Tue Sep 1, 2009 7:08pm EDT "Cash4Gold Begins Search to Find the Perfect Canadian Personality for Future Ads"
Wed Sep 2, 2009 8:09pm EDT "Cash4Gold Prouder Than Ever to Be Sponsoring MMA Legend Randy 'The Natural' Couture"
Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:21pm EDT "Cash4Gold Provides Cash for the Golden State - World's #1 Gold Buyer Donates to Red Cross to Help With California Wildfire Relief Efforts"

Wednesday's was interesting because it was basically a rewrite of one they sent out last week.

(Photo: Denzil)

[The rep] said that Continental is going to refund my daughter's entire fare and fly her back to Boston in first class for free. They are also going to refund the round-trip tickets that my in-laws bought to fly to Boston with Miriam and then back to Cleveland, and replace them with first-class tickets as well (note: they had already planned this trip before what happened on Sunday). Finally, they are giving my wife, my daughter and I "Silver Elite" status in their frequent-flyer program, OnePass, until the end of the current program year, which apparently is next February.

Is this enough? Will Continental, the regional carrier, and the airport investigate what happened and make sure it never happens again?

Offer from Continental [Something better to do]

PREVIOUSLY: Continental Puts 10-Year-Old Child On The Wrong Plane

(Photo: jenkardux)

From the Pottstown Mercury:

"I called Comcast because I wanted the kitchen TV hooked up to cable," she said, describing how the digital TV converter box hadn't worked as planned. "They said no problem, we can do it, no extra charge." Tyson was already a Comcast subscriber before the incident Monday.

"They drilled right into the electrical box," Tyson said in disbelief, looking over at the side of her home where a long black burn mark extended up to the roof from a burnt electrical box and meter.

Luckily, she had a fire extinguisher handy or the damage might have been much worse. As it is, a local Fire Marshall told the paper that the damage was probably about $20,000 — and that Tyson would have to live somewhere else while the repairs are being made.

Comcast says they're taking all of this very seriously:

"Our first priority is the comfort and well-being of our customer and dog. The first thing we did was to offer accommodations while repairs are made to the home.

"We take this matter very seriously," [a Comcast spokesperson] said. "We are going to review the details of the fire with the contractor and local officials as they investigate."

House fire started by cable worker [Pottstown Mercury] (Thanks, Ed!)
(Photo:Tyler Yip)

The Philadelphia Inquirer says that Flight 1195 to Phoenix was delayed 4 hours due to the incident. The owner of the bag and the U.S. Airways worker are being questioned.

US Airways is, of course, taking it very seriously.

Safety and security is our first and foremost priority in everything we do," Morgan Durrant, senior manager of corporate communications for the airline, said in an e-mailed statement. "We are cooperating with investigators fully and take security considerations very seriously. Further comment right now is not appropriate out of respect to the ongoing investigation."

To see what else is being taken seriously, click here.

Police: Handgun handed off at airport, gets on plane [Philadelphia Inquirer]
(Photo:Flying Photog)

Egan... immediately deleted it from her phone and called T-Mobile.

Twice.

"And both times they put me on hold, and came back and said, 'Well we're sorry. We'll make sure you don't get charged," said Egan.

Frustrated, Egan posted her experience on the Web site's community forums page to warn others. She also called the Oregon Attorney General's Office and wrote in to KVAL News.

[...]

T-Mobile later e-mailed this statement:

"T-Mobile is taking this very seriously and will fully investigate. We understand the importance of child safety and offer customers options including content blocking and parental controls. We will work directly with the customer and law enforcement to fully address this."

"Child porn hits cellphone instead of ringtone" [KVAL.com] (Thanks to Kyle!)
(Photos: LeeBrimelow and gumuz)

During his time there, Napper said, as many as 200 corpses were left on makeshift gurneys in the garage, in hallways and in a back room, unrefrigerated and leaking fluids onto the floor. Some were stored on cardboard boxes or were balanced on biohazard containers. At least half a dozen veterans destined for the hallowed ground at Arlington National Cemetery were left in their coffins on a garage rack, Napper said.

