You can see from her list—which includes pillow protectors, wall appliqués, a can opener, and light bulbs—that it's not like any one category is more suspect. Instead, the theme that emerges is that build quality is a real issue:

The can opener is a copy of the Star Frit one that leaves no sharp edges on the lid of the can. It's attractively packaged in a window box that's probably worth more than the can opener. The first time I tried to use it, it went completely to pieces and it hadn't even made a dent in the can.

It may seem self-evident that you shouldn't buy complicated or electronic items from your dollar store, but Alexander also found a package of 400 cotton swabs that wasn't worth the buck: "The sticks bend in half with very little pressure making them kinda useless."

Alexander notes that her local store doesn't offer a return policy, so she ends up having to eat the cost of these experiments in cheapness. One of her commenters, however, points out that Dollar General stores do offer refunds. You might want to make sure your own local dollar store is willing to back up shoddy merchandise before you buy it.

"Don't buy these dollar store duds" [WalletPop]
Dollar Store Style
(Photo: Loozrboy)

David says:

You guys need to start reporting on the failures of Verizon's DVR service.

I am on my 5th (yes 5) set-top box. Finally after taking your suggestion, I sent a letter to the president of Verizon. Their executive cust service person called me and acknowledged tons of problems and said that they are planning a software/firmware update, but it wont fix many of the current problems:

The 1st Gen box doesn't erase programs on the box. So the % used fills up and you cannot record more unless you power cycle the unit
The boxes [fail to] record programs
The boxes crash often (3 times during the NY Giant game yesterday)
The remote barely works unless you are 4 feet directly in front of the box

I've never had a worse experience. I yearn for a new Tivo.

How about a questionnaire to see if people are as fed up with Verizon as I am. I'm hoping your reporting on it will place more emphasis on fixing the problems and less on advertising that stupid commercial.

Your wish has been granted.

Leave your thoughts on FiOS' DVR in the comments or tell us about your experience at tips@consumerist.com, put "fios dvr" in the subject.

(Photo:ianphilipmiller)

Bryan writes:

About 18 months ago I purchased a new HDTV from Best Buy and also purchased the extended service plan (stupid I know, but this was before I started reading Consumerist). I purchased this specific TV because the light source was supposed to last for 5 years and even came with a 5yr warranty. Well, as it turns out the light didn't last nearly 5 years. It conked out after 6 months. I thought maybe it was just a bad part so I spent about a month in the Geek Squad repair cycle and had it replaced. The TV worked great for about another 6 months, when the light source died again. I again went through the Geek Squad repair maze and about a month later the TV was fixed. This time the light source broke within 1 week of the repair. Ok, I was irritated before but now I am getting mad. Luckily this time I was on vacation and the TV was repaired before I got back home. Another 6 months later and the light source broke for the 4th time.

I decided to contact Best Buy and request a replacement under their "no lemon" clause of the extended warranty. After all I have had 4 failures of the TV and that is what it takes under the policy to get replaced. To my dismay, but not unexpected, a Best Buy CSR left a message on my cell phone denying my claim. He said the light source was not a qualified part under the policy. The next day I called Best Buy to investigate the denial. The CSR I spoke to repeated that the light source was not a qualified repair. Knowing I would not get anywhere I immediately asked to speak with a supervisor. I very much thought my call would get disconnected right then but to my surprise a supervisor was on the line in less than a minute. I went back and forth with him for about 10 minutes about the policy and why it should qualify. Needless to say he would not budge from the "not qualified" line so I ended our conversation.

This is when I decided to take The Consumerist's advise and write an EECB to Best Buy. Less than 24 hours later I was contacted by the Executive Relations Specialist. She said that she would be looking into my issue and would contact me soon. To my complete shock and amazement the Executive Relations Specialist contacted me less than a week later and said that my replacement had been approved. She supplied me with an exchange number to take to any Best Buy to get a new TV. I can even use the original purchase price as credit towards a different TV.

Below are the email that I sent to the Best Buy Executives and their responses. Thanks Consumerist!

