Cambridge Silversmiths flatware: Plastic inserts can detach; choking hazard
Coby Electronics portable DVD/CD/MP3 player batteries - fire hazard
Haunted House candle holders sold at Yankee candle - fire hazard
Bad Boy Buggy off-road vehicles - has rogue accelerator
Handy Switch Wireless Light Switches - fire hazard (see this post)
Roman shades sold at Bed Bath and Beyond and Whole Space - strangulation hazard
Roller blinds from IKEA - strangulation hazard
Belkin SurgeMaster Surge Protectors - electric shock hazard
Sony VAIO AC adapters - electric shock hazard
Halloween flashlights from Target - burn hazard
Kroger Hazelnut Spread - undeclared peanuts
Agro Sun Dried Fruits and Nuts Tropical Mix - undeclared sulfites
Breyers All Natural ice cream - undeclared wheat
Dove Caramel Pecan Perfection Ice Cream - undeclared peanuts
Mrs. Rios and Pop's Bakery tortillas - undeclared dairy
Accusure Insulin Syringes - needles may detach

The CPSC has also put out a warning about My Baby Soother pacifiers, which apparently pose a choking hazard. However, the manufacturer will not recall the product, which was sold only in the New York metro area.

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The county attorney quoted in the Kentucky Lexington Leader-Herald article points out that common decency should always trump any store policy, misinterpreted or not. In fact, it's the law!

First Assistant Fayette County Attorney Brian Mattone told the Herald-Leader Thursday that under the duty-to-report statute, everyone has the duty to report dependency, neglect and abuse of a child if they have knowledge of it. Mattone said prosecutors thought that Miller, through witnesses, had knowledge of possible abuse or neglect. Moreover, there is language in the statute that says “nothing should relieve their obligation to report,” Mattone said.

The article also quotes another shopper who says she received a similar response from a different Bed, Bath & Beyond last summer when she saw a dog locked inside a car. Here's hoping that the company's "we're ashamed this happened" response is authentic, and that their employees learn that it's okay to offer help sometimes.

"Store clerk charged with failing to help child locked in van" [Herald-Leader] (Thanks to Michael and Donald!)
(Photo: Morton Fox)

Reader email:

To whom it may concern,

When I read a headline online about Bed, Bath and Beyond not allowing a customer to call 911 I thought for sure it would be an exaggeration. When I saw it was not an exaggeration I thought for sure that your company would have issued a statement condemning the actions of your employee and manager who refused to allow a customer to call 911.

I have read the various statements made by Bed, Bath and Beyond and find them absolutely unacceptable. When did turning a blind eye to a crime in progress become acceptable exactly? I understand the basic idea of not wanting to become involved with incidents occurring in the parking lot in which your store is located; however employees and especially managers absolutely MUST be able to make a judgment call on when it is proper to override basic policy.

I understand privacy policies and so I know your company will never release a statement saying that the employee and or the manager have been reprimanded, but to say that you will be using it as a "training opportunity" is a sad and again, unacceptable alternative. I have worked in retail, and I have managed retail stores. I can tell you right now that if such an event had occurred in my store I would have immediately fired all employees involved and used THAT as a training opportunity.

If your company cannot be bothered to hire employees who cannot even make a rational moral decision regarding the life of a child a mere hundred yards away I will not be bothered to shop at your stores, and I will tell everyone I know about your companies total lack of responsibility and failure to adhere to even the most basic of moral codes.

I understand you don't care about losing one customer, but I assure you there are hundreds and thousands of people who are absolutely unsatisfied with your response thus far and it would make your company millions to post a public announcement on your website condemning the actions of your employees and assuring people that such actions are not going to be tolerated by Bed, Bath and Beyond.

I hope whoever reads this has a better moral fiber and is able to see beyond a rule book and understand that as a society we are all bound together, we cannot turn a blind eye.

BB&B response:

First of all, I want you to know that I understand and appreciate your position. We are ashamed at how the situation was handled.

The most recent statement that we issued yesterday indicated that this situation was not handled the way we would have expected it to be handled. We have no policies that should have impeded our ability to respond in this case. And yes, we are using this unfortunate occurrence as an opportunity to re-train our associates nationwide. Like you, we do not want anything like this to happen again.

I hope that you'll understand that I cannot comment on personnel issues.

Thanks for your feedback and I hope that, in light of this, you'll reconsider. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me.

Hank Reinhart
Vice President, Customer Service
Bed Bath & Beyond

Nice to see a human response. More humanity like that from the associates nationwide will go a long way towards preventing future tragedies, and from them getting renamed Bed Bath and Dead Kids.

