The Chicago Tribune, heady with the power of Illinois' badass toy laws, stormed into some stores and bought two of the deadly bassinets.

In fact, a Tribune reporter on Thursday bought two bassinets at Baby Depot at Burlington Coat Factory on the West Side. Before the reporter left the store, an employee checked the model numbers to see whether those versions contained the deadly flaw. She told the reporter they did not.

But she was wrong. Both had the dangerous design.

Whoops. The Trib says that although the company that bought Simplicity (after it went bankrupt due to a previous crib recall) is denying responsibility for the bassinets, they say their bassinet had a shipping label with the new company's name on it.

SFCA countered by saying Simplicity products are not its responsibility. "The products in question were manufactured and distributed by Simplicity Inc., a company that is no longer in business," SFCA said in a written statement. "SFCA purchased Simplicity's assets at auction after Simplicity Inc. went out of business and has no legal liability for any products distributed previously by Simplicity."

But one of the deadly bassinets the Tribune purchased Thursday carried a shipping label with the name "SFCA Inc." This seemed to contradict the written statement SFCA issued Thursday: "The CPSC product alert does not involve any product manufactured and distributed by SFCA Inc."

Asked to explain this discrepancy, SFCA spokesman Paul Nathanson would not comment directly. Instead, he wrote in an e-mail: "As far as I know none of these model numbers were manufactured and distributed by SFCA."

To read a full list of the model numbers affected by this recall and to see a list of retailers who are cooperating with the CPSC, click here.

We wondered why the CPSC is still unable to issue involuntary recalls, but were unable to find a straight answer anywhere. Consumer Reports says that the CPSC told them that they were using some of their special new powers to deal with the situtaion — namely the ability to skip a 30 day waiting period before issuing a consumer warning about a dangerous product.

"The CPSC is continuing to seek all options with SFCA to ensure there is recourse for the consumer," said agency spokeswoman Julie Vallese. "However, this is a very complicated case and there is a question whether SFCA has legal liabilities for products manufactured by Simplicity."

Consumer Reports suggests that when you try to return the product, that you print out the CPSC's warning and bring it with you to the store. We think that's a good idea.

900,000 bassinets targeted [Chicago Tribune]
Six Retailers Agree To Stop Sale and Recall Simplicity Bassinets Due To Strangulation Hazard [CPSC]
Two deaths trigger safety alert for Simplicity bassinet [Consumer Reports]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the defect is responsible for at least three car blazes, maybe even nine.

The recall involves the 2007-2008 model year Chevrolet Silverado, Tahoe, Avalanche and Suburban, Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT, GMC Acadia, Sierra, Yukon, Yukon XL and Saturn Outlook; 2006-2008 Hummer H2, Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne; and the 2008 Buick Enclave.

GM will fix the problem by installing a "wire harness with an in-line fuse," which is car-speak for "system that won't catch fire."

For more information, call:
Buick: (866) 608-8080
Cadillac: (800) 982-2339
Chevrolet: (800) 630-2438
Saturn: (800) 972-8876
GMC: (866) 996-9436
Hummer: (800) 732-5493

General Motors Recalls Vehicles for Fire Hazard [NEWSInferno]
(Photo: Jef Poskanzer)

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging parents and caregivers to stop using convertible “close-sleeper/bedside sleeper” bassinets manufactured by Simplicity Inc., of Reading, Pa. CPSC has learned that on August 21, 2008, a 5-month-old girl from Shawnee, Kan. was strangled to death when she became entrapped between the bassinet’s metal bars. This is the second strangulation death CPSC has learned of in the co-sleeper bassinets. On September 29, 2007, a 4-month-old girl from Noel, Mo. became entrapped in the metal bars of the bassinet and died.

CPSC is issuing this safety alert because SFCA Inc., the company which purchased all of Simplicity Inc.’s assets at public auction in April 2008, has refused to cooperate with the government and recall the products. SFCA maintains that it is not responsible for products previously manufactured by Simplicity Inc.

The Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets contain metal bars spaced farther apart than 2 3/8 inches, which is the maximum distance allowed under the federal crib safety standard. The metal bars are covered by an adjustable fabric flap which is attached by velcro. The fabric is folded down when the bassinet is converted into a bed-side co-sleeping position. If the velcro is not properly re-secured when the flap is adjusted, an infant can slip through the opening and become entrapped in the metal bars and suffocate.

Infants Strangled to Death in Simplicity Bassinets: CPSC Urges Consumers To Stop Using Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 Convertible “Close-Sleeper” Models [CPSC]

I drove up to Nashua, NH from my house on Saturday to order an iPhone at the AT&T store up there. I order a white one because it comes in quicker and my wife really wanted my first generation iPhone so that's what I did. Read about the cracks on Mac Rumors forum and when I was told to come pick it up yesterday I was going to check it out for cracks. I do in the normal spots and a quick one over on the entire thing. Seemed to be good. But as soon as I drive an hour home again I find 2 damned cracks on the bottom corner.

I call Apple (1-800MYIPHONE, how is it one extra number?) they say to bring it back to an Apple Store and they should replace it on the spot. I hate driving alllll over the place for this damn thing. Oh ya other than have the 16GB rather than my old 8GB there isnt anything worth the new phone.

We checked out the MacRumors forum and sure enough there were a few people complaining about tiny cracks appearing on their iPhones. As one forum poster said,

"Aww.. I wish I'd never seen this story. Now I've noticed cracks all over my nice new white 16GB. No less than four!"

Yikes. Maybe the black one is worth the wait?

3G Cracks in Plastic Housing [MacForums]

Michael says:

On Saturday, July 12th, my father stood in line outside of the Apple retail store in Oklahoma City for approximately three hours. As soon as he made it inside the store, it did not take very long to purchase a Family Plan with three new 8GB iPhone 3Gs. The checkout process was fairly simple (although he did have to purchase gift cards because he couldn't use cash) and everyone treated him well.

However, when we got home and started to look at our new iPhones, mine froze shortly after opening it. After I reset it, it would not turn on. The next day I took it back to the Apple store, and it was soon determined I needed a new iPhone. However, during the activation process, something went wrong and my phone got my dad's phone number assigned to it. I was then told that I needed to go to an AT&T store (luckily there is one in the mall) to get a new sim card for my phone and put my old sim card in my dad's phone. I did this, and my phone started working.