Bryan sent one of the better EECBs we've ever read. It's clear, direct, and earns the reader's sympathy. He wrote:

I would like to begin by thanking you for taking the time to read my letter and for taking the necessary steps necessary to resolve my situation. Please know that I am not taking writing to you directly lightly. I have tried to resolve my issue through both Geek Squad and Best Buy customer service on many occasions. Being unable to resolve my issue through normal channels I feel that I have no other option but appeal to you directly.

I have been a loyal Best Buy customer for many years and am a Preferred Silver member of your Reward Zone program. I have been very pleased with the level of customer service that I have received from your stores, until now. My story begins when I bought a 56" Panasonic LiFi LCD Projection TV on January 3, 2008 along with the Performance Service Plan #XXXXXXXXX (a copy of the receipt is attached). I selected this specific television because both Best Buy and Panasonic claimed that the LiFi light source in the television had an expected life of 20,000 hours and "lasts so long you may never need to change it."

Sadly, over the year and a half that I have owned the TV is has fallen vastly short of living up to its claims. Only six months after purchasing the TV the LiFi light source on went out and needed to be replaced. Approximately six months after that the LiFi light source failed again requiring another replacement. This time the LiFi light source only lasted a single week before it went out again and needed another replacement. Just recently, the LiFi blight source failed again and requires another replacement. This is the fourth time in a year and a half that the LiFi light source has failed and needed replacement (receipts for all repairs are attached). During the last service call the Geek Squad technician conducted a performance test on the TV to verify that no other components were causing the problems. He established, and verified with Panasonic, that there were no other problems with the TV causing the LiFi light source to fail.

At this point I contacted Best Buy customer service to fail a claim under the "No Lemon" policy of the PSP for a replacement TV. The representative who took my claim was very helpful and told me a confirmation number would be sent in 3-5 business days that can be used to obtain a replacement. However, instead of a confirmation number a representative named "Brian" called me on 7/3/09 to inform me that my claim had been denied.

On 7/7/09 I contacted Best Buy customer service again to inquire as to why my claim had been denied. I first spoke with "Chava" who informed me that a technician had determined that the TV was repairable and therefore not eligible for replacement. Upon hearing this I asked to be transferred to a manager for further clarification. I then spoke with "Matt" who I spoke with for 20 minutes regarding my situation. During our conversation Matt gave several contradictory excuses for why my TV was not eligible for a "No Lemon" replacement. Below I will discuss each of Matt's arguments separately.

1) Matt: If the technician determines the TV to be repairable then it does not have to be replaced.

a. Under the PSP is specifically states "After three qualified (3) service repairs have been completed on an individual product and that individual product requires a fourth qualified (4th) repair, as determined by us, we will replace it with a product of comparable performance of like kind and quality not to exceed the original purchase amount." The PSP does not give the option to continue repairing the TV after the 4th repair. It only gives the option for replacement.

2) Matt in response to above: The LiFi light source is not a qualified repair as it is a "consumable part" because it is a "bulb."

a. The LiFi light source is not a consumable part as defined by the PSP. It does not have electrodes that deteriorate with time like a traditional projection bulb. It is designed to not be consumable and last the life of the TV.

b. The LiFi light source is not considered a "bulb" in other parts of the PSP, and therefore should not qualify as such under the "No Lemon" policy.

i. The PSP states that it will only "One (1) bulb replacement for DLP, Projection LCD TVs and Home Theater Projectors of your original bulb during the term of this plan" will be approved."

ii. However, the LiFi light source has already been approved for replacement under the PSP three times. This shows that the LiFi light source is not considered a "bulb" under the PSP.

Needless to say, Matt was not able to resolve my issue with the perpetually broken TV which is why I am writing to you. Over the past year and a half that I have owned the TV it has been broken and inoperable approximately 20% of the time. In order to get the TV repaired I have taken 4 full days off of work to be available for the Geek Squad service technician. These constant repairs have cost me a great deal of lost income and entertainment time; time and money that should never have been lost if the TV was not a "Lemon."