He began to take photographs in December and presented them to the Virginia Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers. Federici and Napper's observations — accounts supported by three others who have worked there — have led to a probe by the state board, although board officials said they were prohibited by law from disclosing such an inquiry. Several people said they were interviewed by a board investigator in recent weeks.

[...]

Stringfield said he and other contracted van drivers were instructed to leave bodies in the garage if there was no room in the coolers, something Stringfield refused to do. He said he spoke to a board investigator about the situation last month.

"You don't leave a body uncovered. You don't let a body leak. You don't leave a body on a stretcher in the garage," Stringfield said. "But who's going to see it?"

[...]

"A lot of the bodies that are there are there for a week or a month, and they're just sitting there dripping on the floor," the employee said. "The families don't know anything about it because the families aren't allowed at Central."

The Virginia Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers is investigating Napper's accusations. Don't worry though, Service Corporation International is already on the case. "I can assure you," J. Scott Young, President of SCI Virginia Funeral Services said, "that our company takes these allegations very seriously."

Funeral Home Employees Say Bodies Were Mishandled [The Washington Post]

One of the three victims named in the report is (again, not making this up) a professional magician and hand model. Now he can only pull tennis balls out of people's ears because he lacks the dexterity to manipulate coins. Okay, we did make up that last statement. Seriously, though, he's suing Kmart and Martha Stewart Omnimedia.

It looks like the chairs have been redesigned and now the front leg section can no longer swing back and forth, which prevents the guillotine effect. But as Fox5 points out, that doesn't help anyone who bought one of the original designs, and Kmart hasn't taken any action to recall them. You'll be happy to note, however, that both companies released official statements that begin with the phrase "we take product safety very seriously."

Martha Stewart doesn't believe it's really happening, so forget you read this post. In the video, reporter Arnold Diaz chases after her as she's getting into a vehicle, and when he tells her, "Three people have had their fingers severed in your chairs," she replies, "Oh no, three people did not!" and rolls up the window.

Click here to see gruesome, make-you-swear-out-loud photos of damaged fingers and severed fingertips. Or don't, if you're easily grossed out.

Update April 13th, 2009: The magician settled his lawsuit with Martha Stewart and Kmart.

"Shame, Shame, Shame: Martha Stewart Lounge Chairs" [Fox5] (Thanks to Arun!)

RELATED
"Martha Stewart Lies On-Camera About Exploding Glass Tables"

The professor who helped her out proved why you never go to a professor if you want to be coddled:

"It's definitely bone, and it came from some type of mammal," Blumer told FOXNews.com. "This isn't [a] tail vertebra - it's something higher up, and the reason I'm certain for that is because it's hollow. The nerve cord would run through there."

Blumer could not identify exactly what type of animal the vertebra came from but said that, because of the smoothness of the material, it had likely been dead for some time.

"It doesn't look like there's even a remnant of flesh on this," Blumer said. "This has either been out in the environment for a while and it got into that container, or it went through some organism's digestive tract first. For example, you might find something like this in an owl pellet," Blumer said, referring to the indigestible material regurgitated by the animal.

Despite that initial no-big-deal response from a Mars rep, the company now says it's asked for the product to be returned so it can investigate further, and blah blah blah food safety is of the utmost importance to us you know the drill.

What's most frightening about this whole story, however, is the FDA's response: "The FDA takes every complaint it receives very seriously and looks into it." Oh no. They've gotten to you, too, FDA.

"Atlanta Woman Finds 'Mammal Bone' in Blue M&M" [FOXNews.com] (Thanks to Matt!)
(Photo: Blane Bachelor)

Microsoft says:

"As stated in the Xbox Live Terms of Use, a member may not create a gamertag or use text in other profile fields that include comments that look, sound like, stand for, hint at, abbreviate, or insinuate content of a potentially sexual nature. Profiles that do are asked to change the language and suspended until changes are made. In regards to sexual orientation, for gamertags or profiles we do not allow expression of any type of orientation, be that hetero or other. Players can, however, self identify in voice communication where context is more easily explained to all players involved.