However, the third iPhone (my sister's) had been showing a weak signal ever since it was opened. It often showed "No Signal" when it was right next to my iPhone with full bars. We took it back to the Apple store and they tried to fix it by doing various things, including restoring the software. This did nothing, and so it came to be that for the second time in as many hours one of our iPhones was being replaced. Luckily the new iPhone activation went smoothly and her new iPhone showed full bars.

We thought that we were finally done with all the problems, so we left the store. So far, of the three iPhones purchased on Saturday, one had died shortly after leaving the box and one had been defective. Only my dad's iPhone was the original one from Saturday. However, when we got home, we quickly discovered that although his iPhone could send and receive text messages and make calls, it could not receive calls.

All calls to my father's iPhone went straight to his old voice mailbox from the previous carrier. They did not ring through to the iPhone and they did not show up on his iPhone's voicemail. I then spent a long time trying to get a hold of AT&T support (not easy to do on a Sunday evening). I finally talked to a person, who after hearing about my problem decided it was an iPhone problem and forwarded my call to Apple iPhone support. After close to an hour and a half on hold, I was quickly given back to AT&T. However the Apple rep did make sure to stay on the line and explain the problem to the (different) AT&T rep. After doing several things to try and fix the problem, the AT&T rep said he thought it was a problem with the port request, and put another port request in. This was at about 9 p.m., and he said he thought it might go through by midnight. It is right now 1:45 a.m., and it still does not work.

Although I was treated very well throughout my experience by both Apple and AT&T, spending an entire day having to replace two out of three iPhones and have the third one not be able to receive calls was not a pleasant experience.

Here's the happy ending, a few hours after Michael emailed us, he emailed us again. He tried our contact information for AT&T's executive customer service and it worked!

Update: I called one of the numbers from this post and had my problem solved in less than five minutes. Thank you so much!

If you're having problems with your new iPhone and regular AT&T customer service isn't working for you, why not give these numbers a call?

(Photo: qshio )

Joshua writes:

My girlfriend was set on getting an 8GB iPhone 3G on launch day, and to make sure, we headed out to the closest mall location in San Jose, CA at 5am. We were the 20th person or so in line, and had no problems getting in.
She was transferring her service from T-Mobile, and surprisingly, it all went smoothly. We probably walked into the physical Apple Store at around 8:15am and were back out to our car by 9:15.

When we got home, we noticed a problem with our iPhone — the speaker wouldn't work. No external sounds whatsoever, unless it was docked. We called the Apple Store and I have to say, Apple offers some awesome support. They took her name down and told her to come right back in past the line and they'd take care of us (sorry to everyone who was still waiting).

We rolled back in around 10:30am, and if the next five hours had been up to Apple, we'd have been gone by 10:45am. Funny thing, they were going to try to troubleshoot it, but then one of the Apple specialists accidentally dropped the phone, and said casually, "We'll just go grab you a new one."

Unfortunately, AT&T has a different take on iPhone exchanges. AT&T could not give her a phone exchange because she was no longer qualified for first-time purchase and activation, so they tried to charge her full price ($399 instead of $199, if I recall) for the iPhone because she'd already purchased and activated an iPhone. Then, since they already returned that previous iPhone, AT&T locked her phone number and said she couldn't get it back for 48 hours because of that return. After that, it became a worry on both ours and Apple's part if they were going to charge an early termination fee, and then a new activation fee for the second phone.

Our Apple concierge, Rosemarie, was wonderful in arguing with AT&T on our behalf. Four and a half hours later, Rosemarie was able to widdle it down so that they could get her new iPhone activated with her original number, but they refused to let her walk out of the store with an iPhone for $199. In the end, Rosemarie and the store manager (whose name I didn't get, but she was also extremely helpful) decided that what they were going to do was charge us for the full price of an iPhone and issue themselves a gift card for the difference of what we would have had to pay. So we paid our part ($231 and some change) and they used their self-issued gift card to cover the rest. In other words, Apple chose to eat the cost on our behalf because of what AT&T was doing.

In the end, we couldn't have asked for more exceptional service than what this Apple Store gave us. While we waited, specialists noticed us and offered us snacks and sodas and were generally really friendly and empathetic. We were also pretty chill about the whole thing, which I'm sure helped, and by the time we left, they made sure we weren't screwed with by AT&T.

So, just a warning to anyone else that has to exchange their iPhone. I'm not even generally an Apple/Mac person, but this gives me great faith in the Apple Store's customer service, and I would definitely say to have faith in them, but be wary of AT&T.

Kudos to the Apple Store for for spending so much time working this out for you. We hope that AT&T works out this glitch — there's really no reason why a simple exchange of a defective phone should take 4.5 hours and require the Apple store to issue gift cards.

Is this happening to anyone else?

(Photo: qshio )

I am having a nightmare with HP and my brother suggested I contact you. There is a documented problem with the HP DV9000 laptop left hinges, and thousands of people are experiencing their hinges/lcd panels cracking because of this. I initially contacted HP and told them about my problem, citing the various websites.documenting this problem, and they offered to fix it for free.

I sent in my notebook and they took the lcd case off, breaking it further, and said it was customer damage. They gave me a quote of nearly $800 to fix the damage, or they would send it back as-is. I opted to have it shipped to me after having all in-warranty repairs done.

It arrived in worse condition than when I sent it. I got a new case manager who told me to send it back to be fixed for free. So, like an idiot, I sent it back again.

This time they took the whole thing apart and without calling me, let it sit for 3 weeks at the service center (I thought it was being fixed.) I finally called and was told they found damage inside the computer, so could not fix it or even put it back together because if someday the damage would cause the unit to spark or catch on fire, HP would be liable.

The damage is supposedly due to some kind of liquid spill but it was working perfectly before I sent it in, besides the hinge crack which was obviously not my fault. The initial quote I got from the service center the first time I sent it in did not include repair for any liquid damage. The computer is still under warranty and less than a year old.

My husband also has an HP with a fan malfunction (also widespread and documented) and was initially told it was out of warranty and was quoted $700 to fix, but when he decided not to send it in they changed their story and said to send it in, it was under warranty and would be fixed for free. Don't worry we're not quite that stupid.

