have a job by the end of the day.
Sent from my BlackBerry(r) smartphone with SprintSpeed

Ok she is waiting for your call ext#2219 leah .. bye

PAOLA
Adorama customer service

Okay.... Here's an awesome email exchange between an adorama.com camera customer service rep and myself. Yeah, I'm an asshole, but this ignorant woman actually suggested that I become "born again".

All this because they put all kinds of restrictions on MY package which won't allow me to pick up my package at the UPS office.

Enjoy!

You sure got one thing right, Bryan.

Clearly the exchange could have been handled better by everyone. The telecoms and other large companies use rigid customer service manuals to limit similar debacles. Their customer service is like Plinko: your complaint's destiny is governed by its fall down a maddening decision tree. Bryan would have been dismissed with a simple: "We cannot accommodate your request at this time. Please be assured, your business is important to us." We prefer companies where employees can treat us not just as consumers, but as people.

When dealing with any company, always treat customer service representatives as you would want to be treated yourself. The whole Golden Rule thing and all. Not only is it common decency, but it's the single best way to get exactly you want.

(Photo: paolo màrgari)

The "vast majority'' of travelers use good judgment in what they look at, said Tim Smith, a spokesman for Fort Worth, Texas-based American. 'Customers viewing inappropriate material on board a flight is not a new scenario for our crews, who have always managed this issue with great success.'

[...]

American's attendants don't want to become ``moral policemen,'' said Frank Bastien, a spokesman at the union's headquarters. Attendants also don't want to be exposed to laptop images of violence or pornography, he said.

"It's a real concern to our members,'' Bastien said. American "put on filters that will prevent people from making Wi-Fi phone calls, and they don't seem to have any qualms about doing that. Where's the protection for other things out there?''

Ars Technica correctly points out that passengers have always been able to smuggle aboard promotional materials for the Mile High Club, mostly without incident.

What's worse: sitting next to a guy watching porn, or sitting next to a guy yabbering away on Skype?

American Air Attendants Urge Filters to Bar Web Porn [Bloomberg via Ars Technica]
(Photo: Getty)

The district manager of Open Pantry Citgo, 11216 W. Blue Mound Road, reported that 4,909 gallons of gas, valued at $19,374, was removed from the underground tanks sometime between July 16 and Aug. 13.

He told police the pressure of the tanks, supply and feed lines have been tested with no indication of cracks or seeping, and the petroleum supply company has verified the delivered amounts.

Police in Wauwatosa thing the culprits were customers who prepaid for their gas and then tampered with the pumps in order to "acquire more gas than the pumps should allow." Naturally, they didn't explain the details of this technique.

Gas Thieves Take Nearly 5,000 Gallons [WauwatosaNow] (Thanks, Austin!)
(Photo: northernplateguy )

Depending on the vigilance of the landlord, a seasoned serial evictee like Getzow can get away with a minimum of 45 days and sometimes up to a year of free rent. The actual number of serial evictees operating in San Francisco is difficult to track, but some attorneys who specialize in representing landlords estimate there are between 20 and 100.

Landlord attorney Clifford Fried of Wiegel and Fried says these types of tenants know they're unlikely to be punished for withholding rent. "You can go into a store and steal a loaf of bread and do a year in jail," he says, "but you can steal months of rent from a landlord and never do any time in jail. It's a great crime to commit because there are no penalties."

The evictees are well versed in the ins and outs of the San Francisco eviction process. They take advantage of the all the programs and aid that the city provides to its residents who are facing eviction. Of course, they're only a small percentage of the renters that seek help:

Carolyn Gold directs the San Francisco Volunteer Legal Services Program, which manages a group of 10 volunteer attorneys who help tenants in the 30 or so eviction cases that come through Superior Court each week. She says she sees very few serial evictees like Getzow. "In fact, what we see more of is serial evictors, landlords who continually come up with ruses for one eviction after another," she says. "There are lots of tenants who have gotten themselves into a tight spot for one reason or another — they're elderly, they have medical conditions, lost jobs — things that are beyond their control. I see it every day, and it's very, very sad."

The serial evictee profiled in the story, however, is an especially nasty one. His last run in with a landlord ended in charges for assault:

According to police, Getzow came into the Holy Grail on Feb. 10 at about 1:30 a.m. complaining about noise and attempting to goad O'Reilly into a fight. O'Reilly refused and tried to get Getzow to leave. Bartender Patricia Herlihy was so alarmed at Getzow's behavior that she began taking photographs of him with a digital camera. Getzow approached her and shoved or pushed the camera into her face, SFPD Sergeant Neville Gittens says.

Herlihy was taken to the hospital, Gittens says, though the police report contains no information about the extent of her injuries. Getzow retreated to a nearby crepe restaurant, where he was still in such an agitated state when the police arrived that it took several officers to restrain him, the report says.

How Renters Work the System to Live for Free in One of America's Most Expensive Cities [SFWeekly]