"Harassment of any kind is not condoned and is taken very seriously; we strongly encourage Xbox Live members to immediately report inappropriate behavior through the compliant tools in the service so that it can be investigated and the appropriate action taken."

"The Xbox Live community grows daily, and we continue to explore methods and levels of enforcement to enhance the ways our members connect and have fun, while adhering to a code of conduct that encourages respect and keeps the service safe and fun for all our members."

As we mentioned in the original post, Microsoft's position on this issue has been consistent — whether you are actually gay or if the word gay is in your name.

Consumerist: Self-identified lesbian banned from Xbox Live [Joystiq]
(Photo:Milkham)

Previously: Identifying Yourself As A Lesbian Gets You Banned On XBOX Live

News 8 examined six years of crime data at D/FW Airport and discovered a troubling trend. Thefts are on the rise.

It is and has been the most reported crime at D/FW since 2003.

In that year, police took 227 reports not including stolen vehicles, records revealed. In 2008, the number of reported thefts almost tripled [or how about "doubled" - Ed.] to 607.

The total numbers of thefts and stolen vehicles at D/FW are

• 2003 – 266
• 2004 – 364
• 2005 – 385
• 2006 – 468
• 2007 – 534
• 2008 – 607

D/FW officials have everything under control, however, because they are taking this seriously:

"This is a place the size of the island of Manhattan with 225,000 daily residents all moving," said Ken Capps, a spokesman at D/FW Airport. "And so, in the grand scheme of things, the crime rate is low, but it's something we take very seriously."

They say they're beefing up security, but unless every theft at the airport is being committed by a traveler, we're more curious about some transparency into their hiring and screening process, and what they plan on doing to reduce employee-related theft.

"Internal security really needs to be looked at," said Gilbert Humphrey, traveler.

Someone stole a hard drive out of his checked suitcase last month, which included photos of his two tours in Iraq he had yet to backup.

Just to rub salt in the wound, the TV station points out that reported thefts for Love Field—which is considerably smaller than D/FW—has never topped 20 in each of the past five years.

"D/FW Airport adds police, cameras as thefts rise" [WFAA-TV] (Thanks to James!)
(Photo: cote)

From the Maryland Daily Record:

"She took a sip, it burned her mouth and she spit it out," said Patricia S. Steiger, of the Law Offices of Seymour Goldstein.

Jones, an administrative assistant, convinced the restaurant employees to open the closed interior of the restaurant in the 4200 block of Mortimer Ave., Steiger said. The workers gave her some milk - and a sample of what she unwittingly put in her mouth, the lawyer said.

"They gave her a packet like the one that had been in there - as a matter of knowing what it was - to take with her and then she went to the emergency room" at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Steiger said.

There, doctors determined Jones had "a mild or moderate chemical reaction," Steiger said, and eventually diagnosed her with chemical pharyngitis and tonsillitis. By mid-November, she had made a full recovery, according to Steiger.

The chemical in question is intended to be mixed with gallons of water and used to clean drink machines. Predictably, McDonald's is "taking it seriously,":

Franchise owner Cynthia Brown declined to comment on the pending litigation, instead issuing an e-mailed statement through a McDonald's spokeswoman.

"Nothing is more important to me than the well-being of my customers," the e-mail said. "Rest assured, we take this matter seriously."

Previously, McDonald's also took metal screws baked into their apple pies seriously.

Woman sues McDonald's over contents of cup [MD Daily Record] (Thanks, Stanton!)
(Photo:Paxton Holley)

Super Bowl porn clip 'a malicious act' [Arizona Star]

Hotard, a student at Messiah Montessori School in Houma, said she was surprised. "I didn't think I'd get a response."

Claudet forwarded the request to Sterling Washington, the parish's parks and recreation director, who oversaw the improvements. He said they cost about $50 in supplies and work hours.

"Coming from a kid, who is our primary focus, it wasn't much of a surprise to me," he said. "It had to be addressed."

The slide was worn from graffiti and general use, he said. A maintenance worker used sandpaper to smooth its surface and make it slick again.

Workers also installed a new sign listing park rules and replaced a damaged electrical panel, he said.