I don't know what to do other than alert others of this game HP is playing. I would file a small claim but I think they covered their a$$es with the "liquid damage liability" BS. I use my computer for work and have had considerable losses in addition to the loss of my computer. If you could give me any pointers on other steps I can take please let me know.

Well, you certainly are correct that this fault has been documented. Because you're simply not the only one who has fallen victim to HP's mind-bendingly f*cked up repair division, we've actually put together a list of 5 ways you can get your laptop back from HP. Obviously, you'd like them to fix it before they send it back, so why not keep pestering the case managers? Maybe you'll find a good one?

If that doesn't work, and, let's face it, it might not — we suggest contacting your credit card company (we assume you did not pay cash for the laptop.) Many credit cards (and some debit cards) have extended warranty protection. If yours does, explain that HP is refusing to honor their warranty and ask that your purchase be covered under the credit card's program.

As a last resort, you may also want to consider small claims court. The repair ticket that shows that HP examined the computer for the same problem and did not find liquid damage could give you a leg to stand on in court. And you never know, they may not even contest it. Good luck.

From LiveJournal:

Robert Dotson, President
T-Mobile
12920 SE 38th Street
Bellevue, WA 98006-1350

Dear Mr. Dotson:

I am writing to inform you of the appalling service I have received from your company as well as your employees.

I received a Sidekick Slide for a Christmas present on December 25, 2007 from [X person]. Upon some thought, however, I decided I didn't want the phone and asked X to return it. [X person] having bought the phone as present, assumed with the Christmas season that there would be no problem returning the phone, only to find out that since he had bought the phone in advance, the 14 day period had expired and he was now stuck with a $350 dollar phone.

I, for one, thought he must be mistaken, and asked him to send the phone to me in [redacted] from where he lived in [redacted]. Upon receiving the phone along with the receipt of purchase, I called T-Mobile customer service and explained my problem to two people. Both representatives basically said, we're sorry, but since you're not a T-Mobile customer, we can't help you, but you're welcome to write to our customer service department and we suggest you sell the phone on eBay.

I have to say that this is the first time that a company has ever conveyed the message that since I'm not a subscriber I am not valued as a consumer. It was also the first time I'd ever been told, "too bad, sell it on eBay."

I'm sure you can appreciate I was a bit dumbstruck by this suggestion and thought by writing a letter to your Customer Service Department I might receive a bit more satisfaction, but of course this was not to be. I received a letter back with my name misspelled (is it really that hard to check the letter I sent for the correct spelling?) and was told the same story, "you're not a customer; you are not valued even as a potential customer. You deal with it."

Since I clearly wasn't going to be helped by T-Mobile in any way, I put the phone up for sale on eBay. It was bought by a nice man in [redacted], who three days after he received the phone, e-mailed me to say he'd taken the phone to the T-Mobile near his home to have it activated only to be told that a brand new phone, which was still in the box and had all the accessories in plastic, was broken and couldn't be repaired. You can imagine our collective shock.

I apologized and asked him to send me the phone so I could refund him his money. When the phone arrived I took it my local T-Mobile store, where one of your representatives X actually attempted to help me with my problem for a change.

It seemed that there was something blocking the Sim card outlet and thusly the phone couldn't be used, but X recommended an outside vendor to repair the phone and gave me his business card.

As helpful as X was I still waited to speak to the manager, because surely there had to be something that could be done. At the very least the phone could have been exchanged for a model that worked; it didn’t have to be new it just needed to work.

After waiting 30 minutes for the manager to come back from lunch, however, the manager then told me the same thing your customer service reps told me over the phone — that since I didn't have your phone service, I wasn't under warrantee and thusly he wasn't obligated to help me, or even attempt to do so and I was out of luck.

At this point I decided that my best course of action was to run the offending phone over with my car, take photos of it with my camera phone and post the entire business to YouTube as a reason to stay away from T-Mobile. First, however, I decided to visit this outside vendor to see what he thought about the entire matter. He confirmed what I already knew that the phone was brand new and nothing was wrong with it, the catch however, was that since all the prongs in the Sim slot didn't retract when you slid the Sim card in, the phone was worthless. In short, the Sim slot was simply too small to be fixed, and I was the proud owner of a $350 worthless phone.

And to date, this is what your company has provided me with – nothing. I would say thank you, but I don't tend to thank people for trash.

The continued antipathy of your company towards potential customers is astounding. If I was a customer, I assure you I would have switched to another carrier by this point, and any and all consideration I've had for ever switching to T-Mobile in the future is dead. In fact, I now plan to go out of my way to urge people not to use your company, because I know how your company has treated me and I'd hate for that to happen to someone else.

No love,
[insert me giving the the finger here]

ETA: I'm sure you are all wondering where the video for the phone is now, well, I did what any good capitalist would do with a worthless piece of junk — I sold it for parts.

What a clusterf*ck. If there's one thing this job has taught me, it's this: Give people cash gifts.

(Thanks, CH!)
(Photo: Flyguy92586 )

Walmart is saying nothing at all, although Stiles says that of the 200-350 people who contacted her after she posted photos of her "burns" on the internet, a few have "settled with Walmart for undisclosed amounts." The retailer has pulled the flip flops in question from store shelves, but they do still sell shoes from "chemical flip flop" manufacturer.

Kelly told WCSC, "So far I have been contacted by no less than 200 hundred and I think no more than 350 people who have said you know I had the same thing happen."

"We're scared. We don't know what we have been exposed to."

If you're new to this story and you have a strong stomach, you can check out this gallery of Kelly's injured feet , or read about others who've shared her fate. Above is the most recent picture of Kelly's feet that she has up on her site. It was taken 2-27-08. She bought the flip flops last April. Ouch! Get better, Kelly.

