Recently, Consumerist received an anonymous tip pointing to an internet address that hosted digital images of bathtubs, garage doors, kitchen countertops, contractors at work on various projects, and customers picking out and paying for products in a home-center store. The site also hosted 13 Excel spreadsheets of customer records, including the full names, phone numbers, mailing addresses and email addresses of approximately 8,000 people, as well as other information chronicling the apparent installation complaints of each customer. [More]
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Comcast Memo: Rep From “Painful” Retention Call Was Doing “What We Trained Him To Do”
By 7.21.14
A week after the posting of the neediest customer-retention call in Comcast history, the fallout continues, with the company’s Chief Operating Officer telling Comcast employees in a memo leaked to Consumerist that the incident was “painful to listen to,” but that the rep “did a lot of what we trained him…to do.” [More]
Apple Pushes Record Labels To Offer Exclusive iTunes Content, Block Initial Streaming
By 3.11.14
While Apple is still trying to fight its loss in last year’s e-book price-fixing lawsuit, a new report claims the electronics giant is making controversial waves in the music industry by pushing record companies to make Apple the exclusive venue for new releases. [More]
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps Talks Mergers With Consumerist
By 4.22.11
Of the commissioners on the FCC, Michael Copps is easily the most outspoken in his opinion on media consolidation. In January, he was the only commissioner to vote against the sale of NBC to Comcast, saying that the deal “grievously fails the public interest.” More recently, he’s expressed his skepticism about how smoothly the AT&T purchase of T-Mobile USA will go. And he’s also a cool enough guy to sit down for a chat with Consumerist. [More]
Cablevision Blatantly Lies To Subscribers As The FCC Twiddles Its Thumbs
By 4.19.08
Update: Cablevision responds.
"Major Retailer's" Data Breach Results In Wave Of Credit Card Fraud?
By 1.15.08
Anecdotal evidence suggests that a recently reported data breach by an undisclosed “major retailer” has resulted in a jump in consumers having their debit cards forcibly reissued, or calls from their bank to verify their recent purchase history. The problems seem to have started just around Christmas time and have continued into mid-January.
Original Video: Attention Macy's Shoppers, Are You Debt Free?
By 12.5.07
We sent Gawker video wunderkid Alex Goldberg to the front of Macy’s in New York to ask shoppers if they were debt free, and if that would have any effect on their holiday spending. Overall the answer is no.
Internal AT&T Manual For Handling All Kinds Of Customer Complaints
By 8.15.07
Here’s a direct port from the AT&T/Cingular internal database on how to handle complaining customers. These are the document every customer service rep in their call centers uses to deal with you when you kvetch. If you have an issue with AT&T, you can use this as a guide to see how they’re going to react to your various thrusts and parries, from simple billing and service issues to requests for cancellation and escalations to the Office of the President (gamely referred to by the acronym “OOP”)…
Purina Pays More Homage To Madonna And Child Motif, For Some Strange Reason
By 4.5.07
Yesterday we posted about how a package of Purina Naturals cat food bore striking resemblance to the Madonna And Child motif, a central icon of Christianity, represented in hundreds of paintings through thousands of years of human history.
Purina Cat Food Logo Rips Off Christianity
By 4.4.07
Looks like Purina took inspiration for their Premium Natural logo from Christianity’s famous Madonna And Child motif.
“Millions” Of Visa & MasterCard Accounts Breached?
By 1.8.07
Reader S. got a call this morning from Citibank. They said her card had been compromised and she needed a new card. When she asked for details, Citibank could only say that an unspecified business had their system compromised, affecting “millions” of Visa and MasterCards
Fairey Responds To Walmart Ripping Off His Nazi Shirt
By 11.16.06
Shepard Fairey told us what he thought about Walmart ripping off his Nazi tshirt design: [More]
Best Black Friday Deals
By 11.15.06
Because you’re lazy and we’re nice, we’ve scoured the forums and pored over the adscans.
CNN Reports On Walmart’s Nazi Shirt
By 11.14.06