Washington, who's served as director for eight years, said this is the first complaint from a child.

"It was nice to have a kid's perspective," he said, adding Sydney's concerns were taken "very seriously."

We can all learn from Hotard's experience. It's always worth asking for something you want, however simple or far-fetched your request might seem. And don't ever doubt the power of a polite, well-crafted missive. Though you may not have the cute factor on your side, there are still a few pointers you can follow to write an effective complaint letter. Or just find a seven-year-old to help you out. Said the Parish President: "It was the cutest letter in the world. It's going to be a memento."

7-Year-Old's Letter to Official Gets Playground Fixed [Fox News]
(Photo: Sarah606)

Recent news reports have grossly mischaracterized an American International Group seminar for 150 independent financial planners held in Phoenix last week.

The financial planners are not AIG employees. In addition, the cost to AIG for this event was minimal. More than 90 percent of the costs were paid either by sponsors or by the independent financial planners themselves.

It is essential for AIG to conduct seminars of this kind to keep independent financial planners abreast of investment products and services including those offered by AIG. The financial planners are responsible for generating almost $200 million in revenue this year for AIG as of September 30th.

On October 10, I issued a directive to all AIG employees and subsidiaries to reduce expenses and conserve cash, including cancelling all nonessential conferences or meetings, unnecessary travel and excessive overhead. Since then, we have canceled more than 160 events. We conducted a top-to-bottom review of all expenses of the Phoenix meeting in advance and found that it was consistent with my October 10th directive. This conference was approved because it provides the kind of communication we must conduct with the people who sell our products if we are to be successful and repay the U.S. taxpayer.

PREVIOUSLY: AIG Spends $343,000 On Secret Seminar

Another AIG Resort "Junket": Top Execs Caught on Tape [ABC] (Thanks to Andy!)

As you can see from the above screen grab, Mr. Brown, like so many other eBay thieves, practiced excellent customer service. His customers claimed to be "in love" with him, thanks to his prompt delivery and "good communication." One customer remarked that the camera he bought was missing its instructions. Guess the owner didn't pack them.

Mr. Brown's bail has been set at $100,000. He faces 10 years in prison if convicted. The TSA is reportedly taking the matter "seriously."

Bail set at $100,000 for airport baggage screener [Newsday]
TSA agent helped himself to a $47,900 camera (and more!) [Gadling] (Thanks, Geoffrey!)

(Photo: Marike79 )

Janine Butler said, "This person could come into my home during the day, during the evening time. They could steal, rob, rape. We live in a scary time."

But this isn't just scary, she says - it's dangerous. Because they don't have cell phones, and her husband, Dave, is diabetic, she says her phone line is her lifeline.

"If he went into shock, he could die," she explained. "It is a life-threatening problem that we have without a phone."

Bob Gravely can't say if Qwest is looking at one particular person, but he did say they take any network disruption very seriously, and an investigation was under way immediately.

Stay alert, citizens! The Qwest slasher remains on the loose and is presumably armed with slashing tools. You or your phone line could be next!

Redmond couple told Qwest tech cut phone line [KTVZ] (Thanks to Geoffrey!)

(Thanks to everyone who sent this in!) (Photo: zncjmom)

WHO: Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin.
WHAT: In an op-ed, Palin, who favors opening ANWR to drilling and whose husband got a $46,790 paycheck last year from BP, laid out her reasons for why the Bush administration shouldn't have added polar bears to the endangered species list.
WHERE: "Bearing Up" [NYT Op-Ed]
THE QUOTE: "The state takes very seriously its job of protecting polar bears and their habitat..."
BONUS QUOTE: "If you are not for opening ANWR, in the state of Alaska, you couldn't get elected dogcatcher." - former Alaska state Rep. Ray Metcalfe in an AP article.

"Taking it seriously" is a phrase companies (and politicians) use over and over again to appear contrite or thoughtful without actually saying or doing anything. Our series of posts documenting the phrase's attempts recurrences are our attempt to question how much seriousness-taking is actually going on.

(Thanks to Michael Belisle!)