The bottom line is that the TV is not living up to the claims made by Best Buy and Panasonic when I purchased it. The LiFi light source in the TV has failed four times in the past year and each time needed to be replaced. I purchased the additional Performance Service Plan to protect me from this exact situation but am now being denied my rights under the agreement.

I ask that you please look into my situation and rectify the egregious error. I am not asking for anything more then what is rightfully owed to me under the PSP; a replacement of the faulty TV through the "No Lemon" policy of the PSP. I would even be willing to accept a refund of the original purchase price of the TV in the form of a Best Buy gift card so I can purchase a replacement myself.

Again, I thank you for taking the time to read my letter and address the issues that are raised within it. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at xxx-xxx-xxxx or email address.

An executive resolution specialist responded with a promise to look into his case:

Good morning Bryan,

I wanted to reach out to you surrounding the email you had sent to a few of our executives and leadership yesterday afternoon. Please allow me to address your concerns on their behalf.

I am truly sorry to hear about the number of times the LiFi light has had to be replaced within your Panasonic LiFi Projection TV in the last

18 months or so. I can understand your disappointment and I regret the inconvenience these issues must have caused. Normally, projection lights are considered bulbs/lamps which although may be covered under your Plan, does not count toward No Lemon.

However I would like to take the opportunity to partner with the local leadership to see what resolution we may be able to offer. I will reach back in touch with you again soon.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns in the mean time.

Respectfully,

Nichol Mathis
Executive Resolution Specialist

She quickly followed up with an offer to replace the defective television:

Hello Bryan,

I wanted to reach back out to you. I received an email late yesterday advising me that we were able to approve your TV for exchange. Your confirmation number is xxxxxxx.

You may go to the store immediately to have the exchange performed.

Please be sure to bring your confirmation number and receipt if possible. If you no longer have a copy of the receipt then you can refer to your Customer Service Pin which will allow the store to locate the transaction. The pin is xxxxxxxxxx.

Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Kind regards,

Nichol Mathis
Executive Resolution Specialist

Learn how to launch your own EECB by reading this post.

(Photo: The Joy Of The Mundane)

Here's his story:

So a few months ago I decided with my workplace being pretty close I was going to commute by bike, and decided to shell out the big bucks (for me anyway) for a quality bike.

The bike I purchased through my bike shop wound up being full of problems. The fretwheel made this grinding noise, the pedals broke, and the top coat of paint mysteriously started dissolving in some spots. My local bike shop did a pretty good job of working out the first two problems but there wasn't much they could do about the paint.

I went to the Trek website and through the standard web feedback page expressed my feelings about the quality of the product I received. A few weeks later I get an email from an awesome Trek employee named Jason saying that the issues I was having were not the norm for their products and that he would like to get my bike back to Trek for evaluation and replace it with a new one.

One email later to tell him which bike shop I purchased it from and a replacement was there two days later. I was floored to have an issue go from problem to resolution with so little effort. I think that these guys deserve a round of applause.

By the way, the replacement they sent has absolutely no flaws and is a blast to ride.

Nicely done, Trek!

Paul's 2009 Accord is suffering from bakes breakage:

I recently (March 7) bought a new 2009 Honda Accord, and after 2 days it has brake issues. I have taken it in to Honda 5 times to still have no resolution. They "deglazed" the rotors first, a few hours after I got it back, same thing. Now they claim Honda knows about the issue and is investigating the issue.

I've got a brand new $30K car with malfunctioning brakes, and Honda knows about it and won't fix the problem. I need help.

Paul should start here and keep pressing. Honda has been known to respond to pressure after putting off dealing with important issues for as long as possible.

