Where were the robots? Jemande ordered Power Rangers robots for his son’s birthday, so he had a deadline. The merchant used UPS, and the package progressed smoothly to his local depot and onto a truck. UPS attempted to deliver and claims that no one was around. Jemande disputes this, but the really important part is what happened next. UPS took the package back to the depot, where it hung out from November 28th to December 4th (Wednesday to Tuesday) for no clear reason. [More]
delays
Nexus 4 And 10 Purchasers Just Want To Know Where Their Devices Are
By 11.19.12
Google announced a fresh assortment of Nexus mobile devices last week, so regular readers know what that means: a fresh assortment of reader complaints about the experience of ordering from Google. As we’ve noted pretty much every time the company releases a consumer-facing product, the company makes great products that consumers want, but still aren’t all that great at dealing with those customers. Tuesday’s release of the Nexus 4 (phone) and Nexus 10 (big tablet) worldwide were no different. Many customers whose orders got through before the Nexus 4 sold out (or did it?) aren’t sure when their phones are coming…if they’re coming at all. [More]
U.S. Postal Service Re-Enacts Seinfeld Episode, Delivers All June Mail On October 1
By 10.5.12
Jason didn’t say whether his mail carrier’s name happens to be Newman, but he was pretty surprised to receive most of his mail from June on October 1st. That’s understandable. Usually you’d expect to receive that stuff at least by the end of July. If it were just ad flyers, he wouldn’t be annoyed, but the giant bundle of misdirected mail contained important things like bills. Good thing he wasn’t expecting any checks. [More]
American Airlines Bends Laws Of Time And Space To Make Travel Experience Even Worse
By 9.18.12
Robin flew on American Airlines from Las Vegas to New York over the weekend, and he had the audacity to expect that airlines operate on something resembling normal-person time. If someone told you, a normal person, that they would make a decision in “a little while,” how long would you assume it would be? How about four hours? That’s how long a “little while” was when airline staff were eciding whether to let Robin’s delayed plane go due to weather. [More]
5 Appointments To Deliver Sears Dishwasher, Still No Dishwasher
By 9.8.11
When Wesley’s dishwasher died, he found himself in a sad and typical modern predicament: it was easier and more cost effective to go and buy a new dishwasher when his broke. So he ordered one from the Sears Outlet. This turned out to be a bad idea, at least if he wanted a dishwasher actually delivered to his house. If you enjoy waiting around for installers to never show up, perhaps Sears is your store. [More]
Despite Busy Thanksgiving Holiday, Flights Departed On Time In November
By 1.12.11
The Dept. of Transportation released its Air Travel Consumer Report for November 2010 yesterday, and for the first time since 2008, U.S. airports went two months in a row without a single plane being delayed on the tarmac for more than three hours. [More]
Sony's Repair Service Has Left My Coworker Computerless Since August
By 11.9.10
Back in August, Michael tried to do his co-worker a favor by guiding him through Sony’s warranty repair, but did him no favors because the the repair attempt ended up breaking the computer in a different way. The computer has since fallen out of the warranty window but apparently is still in the long, winding path toward redemption. [More]
Citibank Transfers Student Loan To Another Company, But Sits On $1000 Payment For 30 More Days
By 9.29.10
The last time I uncovered an obvious error with my Citibank checking account, I realized it was time to move on. Our tipster Roarke may have just reached that same conclusion, only in his case Citibank has already passed along the account for him–just not the thousand dollar electronic payment he made on it a few days prior, which Citibank says it plans to hang on to for another 30 days. [More]
An Insider's Look At A Four Hour United Express Delay
By 9.22.10
If there was something that could delay United Airlines flight 1488 from Washington to Philadelphia, then it happened, writes our tipster dev. Although originally meant to be a short one hour flight, the delays stretched to over three hours. Dev writes that most of the delays were caused by the pre-flight crew: “Those of us in the front of the aircraft could hear the Trans States Airlines crew griping over the fact that the ground crew, another contract outfit (this group from Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation), did not do their pre-flight prep work on the plane properly.” [More]
Charter To Customer With Five Failed Service Calls: "You Haven't Bugged Us Enough To Resolve Your Problem"
By 9.21.10
Charter tells it like it is: the problem with Eric’s incorrectly installed Internet service is that he hasn’t been trying hard enough to fix it. Here’s a copy of an email that Eric tried to send to Charter’s CEO last week, but it bounced back. Maybe someone at Charter can read it here? [More]
DOT Updates 'Fly Rights' Airline Consumer Guide
By 9.7.10
The Department of Transportation has updated its consumer guide to air travel, which provides a quick summary of what to look for when buying a ticket, and what protections you have during travel. It’s also a good starting point when you have an airline-related problem and need more information before deciding what to do next. [More]
There Are No TVs Here, Only Dell Hell And Despair
By 8.26.10
Brandon tells Consumerist that he found the best deal around on a huge Vizio TV from Dell. Unfortunately, instead of finding himself in 47″ HDTV bliss, Brandon found himself condemned to weeks in Dell Hell, while the company threw out empty promises and conflicting excuses, and in the end simply can’t deliver the television that Brandon purchased. [More]
Flight Cancellations Hold Steady Despite New Tarmac Delay Limit
By 8.8.10
Remember how airlines threatened to cancel a mess of flights if the Department of Transportation imposed fines for holding planes on the tarmac for more than three hours? Well, the DOT imposed the rule and it looks like airlines are coping just fine. The Wall Street Journal examined recently released data and found that the most probable explanation for the slight jump in cancellations is a combination of weather and shoddy maintenance. [More]
DOT Calls BS On "Misleading And Premature" Tarmac Delay Study
By 7.21.10
Remember that study from yesterday that said there had been a significant increase in the number of flight cancellations since the DOT enacted new rules limiting the number of hours a plane can sit on the tarmac? Well, it’s not sitting with the folks behind the rule, who say it’s a bunch of hogwash. [More]
Are Tarmac Rules Causing More Flight Cancellations?
By 7.20.10
According to a new study, the recently enacted DOT regulations that levy huge fines against airlines for planes that sit on the tarmac for more than three hours have been forcing carriers to cancel flights rather than face possible stiff penalties. [More]
You're Most Likely To Get Stranded On The Tarmac With Delta And United
By 7.12.10
Every month the Department of Transportation issues the Air Travel Consumer Report. This month the report has statistics about tarmac delays — and the numbers aren’t good for Delta, United and their regional partners. [More]
Passenger Says Frontier Airlines Used Fake Weather Delay To Avoid Compensating Passengers
By 6.29.10
Scott says his flight from San Antonio to Denver was delayed last night because “the weather computer was not working,” but two hours later that excuse was replaced with a “weather-related delay” in Denver. The problem is, Denver was sunny and clear at the time. [More]