(Photo: noromdiam, Wikipedia)

PSC staff said FiOS "may form an electrically conductive path" and could create an electrical hazard. PSC spokesman James Dean called the public safety risk "minimal - however, there is a potential risk."

Under a plan submitted to the PSC last month, Verizon would review all of its fiber-optic installations to ensure connections are properly grounded and correct violations.

The company also said it would issue credits of up to $20 to customers for installations after Aug. 18 unless it meets standards at least 95 percent of the time. The credits would "compensate such customers for the inconvenience of the inspection (and, where applicable, remediation) process," according to documents filed with the PSC.

Verizon added that they take the Public Service Commission's concerns "very seriously."

Verizon offers plan to inspect FiOS wiring [Albany Times Union]
Violations cited in LI FiOS installations [Newsday]
(Photo: Getty)

WHO: Barack Obama
WHAT: Shortly before the opening of the Democratic National Convention, Obama assured America that Hillary was always a viable candidate in his VP search.
WHERE: Obama Dismisses Worries About Clinton Fallout [New York Times]
THE QUOTE: "'I've tried not to have long discussions about short lists, long lists...But I’ve said publicly before and I will repeat again that Senator Clinton would be on anybody’s short list, so I took her very seriously."

"Taking it seriously" is a phrase companies (and now, presidential candidates) use over and over again to appear contrite or thoughtful without actually saying or doing anything. Our series of posts documenting the phrase's attempts recurrences are our attempt to question how much seriousness-taking is actually going on.

(Thanks to Michael Belisle!)

(Photo: BohPhoto)

Asked whether the health department thought the lizard came with the lettuce, or whether it was placed with the lettuce later, Davis said, “I don’t want to speculate or place blame.”

The health department has not fined or sanctioned the restaurant, Davis said. The sanitarian’s investigation revealed that nothing appeared out of the ordinary and that Applebee’s staff did nothing wrong, she said.

Employees showed how they wash the lettuce, cut it, then wash it again. “They couldn’t fathom how it (a lizard) got through the process…and they profusely apologized,” Davis said.

Applebee's officials promised that "the report was being taken very seriously."

Lizard reportedly found in salad at Applebee's [Pantagraph]
(Photo: Getty)

"Taking it seriously" is a phrase companies use over and over again to appear contrite without actually saying or doing anything. Our series of posts documenting recurrences of the phrase attempts to question how seriously they're actually taking it.

(Photo: stirwise )

"Taking it seriously" is a phrase companies use over and over again to appear contrite without actually saying or doing anything. Our series of posts documenting recurrences of the phrase attempts to question how much seriousness-taking is actually going on.

(Photo: lucianvenutian)

Here's Mark's story:

On Monday, July 28th I ordered a pizza from Papa John's Pizza. When the delivery driver showed up, he handed me my Visa slip to sign with an 'x' written next to the tip line. To me calling any kind of attention to the tip line on a credit card slip is akin to holding your hand out and asking 'where's my tip.' I didn't like the presumptive tip, and had already paid an almost $2.00 “delivery charge” so I wrote a line through the tip line, rewrote the total and signed the slip.

This morning while getting ready for work, my wife informs me that Papa John's Pizza had overcharged us by $6.42. Quite upset about Papa John's Pizza stealing six-and-a-half dollars from me, I immediately googled Papa John's Pizza corporate number. I was transferred to the finance department, and left a message expressing my extreme dissatisfaction. About 7 minutes later I got a call back from Papa John's Pizza and the gentleman asked for the details of the transaction, etc. After promising the difference would be reversed to my debit card, he said that “Papa John's takes this sort of complaint seriously.” To which of course I replied “Please do not 'take this seriously,' resolve the issue.” Then the Papa John's Pizza guy got all defensive and wanted to know why I was calling him a liar. Anyway he promised to have a 'field supervisor' look into the situation.

If my charge was off by a dollar, say because the person keying in the charge transposed a number, I may or may not have been so upset. I would have waited until the local Papa John's Pizza opened up and discussed the matter with local management. But I firmly believe that the delivery driver took it upon himself to give himself a 30% tip. I also wonder how many other people have been 'fleeced' by this driver.