LaMana Photography
Burned By Flip Flops From Walmart [WCSC](Thanks, Alex!)

fast forward 4 months - no word, so i call customer service. i get bounced to the national handling and they said they cannot find my report. (of course). and then they said they would need to "document" my case, so they were going to forward me to someone else. i got forwarded to anthony who said my problem was a "quality issue" which they do not handle over the phone. and he said i had to go back into the store to resolve it. i asked to be transfered to the store, so i could call them and not have to drive myself all the way over there to find out it is not in stock again. he said he could not connect me to the store because the store does not take calls from customers - that their purpose was to help in store customers only. i asked if i could get my case documented by him since that was why i was transfered to him in the first place and he said no, because it was a quality issue. so then i asked what kinds of cases does he document, and he said "not quality issues." wow, thank you for being so helpful. so i asked again if he could document anything for me so i at least had a record and he said my case was too old since i bought my sofa more than 90 days ago and he only handles cases that where purchase was within 90 days. so i asked, ok, if i had purchased my sofa within 90 days, then he would be able to handle it? and again he said no cause he handled purchases made within 90 days except for quality issues.

so i gave up on trying to understand what his job was and asked again if I could be connected to the person who had forwarded me to him. and he said no. i asked why not, and he said he didnt know who forwarded me to him. i asked him if he could query my name since i had given all my information to the person i had spoken to previously and he said that they do not track customer service calls, they only record them (what the...? huh? i dont believe that for a second especially since ikea is a multi-national behemoth. they must have a well developed call tracking system) so i asked if he could transfer me to anyone else and he said no, that i had to go into the store because it was a "quality issue" and no one in his call center handles "quality issues". i just do not understand how they could not call for me to even find out if my initial file was still there? is that too much to ask?

ikea sucks [Joyce Lan Kim]
(Photo: acshepard)

Honda and Acura 6 Speed Manual Problem Addressed - TSB Released [Automotivearticles](Thanks to Mark!)

PREVIOUSLY: Honda Ignores Civic SI Owners' Complaints About Faulty Transmissions

(Thanks to Robert!)

Jake writes:

I need some help; Some help dealing with Dell.

I purchased a DEll XPS 1530 (red) edition at the end of January. Being the geek that I am, and have had a laptop last up to 4 years (an iBook G4) without problems, so why get insurance?

On (roughly) day 45, as I finished a paper, I closed the laptop. I unplugged it from the charger, set the laptop on the table, unplugged the charger form the wall, grabbed my M1530 off the table and walked upstairs.

I opened the laptop up after I plugged in the charger to the wall and laptop and sat down in my room. There was a huge crack in the LCD screen that starts the the bottom of the screen, which was next to the hinge of the laptop.

$1300, 45 days and there is a huge crack in the screen, that honestly, shouldn't have happened. If they didn't make such cheap products, that wouldn't have happened.

I called Dell since the laptop was under the one year manufacturer semi-warranty. Sure enough, they want money to replace the LCD screen that broke.

Considering that I have seen laptops that have been dropped, kicked, traveled with, taken apart, stepped on and beat to hell and still run perfectly. A less than two minute walk up the stairs and me setting it up so I can use the laptop in bed causes a crack in the LCD screen and Dell is being too cheap to realize that I have a defective laptop.

What should I do?!

Since the laptop is so new you might be able to take advantage of any damage guarantees that your credit card offers. For example, an Amex gold card has up to $1,000 of purchase protection that includes accidental damage (not that this applies to you, or anything, but you'll be sure they won't hassle you.) Some cards will double the manufacturer's warranty, others offer a return guarantee that will fully compensate you if you decide to "return" the item within a certain period of time and the retailer won't accept it. If you can't work it out with Dell, you should call your credit card company and talk to them about what they can do to help you.

It's important to understand what protections your credit (or debit) cards offers so you can take advantage of them.

Good luck!

(Photo:Ben Popken)

Matthew writes:

So, upon my recent graduation from college, I found myself bestowed with a considerable financial sum in the form of gifts. I decided to take that money and invest in a MacBook Pro and, since I have never owned an mp3 player, a new 160GB iPod Classic. The computer arrives, and it's gorgeous. The iPod? Not so much. There's a disfiguring scratch on the screen. I load a video into the iPod to see if it's really going to be that bad or if it's something I can live with. It's definitely not something I can live with.

I call Apple Sales and explain that my new iPod, a $349.00 investment, has arrived with a significant defect, and I'd like to exchange it. Not to worry, I'm told, as this is something AppleCare can handle for me! Thank goodness, I think, as the kind sales rep transfers me to Support. On the phone with Support, I explain what has happened, and the rep agrees with me that this is unacceptable, and he'll send me a box t ship my iPod back to them immediately. The box should arrive in 2 to 3 business days. A week later, no box and I'm moving to NYC. I finally get moved up, settled in, and I call my Mom to ask if that box ever arrived. It hadn't. I call Apple and a Support rep tells me I'm lying, as their records clearly indicate the box was shipped, and DHL's records clearly indicate it was left on a front porch. Well, thank you Apple, I'm glad DHL decided to leave the box unattended. What if this was my replacement iPod?

The rep finally agrees to send me another box, but wants to know why I waited so long, and says that's really irresponsible of me. A week later, my box arrives. I send off the iPod.

After a 12 or so day period, I get an e-mail saying that my iPod is being returned to me, as Apple technicians couldn't find the problem I had described. They couldn't find the giant scratch that dominates a quarter of the screen?

Afterwards came many a snafu with DHL, including having Apple change my shipping address to my office, so that it won't arrive at my home and either be left unattended or returned (as has already happened once, after I took off work to receive the package, and the delivery person never knocked on my door, merely stuck the "We missed you!" sticker on it), and then getting a call from DHL to let me know it was being returned again because they hadn't changed the address, but if I wanted, I could take the train into Brooklyn to pick up my package at their delivery center.

My iPod finally arrived Monday, the same day as an email warning me my AppleCare Plan was almost up!
Counting on my fingers, of my almost three months of owning an iPod, Apple has had it more than I have.
I opened up the package Monday, and lo and behold, not only is the iPod unfixed, there is a new scratch along the bottom of the screen.

I've written numerous e-mails to Apple, and filled out three quality of support surveys as overwhelmingly negative, and written the whole story to date each time in their comments box.

I'm headed to the Apple Store after work tomorrow, and I'm not leaving until somebody gives me a new iPod. You'd think that spending around $3,500.00 would entitle you to some level of dedication, but you'd be wrong.

—
Matthew

(Photo:Plankton 4:20)

I would like to tell you an incredibly positive customer experience, because I feel like there are so few out there.

In a renovation a few years ago, I installed ~25 expensive Lutron Maestro switches - they are these dimmers that slowly turn on and off your lights and remember the dimmer setting you left. Anyway, these are $30+ switches. Compare that to the 50 cent standard switch.