(Photo:mr. hodgson)

Two weeks ago, Jason e-mailed us looking for executive contact info to launch an EECB at LG. He was frustrated with the usual channels:

We've been having problems with a refrigerator we bought from Best Buy last October. It's never worked right and every time they've sent service out it's gotten worse and worse. After their latest attempt last week, the freezer runs all the time, the ice and water doesn't work, we've got water dripping down in the freezer forming mini-glaciers and the front panel controls for temperature don't work. They've been out four times and insist that they have to continue throwing parts at it. We feel that under the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act we have the right to elect repair, but we're stopped by the first level supervisor at their customer support line (Jewel) who says that their policies supersede law. They gave me an address to write to but promised that it only goes back to their department. We're extremely frustrated and we can't keep losing food and medicine to this thing, but they're not helping us out at all. They say that the service company they contract with has to say that it's unrepairable and the service company says that they can't do that since technically every part but the cabinet is replaceable and LG's technical support line tells them to keep putting parts in. Jewel denies this and says that we're really not caught in the middle like we actually are. Best Buy is being surprisingly helpful and the operations manager of the store we purchased it from is checking with her district manager to see if they can just junk it out and give us a new (non LG!) refrigerator.

Well. How did this all work out? We heard back from Jason earlier today. LG never came through, but Best Buy did—remember, they just bought this refrigerator there six months ago.

After LG sent out parts again, the repair finally killed the refrigerator and tripped the circuit breaker inside the house. I called LG back up and was connected with a different supervisor (Sherry Pederson). She was very nice and apologetic that the issue had gotten so bad and the support we received was so bad and given the current situation, forwarded our case to their RA department. It still took from April 24 to April 28 for them to get the RA approved and then we encountered more hassle at Best Buy.

The operations manager we originally spoke to was on vacation and got the runaround from the managers on staff. They did not want to honor the promise of the operations manager to honor all discounts that we received. After a total of over two hours in the store they finally agreed to honor the original discounts on a new refrigerator and we selected a Samsung. We chose Samsung because the refrigerator that the LG replaced was a Samsung was flawless. So far we are satisfied with the Samsung and will never purchase another LG product again due to the complete breakdown of the LG repair and support process.

It's unfortunate, but not surprising that the appliance had to be broken beyond all functioning before it was replaced.

(Photo: Dominic's Pics)

Chris says:

Do you know that Home Depot sells G.E. Hot Water Tanks? Do you know that those tanks come with a 6 year warranty? And did you know that if you get a defective tank from Home Depot there is a sticker on the tank with a 1-800 number to call for warranty service rather than taking the tank back out and returning it to the store? And when you call the number they help diagnose your problem and set up a service call with a G.E. repair tech that covers your area?

This all happened over Easter Weekend at my parents' house. They are elderly and my dad is handicapped. The people at the 1-800 number were wonderful….until Monday afternoon. That's when my parents got a phone call telling them that while GE would happily overnight them a replacement thermostat to replace the defective one on the tank they had no G.E. service techs in the Western Massachusetts area. Instead they suggested that my parents find a plumber and have it fixed themselves. They said that if the plumber submitted the proper paperwork to G.E. that he would be reimbursed "up to $100" for his efforts. What plumber is going to come and do repairs to a tank that he didn't install for "up to $100" if he submits the proper paperwork to G.E. after the fact?

In other words, Home Depot sells hot water tanks from G.E. with a warranty that G.E. is unable to fulfill in the Western Massachusetts area. But consumers don't find that out until it is too late. Needless to say I am following The Consumerist's advice on how to escalate this as well as filing complaints with the appropriate Better Business Bureau office and the Massachusetts State Attorney General's office for warranty fraud.

We asked Chris to keep us informed, and a day later we got this:

Yesterday afternoon I received an arrogant, obnoxious call from someone in Alabama that makes the hot water tanks and also provides the service on the warranty for G.E. He insisted that by offering to reimburse my parents or a hired plumber (up to $100) that they were still offering warranty service. When I explained that it says nothing like that on the written warranty he had no response. He offered to call and speak with my parents. When he did so he told my mother that if she made multiple calls to multiple plumbers he was sure that she could find someone to do the job for under $100!! Needless to say we all found that unacceptable for something that was broken out-of-the-box.