I hope to email you with an update about how Papa John's Pizza refunded the difference and took steps to show me that I am a valued customer, but the day is still young.

Well, we're impressed that someone at Papa John's called him back as promised, and in less than 10 minutes—that sort of thing is far too rare with many companies, and makes us think that Papa John's actually means the phrase. But yeah, they might want to rethink using empty PR-speak if they want to reassure customers that employee theft is not tolerated. But you shouldn't blame your customers for being skeptical when they hear that phrase—there's a reason nobody believes it anymore.

(Photo: Getty)

"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.

(Photo: Morton Fox, Getty)

"We take this very seriously, and we are working with EMC [a mortgage company JPMorgan Chase owns] and the family's attorney to make this right," said Tom Kelly, a JPMorgan spokesman.

After the Dickson's bought the house back in May, the foreclosure proceedings were supposed to have been stopped. They weren't. That's when the former owner's mortgage company (owned by JPMorgan Chase) hired "Field Asset Services Inc." to drill the locks and "empty the house," according to the Austin American-Statesmen. Field Asset Services claims that the Dickson's possessions were given to area thrift stores, but they have been unable to locate them.

Ordinarily, when personal possessions are left in a foreclosed home a court order is needed to remove the items and the owners are given the opportunity to reclaim them within 24 hours. JPMorgan Chase says its not sure if there was a court order in this case.

Elizabeth Bradburn, the Dicksons' real estate agent, is organizing an effort to collect donations for the family. She said gift cards to furniture and household goods stores are preferred and may be sent to the Dicksons' business address: 9800 N. Lamar Blvd.,

No. 315, Austin TX 78753.

"It's been awesome to see people mobilize and want to help out," Hance [Dicksons' attorney] said. "The Dicksons are, of course, very grateful and touched by the outpouring of support from the community."

Cedar Park couple sues Austin company in foreclosure mix-up [American-Statesmen](Thanks, Ron!)

Dear Clay,

Thank you for taking the time to chat with my office staff the other day regarding your care here at [redacted] Chiropractic.

I am sorry that you do not take your health seriously. When you decide to make your health a priority, please know we are available to help you.

I urge you to take good care of your health and contact us immediately if you run into any problems. It's been a pleasure to be of service to you.

Oh, no! He's not taking it seriously!

Spinal Manipulation [Passive Aggressive Notes]

Last year, a rat head surprised a Utah woman when she opened her can of Allen's Italian Green Beans. That rat head earned its finder, Marianne Watson, an offer of $100 if she agreed to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which she didn't.

Despite the bribes, Allen's has nothing but confidence in their canning process:

Dear Mr. (redacted)

We are aware of the recent allegations regarding our product. However, we can confirm that the details released by the media are not accurate. We have spoken with the gentleman making the allegations but as of this date, none of the allegations have been confirmed as fact. What we can tell you is that because green beans grow out-of-doors and must be harvested by mechanical pickers close to the ground, it is not uncommon that field debris, insects and field pests may be present in the product when it is harvested and delivered to our plant for processing. Realizing this, we have equipped our production lines to rigorously wash and inspect raw product a half dozen times. Before filling the cans, they are inverted and steam flushed to assure cleanliness. The product is then filled into the cans with liquid, capped and cooked to the level of Pasteurization right inside the hermetically sealed cans, rendering the complete contents of the can commercially sterile. We utilize extensive quality control measures including technologically advanced equipment and trained inspectors. Just a few of the processes we utilize are quality checkpoints including blowers, de-stoning equipment, high pressure washers, metal detection and technically sensitive equipment, which scans the product for color and texture variances, rejecting any off-color object. Our company exceeds all FDA Requirements for food processing. In addition, we are constantly exploring new processes to improve our quality.

Quite honestly, we are at a loss to explain how something like this could have escaped our quality control measures and could have gotten through the rigorous quality process and into a can of our product. We want to assure you that our plants are extremely clean and our processes quite thorough. Allens places strong emphasis on quality assurance, utilizing competent, well-trained people and the best equipment in our plants and Corporate Laboratory. Our company packs millions of cans of product each year and I want to assure you that an incident such as this is extremely rare.

