An anonymous Best Buy employee wrote in to clarify and dispute Monday’s post that accused the company of shifting to a de facto commission-based model by rewarding upsell-happy workers with more hours. [More]
commission
Flammable Robes Keep Killing People — Recall Reissued
By 6.12.09
Everyone in the market for a robe wants to be kept warm, but having that robe catch on fire and kill you is quite a bit over the line. Such a foible was discovered in Blair women’s chenille robes, so Blair and the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall in April.
Vision Therapy Center 'Pencils In' Appointment Without Full Consent, Then Charges $50 No Show Fee
By 11.17.08
Elysse was told by an optometrist to consider “vision therapy” as a treatment for her child’s strabismus (crossed eyes), but the business she was sent to—Children’s Vision and Learning in Versailles, Kentucky—turned out to be one of those places where selling is their top priority, and medical care simply the product being sold. After being lied to about the cost, given a hard sell during the first appointment, and even being asked, “Don’t you care about your child’s vision?”, Elysse decided to look elsewhere. Now, four months after the experience, the business is billing her $50 for a “penciled in” appointment she never agreed to keep in the first place.
Just What The Heck Is MonaVie, And Should I Sell It?
By 10.6.08
I’ve been approached by a friend to join up with MonaVie acai juice—it’s a “superfood” juice that’s sold through “network marketing.” I actually do like the product, and this is a friend I trust, but my alarm bells are still going off. I don’t want to get sucked into a scam, obviously. There’s nothing about this company on your site, so I thought I’d drop you a line and see if you had any advice.
Critics Say Consumer Agency Needs Complete Overhaul
By 9.6.07
The CPSC is understaffed and underfunded, and it needs a complete overhaul of its mission if it’s to be effective at all in protecting US consumers, says Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (D):
“The laws are written sadly in a way to make it next to impossible to protect consumers. 401 (CPSC) employees today trying to manage trillions of dollars in products … they do not have enough cops on the beat.”
Inside The Countrywide Subprime Lending Frenzy
By 8.27.07
The New York Times has a very interesting article about the business practices that resulted in Countrywide’s dramatic spiral into the dirt. Recently, the nation’s largest mortgage lender had to tap $11.5 billion in emergency credit and was the beneficiary of a $2 billion investment bailout from Bank of America.
Recall Aftershock: Consumer Safety Commission Brought Back From Near Death For Six Months
By 8.6.07
Congress just put your wiretapping dollars to work, by amending a homeland security bill to allow the Consumer Product Safety Commission to regain “its full authority to oversee the safety of thousands of household products,” says the Washington Post. The reprieve only lasts for six months, but during that time it allows the commission–which has been hobbling along in an inactive state since January because of an ongoing member vacancy–to meet and take action on matters of consumer safety with only two members present.
