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Circuit City Finally Refunds $169 Fraudulent Charge
The lady whom Circuit City charged an extra $169 for an HDTV installation will finally get her money back. The fee was because it was over a fireplace and fireplaces are usually made of brick. However, this fireplace was fake and the wall was drywall. When a local TV news investigation team started asking questions, Circuit City Spokeswoman Jackie Foreman just kept chirping, "It's resolved." Two days after the report aired, Jackie told the reporters, "Byrd's installation was not standard…due to a miscommunication; Ms. Byrd will receive a refund."
Woman gets refund of Firedog's extra fee [WRAL] (Thanks to Cheryl!)
PREVIOUSLY: Circuit City Will Not Refund Your $169 Even If The Local News Calls On Your Behalf
netflix
Netflix's Statement On "Are These Netflix DVDs Legit?"
After seeing our post where a reader raised concerns about whether Netflix DVDs he got with unofficial-looking labels and messed-up menus were counterfeit, Netflix's VP of Corporate Communications, Steve Swasey, sent us the following lovenote to calm our fears: More »
pr
Circuit City Denies Its In-Home TV Calibration Is A Total Scam
Speaking on behalf of Circuit City in regards to our post, "Circuit City's In-Home TV Calibration Is A Total Scam", Mike Vallebuona of New Media Strategies (a company that protects its clients from "online attacks, rumors and misinformation") send us the following pulsating pile of drivel: More »
Comcast Apologizes For Tech's Van Blocking Driveway
Frank Eliason from Comcast Executive Customer Service provided the following statement regarding the San Fransican whose Comcast cable service mysteriously shut off 10 minutes after asking a tech to move his van from in front of his driveway:
blockbuster
Hacking Netflix reports that many Blockbuster locations don't use a centralized network to keep tabs on Total Access usage. The tip was originally reported by Kevin Tostado, who took down his post after a ball-busting conversation with Blockbuster in which they asked him to cease and desist. Fortunately, Google's marvelously efficient spiders reached Kevin's site before Blockbuster and preserved the post.
More »
Running Low On In-Store Exchanges Under Your Total Access Plan? Try Visiting A Different Blockbuster Location
Hacking Netflix reports that many Blockbuster locations don't use a centralized network to keep tabs on Total Access usage. The tip was originally reported by Kevin Tostado, who took down his post after a ball-busting conversation with Blockbuster in which they asked him to cease and desist. Fortunately, Google's marvelously efficient spiders reached Kevin's site before Blockbuster and preserved the post.
More »
backlash
Creative Backs Down, Reinstates Spurned Developer
Creative Labs heard your chest-beating across the internet and decided to reinstate spurned developer Daniel_K less than a week after booting him from their forums. Unlike Creative, Daniel_K issued drivers that allowed Creative sound cards to work properly under Vista, and even enabled previously crippled features. The drivers were downloaded over 100,000 times. The company thanked the developer by accusing him of "enabling our technology and IP to run on sound cards for which it was not originally offered or intended, [in] effect, stealing our goods." Even though he has been reinstated, Daniel_K is still pissed. More »
complaints
David wanted a straight answer from Comcast as to whether they were degrading his HD signal, but instead was fed a colossal trough of baloney. The executive customer service rep who replied to David's email said Comcast is using a "new system" for HD and while it "works well with clean 1080i signals, we're making some adjustments to improve how it handles other types of HD signals so we can bring you the best HD picture. We apologize this has not created the HD experience that we intended, but we will work towards getting it right. " Sure... check out this previous post, Comcast Degrades HD Quality To Make Room For More Channels, for the science and proof of how Comcast (and other cable operators) are degrading HD feeds to make more money. The full exchanges between David and the Comcast reps, inside...
More »
Comcast Spews BS When You Complain About HD Degradation
David wanted a straight answer from Comcast as to whether they were degrading his HD signal, but instead was fed a colossal trough of baloney. The executive customer service rep who replied to David's email said Comcast is using a "new system" for HD and while it "works well with clean 1080i signals, we're making some adjustments to improve how it handles other types of HD signals so we can bring you the best HD picture. We apologize this has not created the HD experience that we intended, but we will work towards getting it right. " Sure... check out this previous post, Comcast Degrades HD Quality To Make Room For More Channels, for the science and proof of how Comcast (and other cable operators) are degrading HD feeds to make more money. The full exchanges between David and the Comcast reps, inside...