Although we have not had a chance to fully investigate this matter nor hear back on the results from the independent laboratory, we do know and can confirm scientifically that had there been any foreign material inside of the can, due to the stringent cooking process, the complete contents of the can would have been commercially sterile and would not have posed any sort of health hazard or threat to the public. Again, the Pasteurization process renders the product sterile and completely safe for consumption. While it is our goal that our products be aesthetically pleasing to our Customers, incidents such as this pose no health hazard or risk. Obviously this is a raw commodity grown in a field and as such, is subject to exposures that occur within nature. The FDA governs our processes and recognizes that there is no measure within the canning industry to prevent incidents of foreign material from entering the product 100% of the time.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding your concerns. We sincerely hope that you will give our Company another chance.

Sincerely,

Kathy Turner
Manager, Consumer Relations
Corporate Services Department
ALLENS, INC.
PO Box 250
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
kturner@allens.com

As for Walmart... well, according to spokesman Phillip Keene:

Food safety is a top priority at Wal-Mart. We take customer concerns seriously.

Man who found rat head in beans says canner told him contents of can would have been safe to consume [Beaumont Enterprise]
Utah Woman Also Finds Rat Head In Green Bean Can [KFDM]
(Photo: KFDM)

"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 Michael!)
(Photo: cmorran123)

"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.
(Photo: jblyberg)

Council Considers Testing Water for Traces of Drugs [NYT]
PREVIOUSLY: AP: 41 Million Americans Drink Water Contaminated With Antibiotics, Anti-Convulsants, Mood Stabilizers, And Sex Hormones
(Photo: Getty)

Thirty-nine businesses or groups have reported losses of sensitive information involving about 87,500 Maryland residents in the three months since a state law took effect requiring that people be informed of such incidents, records show.

The breaches have included everything from SSNs showing through envelope windows to deliberate attacks on databases by hackers. Luckily for Maryland residents, a state law ensures that you can place credit freezes with each of the three major reporting companies for $5 each.

Not a Marylander? Check this interactive map for a quick overview of what your state enforces by way of disclosure laws in the event your data is compromised.

"No sure bets in personal data security" [Baltimore Sun]

RELATED
"CareFirst Dental HMO Exposes SSNs, Says You Should "Take It Seriously""
CSO Maps State By State Data Breach Disclosure Laws

BONUS QUOTE: Spokeswoman Di Patton provided a refreshingly candid explanation before ruining everything with the driveling placation.

"But she said the airline did not consider it had made a mistake in terms of not having its biosecurity clearances before passengers boarded, saying "these kind of things happen".

"In this particular instance it was by one day the biosecurity clearance had expired - a few hours, in fact. It's not really a mistake. It's just happened as a result of other things."

(Photo: planegeezer)

Companies, is it really that expensive to offer 5 years, or 10 years, of credit monitoring to victims of your data security incompetence? Seriously, own up to your responsibility in exposing people to the risk of financial and credit problems and give them the tools they need to protect themselves. After all, it's your fault.

The Baltimore Sun, which first reported the breach, pushed The Dental Network for a reason why it took them three weeks to notify their members:

The company also created a Web site and phone line for members to learn more about the breach, which details the credit protections.

On the Web site, the company posted a list of frequently asked questions, including one about the delayed notification.

"Action was taken immediately and your personal data was secured within minutes of our learning of this accidental exposure," the response states. "With any such event, it takes time to gather the relevant information, identify the affected individuals, hold the necessary internal discussions, make the appropriate decisions and line up the assistance services that are being offered."

We searched their amateurish website (it explains a lot about the breach and the slow response) and can't find any mention of this special website or press release. If anyone has more information on either one, please send us a link or post it in the comments below.

Update: Here's the website for victims of the security breach: lds.thedentalnet.org (Thanks to the author of the original article, Liz F. Kay!)

"Patient data exposed online" [Baltimore Sun] (Thanks to Nick!)

"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. To see more examples of how companies are "taking it seriously" click here.

(Thanks, Kim!)