About 30 minutes after that I was involved in a conference call with someone representing Frank Blake, CEO of Home Depot, the manager of the store in West Springfield, MA where the tank was purchased and also the person responsible for handling contracts between Home Depot and G.E. All three seemed genuinely shocked that G.E. would not honor their warranty in Western Massachusetts. None of them had ever heard of this happening. I was the first to bring this to anyone's attention at Home Depot and they were more than happy to help my parents resolve the issue. In other words, Home Depot was backing the warranty that G.E. wouldn't! From a business and legal perspective they weren't at all obligated and they could have told me that but didn't. As of this email, a plumber from Home Depot is scheduled to be at my parent's house today to fix or entirely replace the defective tank. They said that they would be dealing with G.E. when this was all taken care of.

I can honestly say that I was totally shocked by the positive customer service commitment from Home Depot. I never expected this response in a million years. Frank Blake and his people, especially Chris, the manager in West Springfield, have gone way above and beyond what was expected. As for G.E., I got exactly the response I expected; arrogance, ignorance and completely ignored by the higher-ups I emailed on par with Frank Blake.

Good job, Home Depot!

(Photo:mroach)

Sharon writes:

I wanted to pass along a tip about an ongoing situation with MLB.tv, the highly promoted streaming video service for Major League Baseball. The service has struggled in years past and it's happening again this year (despite switching from MS Silverlight to Flash and promising changes). Games are unavailable, freeze, or are so pixelated that they're unwatchable. All for $109.99!


For many fans (myself included), Opening Day was unwatchable and the problems are still not resolved. To add insult to injury, every day MLB releases a puff piece about how great their service is. But check out the comments on the latest article for a more accurate picture.

Here are some of the comments:

So far it stinks. I spent the WHOLE night just trying to get on and all it kept saying is install adobe which I already have. Dont think anything has improved as I have subscribed for several years and they always want to blame your pc

Maybe some of these deep pocketed executives can come and tell my 12 year old son why he can't watch his favorite team. WHAT A SCAM!

I think that you have a typo in the headline for this article. It actually should read as: MLB.TV: Day 2 brings more excrement

This was supposed to be MLB.TV's year. They lowered the price and they got rid of awful [in my experience—ed.] Microsoft Silverlight in favor of Flash so people could watch it at work. Instead, it seems like the same buggy crapshoot that made this three-year customer decide not to renew.

Last year, we wrote about MLB telling customers who paid for its "premium" HD option that the HD games were a "bonus" that they weren't required to provide. Before that, we wrote about MLB's tendency to overcharge customers or autorenew their MLB.TV subscriptions without permission.

The other options for watching games aren't much better. You could just catch the games on ESPN and Fox, but anyone who's sat through Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver on their respective stations knows that's hardly an attractive choice. There's also the Extra Innings package available through providers like Comcast and DirecTV, but they didn't have such a hot start last year, and a lot of Comcast's games aren't in HD. Short of moving to your team's hometown, your best bet for now is using the free game tracker services that MLB, Yahoo!, and ESPN offer.

(Photo: afagen)

Is this the latest stage in an EECB arms race, or is there something he's doing wrong to trigger the spam filter? Here's his email; what do you think is the problem?

Dear Sirs/Ma'ams,

I am writing to you to inform you that my Halo 3 Xbox 360 console, which I obtained around October of 2007, has begun cracking game discs that I put into it. So far, it has cracked 2 of my games, which are Halo 3 and Rock Band 2. It has begun to crack a third game, Fable 2. All 3 of these games have the same exact crack pattern, which I have detailed in this internet posting:

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showpost.php?p=8809840&postcount=1

I have tried to get your customer support line to assist me in this manner, but they either stonewall me or deny the Xbox is capable of doing this. I keep my games in their boxes, and take care of them. This has started to happen over just the past couple of weeks. I cannot get your customer support line to even consider fixing my Xbox, let alone replace my games. Losing over 180$ worth of games because my Xbox decided to break them is not a fun idea. If I cannot get them replaced, I am not going to rebuy them just to have them broken again, and I am not going to spend money on another Xbox to replace a manufacturer defect. There is also the fact that I cannot buy a new Halo Xbox 360, as they were a limited run.

As a side effect of this, I can no longer play my hundreds of Rock Band DLC tracks, and cannot buy anymore without spending 60$ to replace the Rock Band 2 disc.