Regardless, three years after that renovation, a heavily used switch started to fail. Then another, and then another. Based on the pattern, I thought that about three more might go out on me. My house is almost 120 years old and I have original switches from when they first wired this house that still work to this day. Three years for a $30 switch was outrageous!

I packaged up my three switches and sent them to Lutron expressing my disappointment and my concern about the next three switches. I did not hear from them right away.

Much to my surprise, I got a phone call from a product manager at Lutron. He talked to me about my problem, and told me that they had a defect with some of these switches and that he would replace the three I sent and send another three for the ones I thought might go. He then asked me how many I had in the house and when I installed them. I told him I had about 25 and that they were all installed at the same time. He said that was interesting.

A week later, a package arrived in the mail. It contained 25 brand new switches! That's about $800 worth of product!

What's amazing to me, is that as an individual homeowner, my total lifetime value to Lutron could never be that much. How many renovations / builds does one person go through in their entire life? If I were a contractor or designer, sure, I'd potentially be of high value to Lutron. Nevertheless, they chose to serve their customer in the best possible way, and that to me deserves to be shouted from the mountains. Why do only squeaky wheels make noise? We should be sure to celebrate the great stories as well!

Peter

Some examples:

I got a mailer from Activision and they said to send in your original gameand wait 3-4 weeks for a replacement DVD. I called the 800 number and got nowhere. I was told there was no other option. I offered to let them bill my credit card in case I never sent the DVD back.

It seems silly that I just spent $100 bucks to play one fun game, and I have to stop playing for a full month.

I just find it ridiculous that we have been forced to wait so long, with at least some of us even without any communication from the company to inform us of the correct process, and now we also will be forced to wait once again because we have to mail our own discs back in first before they will even send the replacement ones out. Something tells me this might stretch into 4 months without a resolution to this issue.

So, basically, because Activision decided to ship a faulty game (and the rumor mill says that they didknow it was faulty, but wanted to get the game out while Guitar Hero craze was still taking place), they are now going to take my game back for a full month. In a nutshell, I paid $79.95 for a defective game, and now Activision is going to keep my game for a month while they amble around replacing it. I have other games that I play on Wii, but my sister only plays GH3, so she'll be gameless (and Wii less) for a while. I realize their desire to make sure people actually have the game, but a 3 week turnaround time is pretty mind-boggling.

Guitar Hero® III Wii Replacement Disc Registration Website [Activision]

PREVIOUSLY: Guitar Hero III For Wii Is Mono?
Activision Acknowledges Guitar Hero III Wii Sound Issue, Will Offer Replacement Discs
Activision Accidentally Introduces 860 Customers To Each Other

Tainted Pills Hit U.S. Mainland [AP] (Thanks to dragontologist!)
(Photo: Getty)

540 Caught Fire [BimmerFest] (Thanks to Ziemowit!)
(Photo: Getty)

"I'm sorry if I seem on edge or anything, I just.... I'm born with this"... The assistant manager then says "It's okay. It's the Monday before a full moon. There will be plenty more freaks like you before close". And tells me to calm down.

Here's the full letter, or skip to the summary below if you're impatient:

Mr. Jobs,

I'm writing this to you understanding that this will probably never see your desk.

I've called to file a complaint, but was told "don't worry, it's a misunderstanding". Let me tell you my story, Mr. Jobs. Maybe you'll be able to help me.

Since the IIe I've loved your computers, as a person with autism they never failed me. I've been able to lean on them and they've come through. Applecare has always made it so I had my equipment when and where I needed it. So I had no hesitance buying a macbook 6 months ago. I love Tiger, and now leopard. However 2 months ago, my "top case" cracked. Where your palms rest for your mouse and such. I was told "I hold my computer wrong", but they'd replace it for free. I felt insulted that holding my computer wrong was even ABLE to be told to me, though I do hold it in a briefcase. I figured little of it, and moved on. Maybe I caught someone on a bad day. Plus a small smudge on the glimmering history of my customer service, its eventually to be expected.

Tonight, Sir, I was affronted and insulted. The left side of the seam of my laptop came apart. I tried pushing it back together myself. Hoping I could "resnap" the topcase. It sticks for a few minutes then comes back apart. (recent airport card problems have accompanied it and has connection issues but I let them slide.) This is the 3rd time it's been looked at for this swelling/crack. After a while, it's a concern. I figured the extreme heat may have caused the battery to swell. No big deal, Apple has an immaculate replacement record, and something has to be able to be negotiated. I unplugged it to let it cool. I immediately went to my nearest apple store. Easton Town Center, Columbus Ohio.

Upon getting there, I walk in and find the walk in wait will be 2 hours. I'm an attendant of a local Aspergers Syndrome club,(My autism), so I told them I could wait if it meant I still got there on time. They assured me they would. And just that time the assistant manager walks by, and says "i've seen you in here a lot with that laptop, whats wrong". I explain to him that I'm upset that my laptop keeps having this problem, last time it took 2 weeks to fix, and all i'm doing is trying to get seen if I have to wait another 2 weeks to get my computer seen. I go on to explain, I take notes at our Asperger Syndrome (AS/HFA) meetings, and that, I email those out. As one could understand, people with OCD would be unhappy. I say.. "I'm sorry if I seem on edge or anything, I just.... i'm born with this"... The assistant manager then says "It's okay. It's the monday before a full moon. There will be plenty more freaks like you before close". And tells me to calm down. He then presses my case, bends it and hands it to the Tech guy. The Apple Genius at the bar, then takes me off the list... and starts serving other people... 30 minutes later, he asks if I've been helped. In which case.. I let him know that he's taken me off the standby and reservation lists. He says he'll "see me because he's nice"... proceeds to see the gap in my case and says.. "its just within spec... I can't help you. Sorry". After EVERYTHING I'd just been through... He wouldn't help me, and even SAW the gap in my case and the manager press it, and watched it slowly seperate.

Needless to say, I brought my laptop home. I called Apple Help and filed a complaint. I was told.. "What the manager said is a misunderstanding". Which, excuse me sir, I've been labeled and called names my whole life. There are mistakes, and there is that. Thats the same level of Rush Limbaugh commenting on Donovan McNabb being a Black QB. It's the same as Roger Imus and the rutgers female basketball team. I was insulted when I'd explained my disablity Mr. Jobs. I love your computers, but I will never attend that store again. Never sir, as I could never look someone so intolerant in the face, ever again.