More »
spin
Geek Squad Feels "Unfairly Targeted" By Consumerist Expose
When personal finance magazine Kiplinger asked the Geek Squad about our video that caught one of their technicians stealing porn from our harddrive (peeping tomism, hardly limited to Geek Squad, is just as rampant in the computer repair industry as the photo developing industry), an unidentified Geek Squad spokeswoman ingenuously responded, "We have been the target of a blog that prefers to focus on the exceptions to our service and not the overall, vast majority of successful services we provide to clients." That's like saying dirt is unfairly targeted by a broom. Where there's a valid complaint, we'll post. Where there's a consumer whose rights aren't respected, we will defend. We don't have a vendetta against the Geek Squad, or any other company. We have a vendetta against bad customer service. That's our bottom line. After the jump, the original undercover video...
pr
Verizon Erases, Then Restores, Dead Wife's Lost Voice
Verizon snipped one of the few remaining threads connecting Charles Whiting to his dead wife when they upgrade the 80-year-old man's phone system. The update erased his wife saying, "The Whitings aren't home," a message Mr. Whiting listened to every day for the comfort it gave him. When Whiting called to complain, he was left on hold for an hour and was then disconnected. Then he waited on hold for another 90 minutes, only to be told that his wife's voice was lost forever. Whiting said, "It was like she was still with me when I heard that. Now they took her voice away." After his story hit the news circuit, Verizon restored the previously "irretrievable" message. Amazing how a little bad press works to get good customer service.
New York Man Loses Dead Wife's Voice Message in Phone Service Upgrade [FOXnews] (Thanks to Ed!)
Phone Company Retrieves Voice From Past [AP]
(Photo: Getty)
taking it seriously
California Hospital Takes Botched Operations Seriously
WHO: St. Joseph Hospital in Orange County.
WHAT: The California Department of Public Health is investigating St. Joseph for conducting three 'wrong site' operations since January 2006. Botched surgeries include operating on a patient's good knee and making an incision on the wrong side of a patient's head.
WHERE: Orange hospital under investigation for operating room error [L.A. Times]
THE QUOTE: "Members of the clinical team involved in these cases have been deeply affected, and as a hospital we take this very seriously and regret that it happened," [Dr. Raymond Casciari, St. Joseph's chief medical officer] said.
public relations
Go-Cart Track Takes Scalped Customer's Safety Very Seriously
WHO: A Utah Go-Cart track
WHAT: A woman's long hair got tangled in the moving parts of a go-cart and her hair, scalp, and ear were ripped from her head.
WHERE: WDEF
THE QUOTE: "The owner of the go-cart track says... this was an extremely unfortunate accident that he feels horrible about...He also said the company takes safety of its customers very seriously."
"Taking it seriously" is a phrase companies use over and over again in public statements whenever they have bad PR. Our series of posts on occurrences of the phrase is our attempt to question how seriously companies are really taking these matters if every time they trot out this phrase by rote.
(Thanks to David!) (Image: CNN)
An astroturfing group started by chemical supergiant Monsanto is trying to stop the spread of milk that's free of bovine synthetic growth hormone. They say they're trying to defend farmer's rights but they can't fool us, we know they really just want to make the future safe for large breasts. [NYT]
taking it seriously
Showtime Takes Annoying Ads During Movies Seriously
WHO: Showtime
WHAT: Showtime is promoting the upcoming shows by playing banner ads during movies that you paid to watch.
WHERE: Customer Service email
THE QUOTE: "While some viewers may be displeased with this tactic, we have found that a number of our subscribers appreciate learning about the premiere of a series in such a manner. Nevertheless, please note that we take your comments very seriously and have forwarded your concerns to the appropriate people. Thank you for writing to us."
legal threats
"Tiny Details" Owner Sends Miniature Threats To Former Customer
Tiny Details is a work-at-home company that pays hobbyists to make little dollhousey things. You buy the materials from Tiny Details for $55, make the assigned object(s), and Tiny Details buys them back. Unfortunately, many customers have complained about problems getting payments or refunds from the company over the years—here's their less-than-stellar BBB entry. Yesterday Kristopher Buchan, the owner of Tiny Details, emailed one former customer/client to tell him his complaints amounted to libel. Buchan demanded the customer remove them from teh interweb, and threatened him repeatedly with a lawsuit. And now we're posting about it on The Consumerist! See how that works, Tiny Details? More »
net neutrality
Video Of Comcast's Opening Remarks During Net Neutrality Hearing With Seats Stuffed By Company Employees
This "Quick Vote" is on the front page of CNN right now.
Congratulations, Starbucks, on your excellent PR stunt. As for CNN, you have lost your damn mind. [CNN]
