• bailout

    GM's Prez Begs Customers To Plead On GM's Behalf

    Consumerist reader Darkrose writes, "I just got this in my e-mail. Thought you guys might be interested in it." In the email, GM's president Troy Clarke is in high PR mode, pointing out the grave consequences and emphasizing that GM wants not "a bailout but rather a loan that will be repaid." We thought other readers who aren't GM customers would find it interesting.

    Tonight, the president of Ford Motors will be on Campbell Brown's "No Bias, No Bull" program on CNN at 8pm ET/5pm PT, presumably to hit similar talking points. Dance, auto monkey! Dance for the TV audience! More »

    1:57 PM on Tue Nov 18 2008
    By Chris Walters
    7,930 views, 238 comments

    Most discussed bostonhockey: Can someone explain this to me: so, we're to bailout a company - or rather, three companies - that failed more »

  • unacceptable food

    Allen's Bribes Customers Who Find Dead Rat Heads In Their Italian Green Beans

    Texas wedding caterer Dale Cane found a dead rat's head in one of the twenty cans of Allen's Italian Green Beans he bought at Walmart. Allen's quickly offered Cane $200 if he agreed to keep quiet, and assured him that "the Pasteurization process renders the product sterile and completely safe for consumption." Even worse, this isn't the first time a dead rat's head popped up in a can of Allen's Green Beans... More »

    2:30 PM on Sat Jun 21 2008
    By Carey
    21,700 views, 105 comments

    Latest by avconsumer: rofl - $100-$200?!!! I would, literally, lol at that offer. more »

  • early adopters

    It's Official: Early Adopters Are Jackasses

    A new study by Mindset Media and Nielsen Online has created a better profile of gadget lovers who tend to buy new technology early and often—and it's no longer believed that they're just "wealthy young males." Instead, the early adopter type tends to score high in leadership and assertiveness, but low in modesty.

    Avid tech consumers were also likely to be low in modesty and may be perceived as conceited or arrogant by others.

    Low levels of modesty also correlate with what Welch calls "badge-buying", or a tendency to buy luxury brands. "So there's an element of pride in being able to have the latest and greatest, not just in the realm of technology, but in all other areas."

    More »

    8:28 PM on Wed Jun 18 2008
    By Chris Walters
    5,674 views, 71 comments

    Latest by PHX602: @mthrndr: Thank you! Perhaps one of the greatest lines in television history. A close runner-up is Bunk talking about his cologne...pussy! more »

  • customer service

    Companies Don't Hate You... They Just Love Phone Trees More

    Companies are slowly learning that those infuriating automated phone trees aren't the answer to their customer service problems. Some experts even claim that automated systems anger customers. The New York Times decided to trace the history of the hated trees, while wondering if things will ever change. More »

    12:50 PM on Sun May 25 2008
    By Carey
    7,027 views, 72 comments

    Latest by Mr. Gunn: I think companies just don't know how to cost it out, so they just try to minimize spending on it. more »

  • windows

    Microsoft And The $1,632 Copy Of Vista

    Microsoft charged Bill $1,632 for a single Windows Vista Ultimate upgrade license. Each time Bill, an IT Manager, tried to his enter his payment details through Windows Live Marketplace he was told that Microsoft could not be contacted, and to "please try again later." What Microsoft really meant was, "Ha! Got your money! How 'bout some more?!" More »

    1:16 PM on Sat May 24 2008
    By Carey
    114,061 views, 78 comments

    Latest by ValedaThymoetes: I am Larry Engel. I am the General Manager at Microsoft responsible for Windows Marketplace. Bill Park's transactions occurred on more »

  • Sprint Death Watch

    Sprint Loses 1.09 Million Customers In 3 Months

    Sprint is hemorrhaging both money and customers as it searches for a way to stop the financial bleeding. The company lost $505 million in the first quarter alone, and watched helplessly as over a million of its customers defected to other wireless carriers. More »

    1:59 PM on Mon May 12 2008
    By Meg Marco
    10,394 views, 93 comments

    Latest by ElsaNatta: weird. sprint is the ONLY carrier I've never had issues with. more »

  • customer service

    Chrysler Execs To Call New Owners To See How Things Are Going

    Chrysler has extracted the DNA of our executive email carpet bomb and used it to create a weird new outreach program: starting next week, 300 Chryslers execs will each call a different recent purchaser of a Chrysler, Dodge, or Jeep vehicle and ask if there are any problems. According to Cars.com's blog Kicking Tires, they'll keep doing this "until Chrysler chairman and chief executive officer Bob Nardelli is satisfied that if his customers have troubles, their problems will be fixed. Nardelli, by the way, is going to make the calls, too." That last sentence—well, really the whole idea—becomes funnier when you know where Nardelli once worked. More »

    8:15 PM on Sat May 10 2008
    By Chris Walters
    4,245 views, 31 comments

    Latest by GinnyEchemus: I doubt if you realize how unpopular the disposition fee is with your X customers. We have turned in a more »

  • complaints

    Keyherb.com Too Busy Trolling Own Forums To Ship Your Order

    Reader Dan writes in to tell us that the incense peddlers over at Keyherb.com are too chill to do business. All he wanted to do was de-stress with some of their lovely, organic aromatherapy products, but instead of shipping his order, they sent him a fake tracking number then ignored him.

    Until, that is, he posted negative comment about them on their website. More »

    2:08 PM on Thu Mar 13 2008
    By profio
    12,761 views, 68 comments

    Latest by chemman: @randomguy85263: Sorry for your experience with them, I hope they don't harass you too much since it wasn't you that more »

  • airlines

    4 Facts About Rule 240

    Last week, travel consumer advocate Christopher Elliott listed four secrets about rule 240—that borderline mythic rule that describes how an airline will behave regarding a canceled or delayed flight—that he says are too often overlooked by travel experts and regular folk:"It's hardly an all-powerful provision that can be invoked by every stranded passenger. Somewhere between myth and a magic bullet lies the truth about Rule 240." More »

    8:50 PM on Wed Mar 5 2008
    By Chris Walters
    13,234 views, 22 comments

    Latest by silverpie: Before deregulation, when the rules were standardized, it was Rule 240. Many airlines still follow the numbering of those old more »

  • sad

    Walmart Ignores Widow's Letter Asking Why It Took Employees 9 Hours To Find Her Husband's Body In A Bathroom Stall

    Karen Turner wants to know why Walmart employees told her that their bathroom stalls were unoccupied, even though they contained the body of Karen's husband, 41-year-old airline mechanic Steven Turner. Karen needlessly spent hours searching for her husband, who went missing after dropping off his car that morning for an oil change. Walmart has yet to respond to a letter Karen sent in September. No condolences, no explanation. Nothing but silence. More »

    1:28 PM on Sun Feb 3 2008
    By Carey
    27,577 views, 80 comments

    Latest by CommentHarry: @Topcat: It does not seem that Karen has done anything wrong - even having a lawyer send a letter. WalMart, on more »