As for my computer? I can "Ship it off" and see it researched, as I still havent gotten it looked at. I end up losing my computer for weeks, after the 2nd time the case has cracked due to "swelling". Please Help, as I simply can't just lose my laptop. I can't... deal with every month and a half having my top case separate. You're the only company in the world, I depend on for quality. It means a lot to my syndrome, and to my daily life to have a computer I can count on. If it means I need a MacBook Pro, then so be it. I'll upgrade to titanium if I can ever afford it.

Luckily this ends on a better note. Joshua emailed "sjobs" and heard back:

Within 12 hours I got a call, an apology, and due to my disability they are letting me into the Easton store before it opens, so I can swap my computer out for an upgrade due to the hardship I've endured. I will say one thing for Apple, their corporate is every bit the nice and understanding company they claim to be.

This same kind of problem has happened to one of our readers before. It turns out that an employee had inadvertently entered the SKU instead of the serial number on our Reader's XBOX. He was eventually able to prove that he hadn't switched the XBOXs, but Ben is having a much more difficult time.

Ben writes:

I am going through a terrible experience with game stop. After finally deciding to make the leap and purchase a PS3 I went to my local game stop in Queens, NY. After purchasing the 80 GB I drove home and eagerly took it out of the box. Much to my dismay I found the video and audio signal weren't working properly. I called the store and they said bring it back in. I went back to the store(less than an hour later) and they told me that they could not help me because the serial number on the box didn't match the one on the machine. Employee scam? WTF? So the say sorry, sorry, blah, blah, we are going to investigate this and review the cameras. Whatever. Who checks the serial number before they leave the store? Well apparently we all should. Now it's been over two weeks and I still have no answer from game stop or the manager...

Wow. I am screwed. So, the main customer service for gamestop has now told me that the district manager made his decision (unbeknownst to me) and they have to stand by his decision. This is to not help me in any way, shape, or form. So I figured good old Sony would help me, right? Well they also refuse to help me. Not only will they not exchange my machine, they refuse to even take it for repair because my serial # from the receipt doesn't match. I really don't care what my serial # is, I just want a PS3 that works properly for the 500 I spent. Any suggestions?

Ben

Does anyone else have any suggestions for Ben?

(Photo:Marike79)

Mr. Jobs -

My name is Andrew [redacted], and I am an Apple consumer, and have been one for my entire life. I've been consistently impressed with the computers produced by your company, but have been sadly disappointed by all of my experiences related to your iPods.

I purchased my first iPod, a 10GB second generation model, when it was announced in 2002. It lasted for nearly a year before a hard drive failure caused it to cease working. I decided that it must have been a user error that caused this, and went ahead and purchased a 10GB third generation model shortly thereafter.

This iPod barely managed to survive for another year, I faced issues once I hit the six month mark, but I decided to keep using it until it died altogether. It did die, right when the new fourth generation classic with click wheel was announced.

I bought this iPod with a bit of uncertainty, not sure whether or not it was a good investment. I decided to buy the 40GB model, deciding that perhaps the smaller hard drives in my other iPods were somehow causing them to cease functioning.

Believe it or not, this iPod stopped working as well, a few months after the iPod Shuffle was announced.

Frustrated with my experiences, but still happy overall with Apple, I purchased a 1GB first generation iPod Shuffle, disappointed that I was forced to use it, but happy to have a portable way to listen to my music.

After about a year and a half of full functionality, I bought a fourth generation 20GB iPod off of eBay, and was pleased when I received it and it functioned perfectly. I used my iPod Shuffle and my classic iPod for nearly a year, when they both stopped working while I was doing work overseas. Stuck in another country with hours of train rides ahead of me, without any way to listen to my music, was enough impetus for me to buy the brand-new iPod directly from Apple as soon as I got back to the States. As luck would have it, the iPod Classic was announced a few weeks before I flew home, and I bought the 80GB model.

The same day I received it, the iPod showed signs of a corrupted hard drive, flashing notifications that "this disk cannot be read or written to" when I tried to sync it with my iTunes. I had to head overseas for more work at that point, and left the iPod at home to take care of upon my return. In late November I was home again and called AppleCare, explaining the issue. The next day I received a box, and soon thereafter I sent it back to Apple. (See repair number [redacted]) After about a week, I was contacted and told that there was nothing wrong with my iPod. Assuming that the problem must have fixed itself, I eagerly awaited the return of my iPod. Once I received it, I began to sync it to my iTunes, and the same exact error appeared, accompanied by a hard reset on the iPod. This occurred each time I attempted to sync it. Figuring the issue must be with my computer, I borrowed a friend's iPod, but it had no problem syncing with my music library.

Mr. Jobs, over the past five years I have owned six iPods and spent roughly $1495 on the five I purchased directly from Apple. That's $299 per year on iPods alone. In that same amount of time I have owned one Apple desktop computer and two Apple laptops, all of which still function perfectly.

My work has me traveling around the world constantly, and being able to listen to my music or watch my videos is a beginning to become an unattainable luxury for me as opposed to a convenience. In the past I have enthusiastically endorsed Apple products to the scores of people I meet every week. My experiences with my iPods are beginning to make me question my loyalty.

Mr. Jobs, all I ask from you is one iPod that works. That's all I want.

Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,
Andrew

Consumerist -

Late last week week I CC'd you on an to Steve Jobs regarding my problems with iPods over the past several years. A few days after my email was sent, I was contacted by an Executive Customer Service rep who, after a few days of phone tag, got me to explicitly describe the malfunction of my current iPod. After about twenty minutes of going into explicit detail, I was told that Apple would get back to me before Monday.

Today I was emailed an article from their support site, along with a few general suggestions for idiots (i.e. "are you running the latest version of iTunes?" "did you try restoring your iPod?"). I was told to call one of the executive relations reps directly. Over the phone I had made it clear that I have been an Apple consumer for many years and am familiar with all their general troubleshooting, and have browsed the support articles already. I've attempted to call the number I was given many times, and the representative has been unable to be reached all day.

I'll give her a couple more days before I email Jobs again. My experience thus far has proved that Apple's "Executive Customer Relations" department is a joke.

