Consumerist: Scooba

Scooba Fears The Consumerist

Ben Popken — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 09:49:24 EST

Jennifer invokes the name of The Consumerist when Scooba customer service starts back talking, and gets 'em to bend over like lil' robo bitches.

"Those assholes left me on hold for more than forty minutes with the worst possible recordings, so I was already pretty steamed when they picked up. So after going through every possible step in their script the damn thing still wouldn't operate, so they asked me to send it back for a replacement. I ask her if she needs my email for the shipping label and she gets real quiet for a moment, and says "we don't do that..." So I ask her if they're going to compensate me for the shipping -after all, it is their defect, right? She tells me, oh, yes, we'll send you coupons for scooba soap as compensation."

Oh no she didn't! What happened next?

Jennifer continues:

"Which would be great if I wanted eighteen dollars worth of overpriced soap (it's just surfactant, and you can use vinegar instead), but I don't. So I remind her (not so politely) that the thing weighs like forty pounds, and that it's their responsibility, and they have to pay for the shipping. She puts me on hold for a moment, comes back, we can't do that, we don;'t do that. So I decided fuck it, it's worth a try, and I told her- "You guys sold me a defective robot, and if I don't get a shipping label, I'm going to write it up for the Consumerist, and it's going to be everywhere," really laid it on thick- and she puts me on hold for about two seconds before getting on and saying "we're sending a label, you should have it within two weeks," and then just starts laying on the "have a wonderful day" stuff. You gotta love it."

To be fair, it was probably the tirade surrounding the use of The Consumerist that compelled Scooba to bend more so than the mighty power of our name, but hey, we'll take it where we can get it. — BEN POPKEN

Scooba Isn't Worth It

Meg Marco — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 16:29:54 EST

So much for the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, Consumer Reports says Scooba performs exactly how you think it would. Badly.

We like the idea of a robot that mops the floor, especially if it perpetually hovers under our significant other, but according to Consumer Reports you might as well just save your money. Mopping the floor is faster and cheaper than having the Scooba do the work for you.

"At-home testers found it fine with most light dirt, but said it didn't remove heavier accumulations and wouldn't fit around the toilet, leaving them to mop the bathrooms.

The bottom line. Don't toss your mop. It cleans faster and more thoroughly than Scooba, and costs far less."

Oh well, we're still dreaming of the day we get our own Rosie from The Jetsons.

Morning Deals Round Up

consumerist.com — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 07:21:07 EST

• Amazon is taking pre-orders for the iRobot Scooba, the floor-washing counterpart to the Roomba, for $400. We are unduly excited about this product, but we really recommend waiting until some reviews come out before dropping four bills. There is also some question as to whether or not a Scooba owner will be tied to purchasing only the Clorox-branded cleaning solution, or if something can be whipped up at home. But still, new robot! Coupon code JANCLEAR takes off $25.

• We've yet to see Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, but we're sure it's up to the embarassingly high standards of previous Aardman films. Pre-order today at Amazon for $16.

• And just in time for the holidays, DeepDiscountDVD.com has Groundhog Day Special Edition on sale for $9.42, shipped. It is perhaps the greatest story ever told.

• GoldenGadgets.com has what appears to be a sale on LED-based flashlights, with simple 14-element White LED models going for as low as $5. [via BensBargains]

• OnSale.com has the Triton Venture Light Backpack for $30—but free after a $30 mail-in rebate.

• The Home Depot has a 50% off sale on sale lights and ceiling fans. (It looks like just fixtures that are hung, but we didn't get too in depth as we won't be buying fixtures until we find a new place to live.)

• eCost has the Nintendo DS refurbished for $99 plus shipping. That's an okay deal, but remember that the new bundles now include copies of Mario Kart, so it's really up to you. [via TechBargains]

• We're kicking ourselves over today's Woot!, the Gyration ULTRA cordless optical mouse, because we were up an hour ago and probably could have snagged it. Oh well—new models are on the way and are even smaller.

Highlights from Dealhack

• Comedy Classic Groundhog Day only $10 at Amazon
(Get it in time to really celebrate on February 2nd.) [Yes, we listed it twice from two different vendors, but you owe yourself a copy. This is our Dianetics.]

• Logitech Harmony 880 Universal Remote only $162 at Dell Home
(Program this fan favorite remote via the web and everything just works.)

• Inspiron 2200 Notebook PC $699 at Dell Home
(15-inch Pentium M Laptop will ship within 24 hours and at 30% off.)