A former Chili’s employee is set to answer charges that he stashed a cellphone camera aimed at the women’s toilets in the Arroyo Grande restaurant. The camera was discovered after a 41-year-old patron noticed something suspicious concealed in a bucket of cleaning supplies. [More]
Eat Out And Save
By June 30, 2009
Eating out is one of the fastest ways to burn a hole through your wallet, but with a few tips from Five Cent Nickel, you can still enjoy a good meal without breaking the bank.
Take Currency Symbols Off The Menu, Restaurant Patrons Spend More
By June 10, 2009
Have you ever noticed that the menus in nice restaurants leave the currency signs off prices, or spell them out in words rather than Arabic numerals? The intended effect is pretty much what you would assume – to remove the association between prices on the menu and actual money. Now, there’s actual academic research showing that half of this theory is true.
Going to KFC For Free Chicken? You've Got A Long Wait
By May 6, 2009
It’s the first lunch period since the Oprah-promoted KFC grilled chicken giveaway started. Lines are predictably long.
Restaurant Owner Busted For Filming Women's Bathroom
By March 30, 2009
Police say that the owner of the Poloros Restaurant in Mineola, NY had a hidden surveillance camera installed in the ceiling tiles of the women’s bathroom. The device, which was used by the owner to watch customers and female employees alike, was spotted by a customer, who notified police.
It’s The Little Steps That Count
By May 22, 2006
We somehow came across this commencement speech given by Odessa Piper, former owner of L’Etoile Restaurant, which she delivered to the graduating class of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It probably isn’t Consumerist in nature — no customer service horror stories, no corporate megalomania, no craven disregard for the well-being of consumers. It’s just a charming and passionate story about how a young woman managed to stick to her principles and, after years of hard work, finally make her green and farmer friendly business into a profitable, highly regarded restaurant.
Islands Prides Itself on Customer Service, Eventually…
By April 12, 2006
There’s a few emails sitting in our inbox from people with reports of positive customer service. They await the bile to drain from our lymph nodes or for a forest pixie to come up and toss our salad, something to get us to put down the rug we gnaw at feverishly to vent our consumer rage.