I look forward to a reply on this matter,
#########
########@gmail.com
(402)###-####

Patty says:

I bought a scissors click keyboard a few months ago from NewEgg. It took forever for me to figure out that it was causing all kinds of start up problems. I put it away and went back to the Microsoft but I hate the Microsoft - it's black and I can't see the friggin keys and I need to see the friggin keys! The scissors clicker is little and light weight and I can see the keys. So I decide what the hell, I can hit F2 every time I boot up and go into Bios and then out again, what the hell. So I plug it in and guess what - I hit M and I get a 0, I hit 0 and I get an asterisk. This greatly hampers signing in to my checking account. It also makes filling out the customer service contact form at the keyboard manufacturer site difficult being as most of the other keys are also typing things other than the symbol showing on their surface. But no worries - the keyboard manufacturers site doesn't work anyway. Not only that but their phone number puts me through to a full mailbox with no other contact options.

So I write NewEgg asking if they know how to get in touch with these maroons. I bought the thing three months ago and figure a piece of crap like that has just got to be out of warranty. And then I get this from NewEgg...

I am flabbergasted, FLABBERGASTED!

Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting Newegg.

I do apologize for any inconvenience caused. We would recommend contacting the manufacturer for item#xxxxxx at xxxxxxx for the warranty on the item. However, there is still 246 days left of replacement period through Newegg. So as a courtesy I have created order xxxxxxxxx to send a replacement for the keyboard. You should receive it by Friday and you may toss the defective item away.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please visit our FAQs page. If you still need assistance, please feel free to email me directly and I will be happy to assist you.

Thank you,

Alex

Well, hooray for that. Other companies take note, if you want someone to be insanely, ridiculously happy — just send them a new one of whatever broke.

I've now invested more than 20 phone hours over the course of 14 months trying to get the refund Samsung promised to me for their absolutely terrible digital picture frame. And I've given up... they win... I no longer have the time or energy to waste with them.

I purchased their Wifi picture frame for my mom for last Christmas. I spent twice as much as I would have for the WiFi capability so I could update pictures for my parents through Flickr. Great idea. And the frame actually worked for a few weeks. But after I shipped it to my Mom and she got it set up it soon failed. She shipped it back to me and I could not get it to work. I called Samsung customer service and several of the people I spoke with could not even find the fact that Samsung sold a picture frame! That was last spring.

Since then I've had two replacements. Neither of them worked even out of the box. And one took 3 months to even arrive back. When I called in November I had to convince them that since the product never really worked they should give me a refund. This process took many hours of waiting on hold but I finally got ECR (Executive Customer Relations) to agree to a refund (albeit without shipping).

Three side notes:

1. 1. Executive Customer Relations' (ECR) direct phone number is (800) 522-7341. I just got this phone number yesterday after being told repeatedly that ECR does NOT have a direct phone number and that you have to go through regular customer service every time.
2. 2. The Amazon review for this frame is fairly decent. I think it is a hoax or it is being pumped up. No one who tries to connect this thing to WiFi is going to be successful.
3. 3. Some days ECR did not even answer the phone. I was on hold a couple of times for more than 2 hours and got so sick of their music on hold that I finally hung up and decided to call back another time.

After I convinced them they needed to give a refund they said OK and an RMA label would be arriving in my email. No such luck. I did, however, start receiving their marketing email messages which I thought was very nice.

I called again in December and they had no record of my service number. Once again they promised to send me an RMA... this phone call took another 2 hours.

Nothing...

I called again Monday... admittedly a holiday for some... customer service answered... again no record of my service number. They sent me to ECR... everybody in my office complained about their hold music so I hung up after, I think, an hour.

I called again yesterday. ECR sounded miffed that I was miffed. But, once again, I was promised a refund and an RMA.

I'm done... We have bought a lot of Samsung monitors in my office. And a fair amount of other Samsung products. I'm done... they win... there are other companies and other products. I can only think that if Samsung gets rid of their pesky customers they will be much happier.

