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Macy's

After a successful pilot program, Macy's is putting fancy Japanese-style vending machines in 400 of its stores. They'll sell things like iPods and cameras. Looks like Macy's will have to add another list of things excluded from its not-very-valuable coupons. [Reuters]

accolades

Macy's Switches To Biodegradable Packing Peanuts

Wesa ordered a cast iron pot from Macy's and it got packed in these special packing peanuts which Macy's says are 100% biodegradable. They're made from corn and potato starch. Macy's says you can dissolve them in water and pour in the garden, yard, sink, or toilet, or put them in the compost, put them in the ground, or simply throw them away where they will "dissolve in the landfill." Pretty neat! The accompanying flyer is inside. More »

complaints

Stingy Ben And Jerry's Manager Cuts Off Free Cone Supply, Ruining "Free Cone Day"

Karen is breaking up with Ben & Jerry's because one of their managers defiled "Free Cone Day," by deciding to cut it short. Here's the tongue-in-cheek Dear John (or is that, Dear Jerry?) letter she sent them. More »

shoplifting

Suspected Hat Stealer Drops Dead In Macy's

Last Thursday, a 400-pound man in his early thirties was confronted at a Macy's in Oakland, California, and accused of shoplifting a hat from the men's department. According to CBS News in San Francisco, "Security officers at the mall then attempted to arrest and detain Gomes, who allegedly resisted and assaulted security personnel, according to police." The police were called, but on their way to the mall they received a follow-up report that the man had become unresponsive. He died later that evening at a hospital. More »

macy's

Macy's Keeps Lowering Shopper's Credit Limit Without Warning

Trey is upset. Four times in the past year, Macy's has reduced the credit limit on his card without advance notice, even as his card membership level keeps going up. (Apparently he really likes liked to shop at Macy's.) "I lit into them for not advising me of my credit limit decrease, especially considering just three days before I received a brand new Macy*s platinum card in the mail, where they had the perfect opportunity to let me know it was now only $800." More »

rankings

Latest ACSI Survey Is Out: You Really Like Dollar General

The American Customer Satisfaction Index has released its latest scores of retail businesses, so we thought we'd take a look at the department store rankings by constructing a handy graph. When it comes to customer satisfaction, apparently Dollar General is doing something right—and Wal-Mart, as usual, is doing lots of things wrong. More »

videos

Original Video: Attention Macy's Shoppers, Are You Debt Free?

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. Most people don't want to give up their debt either, as it would mean they don't have a house or car. Ok, that one works for us. More »

fights

Florida Shopper Punched In Face In Black Friday Scrum

A shopper was punched in the face in the 1am scramble outside a Macy's in Central Florida at the Altamonte Mall. Way to shop, indeed. "They couldn't open the doors because there were too many people pushing," Rhonda Wega told the Orlando Sentinel. "It was chaotic." Once again we have a problem with outward-opening mall doors. Guess they need to invent futuristic inward-opening inward AND outward opening mall doors, or better cordon off the area immediately outside the doors.

Early Start to Black Friday [Orlando Sentinel]


shopping

Are Americans Addicted To Coupons?

Alright consumers, Macy's heard you loud and clear: you want a good deal, not a good price. To celebrate the revelation, Macy's is proud to announce the return of the coupon. Psychological gratification is yours to clip and snip away, 15%-20% at a shot.
Despite their dowdy image, coupons remain a huge business. In 2006, companies issued 279 billion of them, or roughly 1,000 per person, up 13 percent in four years, according to NCH Marketing Services in Deerfield, Ill.
More »

schadenfreude

What's Wrong With Macy's? Second Quarter Profit Drops 77%

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Macy's has cut their yearly outlook after their second quarter profits dropped 77%. What's the big problem? More »

lord of the flies

Fruit Fly Infestation Shuts Down Macy's Food Court

Health inspectors found over 200 fruit flies infesting the lower level food court of the Macy's State Street store in Chicago. Inspectors first discovered the infestation last week after a disgusted customer complained to 311. Food court employees apparently were not bothered by either the fruit flies or the health inspectors. From the Chicago Tribune:
"Not only did they not do anything, the problems seemed to get worse," [Tim Hadac, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Public Health] said. "It was a surprising and disappointing lack of adherence to basic food safety regulation... We stopped counting fruit flies when they hit 200."
The inspectors also found: More »

complaints

Reader Tries In Vain For 16 Months To Get Stainsafe To Honor Couch's Warranty

Adam's mother has been trying for 16 months to get Stainsafe to honor its warranty for her ripped couch. SIXTEEN MONTHS. She's documented the series in a time-line of ineptitude. She definitely deserves the warranty repair, but then some part of us is like, ductape?

We would never want to be the ones to dissuade someone from pursuing a rightful consumer complaint, but after a certain point you have to figure out what your hourly "wage" is (whether or not you have a job) and compare it to the expected outcome value. If the former exceeds the latter, an economist would tell you it's time to move on. Or, cut to the chase and haul them into small claims court.

That said, Adam's mother's story inside is pretty crazy in terms of how utterly incompetent these warranty jokers are. Either that, or they're entirely competent, in terms of avoiding doing any actual repair work.

More »

videos

Strange Dell Fashion Show Announces New Line Of Pretty Colored Laptops

Dell invited us to go to Macy's to see some chicks and boyz in white versions of Neo's costume listlessly flounce down a catwalk while rainbow-colors were projected onto them.

Unable to resist, we sent Gawker video wunderkid Alex Goldberg to tape the affair awesomeness. We hypothesize the fete was conceptually tied to Dell's new line of Insprions which come in different colors, meaning that Dell has finally caught up to Apple, circa 1998.

Stayed tuned for the end when Alex asks PR-man, "if Dell computers could transform into robots, would they be Autobots or Decepticons?"


how to

How To Take Pictures Inside Stores Without Getting Caught

How can you take hundreds of pictures inside a store without getting caught? It can be really hard. If you ask for permission, it will be likely be denied. If you're too conspicuous, someone will say, "No pictures!" and you could get thrown out. More »

fur

Diddy Sorry About "Faux Fur" Coat Made of Dog

We posted recently about the Humane Society's investigation into the widespread use of canine fur from China in clothes sold in the US. One coat in particular was made by Diddy's line "Sean Jean" and was initially labeled "faux." Tests prove the coat uses dog fur. More »

gift cards

Gift Cards Are The Most Popular Gift

The 2006 Deloitte report on gift cards is out, and it's official. Gift cards are the single most popular gift this holiday season. But are they a good buy? Sort of. It seems that due to consumer pressure, and FTC pressure, stores are improving their customer service/disclosure of fees when it comes to gift cards. But that doesn't meant there aren't still a lot of problems. The Montgomery County, Maryland, Office of Consumer Protection which assesses dozens of cards annually, has released their 2006 report. The report evaluates 40 different gift cards, looking for things like whether or not the card can be replaced if lost or stolen, whether the cards have an expiration date, and whether fees are assessed to the card's balance. Basically, you want to avoid the following cards: More »

customer service

Amazon.Com Wins Best Customer Service

Online megastore Amazon.com won top honors in a national customer service survey released last Thursday. Here's the top ten list, according to a National Retail Federation/American Express study. More »

consumer alert

Shopping At Macy's? Check For Double-Billing

After spotting a duplicate charge for a single purchase she made last Wednesday, she emailed the Macy's customer service. Macy's contacted her and requested more details. More »