Consumerist
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legal bullying
Monster Energy Trains Legal Guns On Beverage Review Website
When you're working on developing a reputation as a trademark bully, it's good to go after multiple targets. We guess that's why the website BevReview.com has received notice that it should remove any advertisement and sale of Monster Energy drinks from its site. The only problem is, it doesn't advertise or sell drinks—it reviews them. And it didn't give Monster Energy a good review. More » -
jetblue
JetBlue Is An Excellent Airline
Having taken JetBlue for the first time last week, I must say I throughly enjoy their services. First, I got a round-trip non-stop flight to Seattle for only $279.20, tax included. Awesome. More » -
astroturfing
How To Avoid A Bad Hotel ...Review
Finding a bad place to stay can ruin a trip, or even your entire impression of a city. Lacking personal recommendations, you may turn to online reviews to help you find a place to stay. But how can you tell shill reviews from real ones? Other than an air of general fakeness, AOL Travel tells you what to look for in hotel reviews specifically. More » -
rankings
Find Out What You Can Expect Before You Call Customer Service
The website Customer Service Scorecard ranks the CSR experience for all sorts of companies, from hotels to appliances to telecoms. They've rated 128 so far, and here's their top five. Do you agree? More » -
personal finance
LendingTree Launches Financial Advice Website
MoneyRight, a new website from LendingTree, seems at first aimed to take on Mint.com in the easy-to-read/use financial snapshot category of web services. However, it also offers financial advice based on your current situation and future goals. More » -
Slate compares and ranks 5 sippy cups for toddlers. The best, they say, is the Nalgene Grip-n-Gulp Bottle—at about $8 it's also the second cheapest of the lot. [Slate]
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search engines
Create Your Own Bing Vs. Google Death Match
Bing vs. Google offers a side-by-side comparison that lets users see for themselves which search engine works better. We tried some searches, and our findings are inside. More » -
funny
Are You A Pro-Sumer? Let Bill Quain, PhD, Show You How!
Amway! There, we just saved you the trouble of reading Pro-Sumer Power!, Bill Quain's riveting get-rich-quick book from 2000, which Alan Scherstuhl found in a thrift store recently and recaps for your amusement over at the Village Voice. You see, producers make money. Consumers spend money. And Pro-sumers make money while they spend. Still not clear? You're a banana when you should be some sort of banana-gorilla hybrid. More » -
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videos
Consumer Reports Evaluates Cool Surge Portable Air Cooler, Made By Same Folks Who Brought You The “Amish Heaterâ€
The company behind the "Amish man's new miracle idea"—a heater—is back! Here's Consumer Reports' evaluation of the Cool Surge. More » -
shiny objects
$220,000 Diamond Ring Gets Rave Reviews On Amazon, Sort Of
We're no fans of fake customer reviews here at Consumerist, it's true, but obviously goofy reviews are one of my very favorite things. (The reviews for this gallon of milk are an Internet classic.)
Reader Rob sent us a link to a $220,000 diamond ring for sale on Amazon...marked down from only $338,800. Bargain! More »
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reviews
Yelp Will Allow Business Owners To Respond To Negative Comments
Angry small business owners get your keyboards ready — Yelp is going to let you respond to negative comments! This is going to be .... awkward! Oh well, we love a good fight. More » -
websites
Gazaro Rates Gadget Sales Based On Historical Price Data
If you're shopping around for a TV, computer, camera, or other consumer electronics gadget, you may want to add Gazaro to your online toolbox. The service, which is free but requires registration, tracks items that are listed on sale, then rates the sale price by comparing it to the item's pricing history. It's an easy way to quickly scan a list of current sales and see which ones are actually good deals. We like it, but there are still some areas that could be improved. More » -
yelp
More Business-Owners Accuse Yelp Of Review Extortion
The review website Yelp is being accused again of extorting small business owners — but this time the business owners say that Yelp used the guarantee of positive reviews to get free products for their events. The Chicago Tribune has a quote from the owner of a cupcake shop who says that Yelp "guaranteed us good reviews on the site if we catered one of their parties for free." More » -
public relations
Royal Caribbean Caught Infiltrating Review Sites With Viral Marketing Team
Meet the "Royal Caribbean Champions," a group of fifty prolific posters to popular online communities that Royal Caribbean rewards with special access and free cruises in exchange for their frequent and positive commentary. The Champions were outed by their creators, the Customer Insight Group, which boasted on their company blog that the potent group is "regularly leveraged for ongoing marketing initiates. Members of the popular reviewing site Cruise Critic, one of the main targets of the program, are understandably pissed. More » -
warnings
Going To The Doc? Be Sure You Don't Sign A Gag Order
Man, those online review websites sure can be harsh. Some doctors think they're totally unfair! That's why a neurosurgeon in North Carolina has started a business called Medical Justice. The Associated Press says the company provides waiver forms for docs to give to patients. If you sign it, and then post a review online that can be traced back to you, the doctor can use your signed form as proof that it must be removed. More » -
ranbaxy
Generic Drug Maker Ranbaxy Found Falsifying Data To FDA
The FDA has suspended all new drug applications from one of Ranbaxy's plants in India—the Paonta Sahib plant—after "determining the facility was falsifying scientific data." You may recall that last September the FDA banned the import of 30 popular generic meds made by Ranbaxy due in part to quality control issues from this very same plant. What do they think they are, a peanut butter factory? More » -
reviews
Companies Accuse Yelp Of Review Extortion, Yelp Says No Way
Some San Francisco companies have accused the review website Yelp of manipulating reviews, either in exchange for buying advertising or as punishment for refusing. Yelp flat out denies the charges. They say that the posting and removal of reviews are determined solely by an algorithm and that their sales staff has no access to the reviews. But in this detailed article published this week in the East Bay Express, several restaurants cite phone calls and emails that they say indicates otherwise. More » -
amazon
Customers Fight Back Over Fake Amazon Reviews
We all know that Amazon's review system is kind of a mess. It's plagued by "professional reviewers," reviews from friends, legitimately critical reviews that get yanked after complaints by angry fan groups, and—worst of all—fake reviews, usually written by employees of the manufacturer. Adam found a new fake reviewer named David Jacob, but what really caught our eye was how real Amazon shoppers have picked up on it and left a series of comments to warn future customers to stay away from Gamenamics.
David Jacob's reviews, annotated with warnings from real shoppers [Amazon]
reviews
New York, 2:26 PM
Sat Nov 14
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