Hope this helps, if you're considering covering yet another Apple customer's story.

Sincerely,
A.

(Photo:Maulleigh)

"Under the Consumer Product Safety Act," writes the CPSC, "Manufacturers, distributors and retailers are required to immediately report to CPSC information about products that could create a substantial risk of injury to the public or that create an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death."

"Shopping Channel HSN Agrees to Pay $875,000 Civil Penalty" [CPSC]

So i decided to return it. With out a doubt in my mind, I grabbed my receipt the defective unit and all of its packing and walked into the Best Buy. I was very confident that I was going to walk out with another XBOX. However, my worst fears had come to light. Alice, the Customer Service rep, said to me "The serial number on this receipt does not match the XBOX, you cannot return it." I argued, said that "this is the one I bought you cant be right".

Afterwards they told me that I can't return it and theres nothing I can do about it. At this point I was confused and furious. I thought someone had switched out my XBOX for a broken one. I went back to the college where it was kept and I made sure that the XBOX that I brought there that day had the same profile, saved games, guitar hero accomplishments and such. Everything was exactly the same. The hard drive was never removed and the XBOX was the one I bought.

Then I thought to myself "How about I find out whos serial number this really is?". I looked up the serial number from the XBOX unit. It was made in China in 2006. So after that I looked up the serial that was shown on the receipt. It couldn't find it! So I decided to Google (bless you Google) the serial number on my receipt. I nearly passed out when I found out what it was. It wasn't a serial number at all. It was the UPC code for the Guitar Hero bundle!!

So now, I have a score to settle and I had to drive 45 minutes back to the Best Buy. I arrived back, and as I waited in line, (Mike we will call him) was an assistant manager behind me (it seems) and there was an issue of a man who tried to take back a vacuum. They refused it because he didn't have a receipt.

The man was argumentative and they asked him to leave. As the man walked out, i heard Mike talking to his peers "douchebag" and other names were thrown around about him. I was irght in front of Mike and it heard it loud and clear.

After I waited in line, Alice was back at the register. She said "What is it now?" I told her that the serial number on this receipt wasn't a serial number at all. I told her it was the UPC. She denied my claim and told me that i couldn't return it. I told her that I was right, and the person who scanned it didn't do it correctly. She called another employee over to essentially, argue with me more. She said the same things "they don't match, you cant take this back".

So I asked for the manager. I told him the same thing about the UPS mix-up. He told me "Our employees are properly trained and would never do that." After some conversing behind the counter, I heard that Alice was the person who scanned my product on Black Friday when I bought it.

I then realized that this girl may be trying to save her own skin by lying to me. I asked her, please enter it into your computer, It will come up as the XBOX/Guitar Hero 2 bundle. She refused and told me that I couldn't return it. I told her, c'mon, i went home and Googled it, just Google it i know it will come up. She refused again. I asked the manager and he refused as well.

So, I said to them "I am going to report it to corporate and when it comes back, it won't be pretty" and without a hitch, this Alice girl yelled "Dont threaten me", as to make a scene about it. I said to both of them "I'm never going to come here again and I'm gonna let people i know what happened." Her assistant associate said "fine by me, leave."

So I walked towards the exit and I saw the General manager I knew from when I used to work there. (lets just say Bob). I said to him, please look this up, i know its not a serial number and I was refused an exchange even though I told them it was a UPC code.

He quickly typed the "serial number" into the "UPC" field on the kiosk and there you have it, it came right up. I was given a new XBOX and a new Guitar Hero game. As I was getting checked out for the new one, the other manager who refused me said "Look, you got what you wanted, think of this not as a loss, but as a victory, they are trained to do what they do because its store policy." So I told him "Is insulting customers on that list? They scanned the wrong thing and tried to cover it up by refusing to look it up." I took my well-deserved equipment, waved to my only friend there, Bob and left.

Thanks for going through this. I read your posts nearly every day at work. Keep up the good work!

Colin

(Photo:Maulleigh)

From MacNN:

"It started out a 1 pink line, Then about 2 weeks later another 2 lines appeared. Every now and then when I start up they are gone but seem to fade in after about 5 minutes."

We, the undersigned, request that Apple Inc. officially acknowledge and address the defect in their LCD Displays. The defect causes vertical lines (cyan/yellow/pink) to appear cutting through the screen and multiplying as time goes by. Unfortunately, the problem starts to appear right after the end of the one year warranty. This problem has been filling up the Apple's online discussion forum and with no possible solution. We are the loyal Apple fans and would love to see Apple show its appreciation by stepping up to this issue.

If this happens to you, the first thing you should do is check to see if the credit card you used to purchase the computer has extended warranty protection. If it does, you may not have to wait around for Jobs to read this blog.

iMac LCD screens failing en masse [MacNN](Thanks, Mike!)

Reader Frank recently purchased an iPhone that has a couple dead pixels and some other flaws and he'd just like to exchange the phone for a non-defective one.

Frank writes:

I enjoy your blog quite a bit and are probably already aware of this issue. You may want to remind readers of the problems they'll face trying to exchange an iPhone they buy at an AT&T Store. The short of it is you can't exchange a damaged iPhone at the the AT&T Store you bought it at unless you pay the 10% restocking fee. This is Apple's rule according to AT&T but one AppleCare rep I spoke to today was surprised they wouldn't exchange an OTB damaged iPhone and even tried calling AT&T for me. My experience is detailed below. Photo link on my OTB damaged iPhone follows...

I purchased an iPhone at the AT&T Store (5818) in Salinas, California on Black Friday. I turned it on at home and noticed 8-10 bright pixels showing up on the black startup screen. I wasn't happy about that but thought I could probably live with it. I turned my attention to the case, and noticed a flaw in the aluminum and another minor flaw near the SIM card holder. I was a little upset and finally decided that my brand new, $399 iPhone needs to be flawless (like the picture on the box).

So I call the AT&T store (11/24 at 2:30pm) and ask about exchanging it (I haven't activated or made a call on it yet). The store manager is nice enough but said that they don't have an exchange policy. If I want to exchange it, then I have to return the phone, pay a 10% restocking fee ($39) and buy a new phone. He says there is no way around this because the system automatically puts the charge on when you return the phone.