PREVIOUSLY: Bed, Bath & Beyond Will Not Let You Use The Phone To Call 911
(Photo: Morton Fox)

Bed, Bath & Beyond refused to let some customers use the phone to call 911 after they saw a toddler locked in a hot car in the store's parking lot. The witnesses told the local news that the employees told them, "...You cannot call no one, what goes on in the parking lot is not our concern."

"I said, lady, there is a child out there in a hot car and it's locked and it needs help. And I said, will you let us use your phone and call and she said no, we will not get involved."

The Lexington police arrived, smashed the car window and gave the 3-year-old some water. The mother was arrested and charged with wanton endangerment. Meanwhile, Bed, Bath & Beyond has issued a statement about the incident.

"The customer did ask the store to contact the authorities, the store suggested that the customer, who had witnessed the situation, contact 911. We are pleased that the manner was addressed in a timely manner and will use this incident as a training opportunity."

Police: Toddler In Hot Van For 45 Min. [LEX 18 News] (Thanks, Doug!)
(Photo: Morton Fox )

At Ikea, we were interested in a $20, natural wood step stool, until we found a bright blue floor model for $15. We couldn't find anything but the natural finish in the warehouse, so we spoke to a manager, who told us that the blue one must have been from last year (it was kicking around in one of those "Look at how much Ikea furniture I can fit in my 200 square foot apartment!" displays) and the price had gone up. She happily wrote us out a price override, which allowed us to buy the step stool for $15 instead of $20.

We tried to buy a cheap drill at Home Depot, but when we brought home the drill that was advertised as coming with 26 bits, we were surprised to find only Phillips and flathead bits. We went back to Home Depot and returned the item, thinking we had grabbed the wrong one off the shelf. Then we noticed that they were advertising one model but stocking and selling a different one that only came with two bits. We pointed this out to a manager and suggested he give us a separate bit package for free, and he ended up giving us a package with more bits and lowering the price of the drill. Unfortunately, he didn't seem very interested in removing the misleading sign.

The next day, we went to Bed Bath and Beyond to look at towels, and picked some nice towels that rang up at twice the price. It turned out that all of the bath towels that were advertised were actually extra large bath sheets, which cost twice as much. The employee we talked to suggested coming back the next day and seeing if they had any towels, but we instead went to a manager, who rang up the sheets at the same price as the towels.

At the end of it all, we got a drill for a reduced price and a better bit package, a 25% discount on a stool we were going to buy anyway, and two bigger towels for the same price as the smaller ones. We did this by speaking with someone who has the authority to change the price of an item—each time the corrected price rang up, the cashier selected an option called "customer satisfaction." That such a menu item exists shows this is not an uncommon procedure; we didn't have to argue with any of the managers, and they all seemed happy to oblige, but if we hadn't sought them out and complained, we would have been stuck with overpriced, mislabeled items. We have friends who wouldn't bother complaining; they'd either keep an item they're not satisfied with, or return it and buy something more expensive. We doubt we have to tell our readers this, but just in case: don't be afraid to complain.

(Photo: Getty)

JetBlue to Start Charging for Pillows [NYT] (Photo: Lil Erna)

I got this flyer this morning via email less than 24 hours after our "massive" Earthquake out here in Los Angeles. Between the local news media being a bit reactionary by preparing us for doomsday and this, It's time to move back east to Chicago and more solid but a bit colder ground.

Quick thinking, BB&B... you have to strike while the ground is still shakin'.

From Home Textiles Today:

While denying any wrongdoing, the retailer said that under the settlement, for the next five years it will comply with ASTM standards that require thread counts to be labeled according to the number of yarns in a square inch of fabric, regardless of the number of plies, a standard that has also been adopted by the Federal Trade Commission.

The idea that a 20% coupon from BB&B is some sort of compensation is a bit laughable. We recently tried to leave our apartment and had to call the fire department to help rescue us from the wall of Bed, Bath & Beyond 20% off coupons that were blocking the exit.

Bed Bath & Beyond Thread Count Settlement (Thanks, Kenneth!)
BB&B will compensate consumers after thread count suit [Home Textiles Today]
(Photo:Morton Fox)

Holiday gift returns: Still nothing easy about it [Money] (Thanks to Octavia!)

Photo taken yesterday by Chris Walters in an NYC Bed Bath & Beyond.

When trying out five and half inch blades in the aisles of Bed Bath and Beyond, always make sure to draw your "blood circle" by slowly moving the blade in a sphere around your body with an outstretched arm. After ensuring the blade touches nothing else, proceed to thrust and slash to your heart's content. For their sake, just hope that no shopping carts bump into you unexpectedly.