I hope this helps someone else.
Dave

(Photo: tanakawho)

As I was getting into my car to go to work a Fed Ex Express van pulled up behind me. It was my replacement Jawbone from Aliph. I definitely wasn't expecting it to be overnighted to me.

I opened the box and inside with the brand new Jawbone was a hand written note from Lindsey Cromwell who is Richard's executive assistant. Also include were 2 Jawbone car chargers and 2 sets of their new earbuds which was another unexpected surprise.

This was a great customer service experience!

Excellent. Horrible problem reported Monday night, no-questions replacement + personalized prizepack received Wednesday morning, going from Jawbone melting to jaw-droppingly good customer service. You just earned yourselves a place in the "Above and Beyond" hall of fame!

PREVIOUSLY: My Jawbone Melted

Smoke began pouring out of Marc's Jawbone cellphone headset last night:

I purchased a new Aliph Jawbone 2 directly from Aliph back in July. I owned an original Jawbone and was happy to see it shrink in size. It's been working extremely well and I haven't had any issues with it...until last night.

I connected my charger to a USB port on my computer and I charged my headset like I have any other time. I was on my computer doing some web surfing when I noticed a burning smell. I look over at my headset and saw smoke coming out of it.

I immediately disconnected it from the charger but the smoke kept coming. I noticed that it was also getting hotter. I didn't want it to burst into flames so I ran into the bathroom and ran it under the faucet. I've attached some photos showing what ended up happening to the headset.

I contacted Aliph support and was told that since it's not a technical issue that they could fix (really?) that my issue would be forwarded to a specialist. I'm still waiting to get a call back and will update once I do.

Must have been one too many steamy calls on the $.99 per minute lines.

From the WSJ:

At the store, they told me they exchanged shoes only for the first month or so. Four months for a running shoe was ancient, they said. Some customers bought shoes every month.

That was news to me. I typically keep running shoes — which I use for a regimen of walking and sprinting — for a year or two. And I had never, ever had an eyelet fail in any shoe, even ones that were completely worn out.

He was instructed to contact Nike. So he did. They asked him to mail the shoes to them. So he did (for $7.) Nike "determined there was no manufacturing flaw" and mailed them back to him.

When he called for comment on his story, Nike changed their tune.

I was seeing red. Here, I had dropped $85 on shoes that were poorly made. Then I had been forced to spend another $7 only to be told, effectively, tough luck.

I spent nearly half an hour on the phone pretty much yelling at the Nike customer representative. I talked to her boss. That didn't work either.

When I asked Nike to comment for this column, a spokesman replied that the company had in fact been honoring return requests for the same model of shoe I had bought. "It appears that your recent claim should have also been honored," he wrote.

So we suppose the answer is — it's almost impossible to return a defective running shoe — but it helps if you write for the Wall Street Journal. Or actually, maybe it doesn't. According to Neal, he gave up and found a way to lace his shoes without using that eyelet.

How It Felt to Be Kicked by a Running Shoe [WSJ] (Thanks, Mike!)
(Photo: smcgee )

Aaron says:

I started college recently and of course one of my expenses was a new backpack. It was nothing special. Just a $30 dollar Adidas backpack I bought at Academy. Another expense I have yet to be able to afford is transportation, so I take the bus. One day after school last week I had to wait in the rain for a bit. I didn't mind this too much since all my stuff was safe in my bag and I had worn a hoodie that day. Well, I don't know bout you, but I have never had a backpack absorb so much water. My papers and textbook were ruined. Luckily, the class all those papers and textbook were for had ended. I called Adidas to complain. They referred me to Agron, the company that handles their backpack products.

The rep heard my complaint and being a college student as well, sympathized with me. He asked me to email him the receipt which I did not have. I thought I was shit out of luck but no... he said "Why don't you take and send me a picture via email along with your address ,we just need proof". I did and today I came home and found a big box on my bed. I open it and there was a new $75 Adidas Backpack .

They couldn't replace the book but that didn't matter too much as I was only going to resell it and probably wouldn't have gotten much for it.

Just thought I'd share this story with you all,
Aaron

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]