I couldn't help but point out the Catch 22 situation here. Since there is no way to inspect the iPhone before you buy then you are at the mercy of Apple's quality control. If they mess up, you pays for the error if you want to exchange it at the store you bought it from. Though not likely, what if my next iPhone is damaged out of the box? Yes, cha-ching... another $39 to exchange it.

The call to the Salinas store manager went pretty much as expected and he said that my best bet was to try calling Apple. I thought: "Great... refurbished iPhone."

So I call Apple (3:30pm) and the AppleCare Rep guy is understanding and all but the best he can do is send out a refurb. However, he tells me that he is going to to talk to Customer Relations and explain what was going on and see if they could send out a new phone. He says hold tight and put me on hold. About five minutes later, the phone resets to the main menu. I repeat my selection and the call disconnects.

I call back (4:00pm) and 15 minutes later I'm explain why I'm calling again to a new AppleCare rep. She listens and decides to talk to a product specialist about the issue. She comes back and asks if I talked to a manager at the AT&T Store, I tell her yes and reiterate what the store manager said. She seems a little surprised they won't swap it since it's damaged. No kidding.

She asks how close I am to an Apple Store and I tell her about 90 minutes which is a bit of drive. She decides to call AT&T herself and explain what is going on to see if I can get it exchanged. About 10 minutes later we both on hold to AT&T. I'm connected to an AT&T rep who spoke to the AppleCare Rep but doesn't know who I am. The AppleCare Rep has disappeared from the line. The AT&T Rep says she called the Salinas store but there is no way they can waive the fee. Their system simply won't let them waive the fee. She mentions the possibility of a credit to my AT&T account but that won't work since I haven't even activated the phone yet. Besides, what if this was a gift? That would be awkward. Ultimately, the AT&T rep decides she isn't sure why Apple called them since it's their rule regarding the 10% restocking fee. We figure out that I need to call Apple back.

I think about calling Apple back but it's 5:00pm and I don't feel up to it. At this point, I'm pretty sure I'll just return the phone and take the $39 dollar loss.

On the brightside, I had the same issue with the aluminum case on my 3rd generation iPod Nano. Fortunately, I bought it at Costco and swapping out the flawed Nano was easy as eating cake. Too bad Costco does not sell the iPhone.

Apple Purchase Policy
(Photo:nfarley)

Reader John writes:

Would it be possible for you guys to cover the Guitar Hero 3 for Wii sound issue? Activision and Red Octane so far have not and will not acknowledge that there is a problem with the sound for the Wii version of the game(which they should have made a press release that they were going to fix this once it was known there was a problem). When you contact support they just tell you to set up your receiver correctly which is wrong. The sound when set correctly to Dolby Pro Logic only comes out of the center speaker when it should come out of all speakers. Furthermore, a user has proved that the sound coming from the game is not even stereo sound, it's Mono. This is absurd for a game that is completely based off of sound.

Seems like the sort of thing that should have been disclosed on the box, no?

Guitar Hero III audio issues (thread) [GPForums]
No surround sound? (thread) [Guitar Hero]

According to KHON news, Walmart's catalog contains two such toys, the "date rape" Aquadots and Fisher-Price's Laugh and Learn kitchen.

Walmart says, "Unfortunately, this book was printed and shipped prior to completion of the additional testing and the recalls of these two products." They also said they're putting up signs informing shoppers of the recalls, (in the hopes that they'll get fewer complaints from people who aren't aware that the toys had been recalled, we assume.)

Sounds like a lot of fun.

Recalled toys make it into Wal-Mart's Holiday Guide [KHON]

Yeah, we don't want that to happen either. That's why you should stop using the recalled bicycles immediately and contact Huffy for instructions on tightening the crank.

This recall affects:

2007 model year, multi-speed bicycles with 26-inch, 24-inch or 20-inch wheels. The "Howler" was sold in black (model K3587, boy's model), blue (model K4587, men's model), and red (model K6587, men's model). The "Highland" was sold in white (model K4597, women's model) and blue (model K6597, women's model). The name "Howler" or "Highland" is printed on the frame of the bicycle, and the name "Huffy" is on the front of the frame. Model numbers are located on a label on the bottom of the frame where the crank is attached to the bicycle.

Contact Huffy Corp.(888) 366-3828 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit www.huffybikes.com

Huffy Recalls Bicycles Due To Cranks Falling Off; Riders Can Lose Control of Bike [CPSC]

After the husky firemen put it out, he called Apple, spent about an hour giving them an incident report, and had a new, free MacBook Pro sent to him within four days.

Like makeup sex, Jimm says he has stronger feelings about Apple than ever before:

It is like we had a fight, with knives and foreign objects and the authorities involved, but in the end, right before the credits roll, right before we look at each other covered in dirt and blood and soot and ripped clothes, we see eye to eye, human to human, me and the brand, and we shrug it off, make it even, manage a hug and keep walking together.

The Powerbook! The Powerbook! The Powerbook's on Fire! [Speak Up] (Thanks to CD!)

Yesterday my mother went to open a new jar of Stop and Shop light mayonnaise. After she unscrewed the cap the contents started bubbling out from under the seal. She removed the seal and the result is what you see here. We took it back to the store, where they apologized and replaced it with the non-exploding kind.

OMG MAYO GO BOOM!

Worse, he was in an airport. "If TSA had come by and seen me smoking, they could have honestly thought I was a terrorist," said Williams. That would have been bad.

Apple is willing to replace the device, but William's mom called the media because she was concerned about other people's pants lighting on fire. We can understand that. The Nano is powered by the notoriously fire-prone lithium-ion type of battery, says WSB news.

WSB in Atlanta called Apple to see how common the problem was:

After Channel 2 sent Apple pictures of the iPod, they called back but they refused to say how common the problem is. In fact, Apple refused to talk about this particular incident at all. "

Man's Pants Catch Fire At Airport [WSB] (Thanks, Aaron!)
(Photo:WSB)

Obviously Apple needs to tell its iPhone factory cities to increase the amphetamines in their indentured servant factory workers water coolers until they can get these darn screens right.

Defective iPhone Screen Video (.mov)

The following cars are included in the recall: 2005-2008 Jetta models and 2006-2008 Rabbit, GTI and R32.

No injuries have been reported. Call Volkswagen with your questions: 1-800-822-8987.

Volkswagen recalls 340,000 cars [CNNMoney]