In our years of posting about the retail menace that is Christmas Creep, we have developed a list of situations that are not eligible to be declared Christmas Creep. For example, craft stores know that you’re starting your Christmas crochet projects in mid-August, and Hallmark always introduces its Christmas ornaments in July. Yet Hallmark has taken its ornament collection to CVS, and reader Victoria is not pleased. [More]
Food & Personal Care
Burger King Employee Beats Up Former Co-Worker Who Attempted To Rob Restaurant
By 9.10.14
In a move that would probably get him fired if he worked at Walmart, a Burger King employee in Ohio fought off a knife-wielding wannabe robber, who happened to have previously worked at that restaurant (and whose special lady friend still works there). [More]
DiGiorno Shows Why You Should Read Twitter Hashtags Before Using Them
By 9.9.14
We’ve discussed before how brands should reconsider the use of Twitter as a promotional tool, since the combination of employees signed in to the wrong account, thoughtless jumping on bandwagons, and followers who know how to take screen shots has damaged a lot of brands. Today’s devastating example of why you should look before employing a hashtag comes from frozen pizza brand DiGiorno, which wandered into a serious Twitter conversation about domestic violence. [More]
Starbucks Testing Coconut Milk As Another Non-Dairy Option At Some Stores
By 9.9.14
The sight of soy milk at the local coffee shop is a fairly familiar sight by now, but soon the lactose-free set of customers at certain stores in Los Angeles, Cleveland, Oregon and elsewhere will have yet another non-dairy option to choose from: Coconut milk. [More]
CVS Gives Out Free Cigarette Packs Stuffed With Help For Quitting
By 9.5.14
You can’t buy tobacco products anymore at the newly-renamed CVS Health, but you can get the cashier to give you a free pack. While the little red box is shaped like a cigarette pack, that isn’t what’s inside. These packs are available for free, and have coupons and materials inside meant to inspire customers to quit smoking. [More]
Cheese Makers In Switzerland Fight Counterfeits With Secret Bacteria
By 9.5.14
Did you know that counterfeit Swiss cheese is a problem? It certainly is if you’re a cheesemaker in Switzerland. Industry experts recently estimated that as much as 10% of all Emmental cheese (that’s the pale yellow cheese with holes in it that Americans usually refer to as “Swiss” cheese) sold outside of Switzerland was fake: not made in Switzerland. How are the Swiss protecting their cheese industry, which has exports in the hundreds of millions of dollars? DNA tests. [More]
Taco Bell Testing Biscuit-Shell Breakfast Tacos Because It Can
By 9.5.14
Once again proving that its definition of “taco” is “something placed in something else that is folded or at least vaguely U-shaped,” Taco Bell is now shoving a variety of breakfast meats inside a folded biscuit and calling it a taco in some test markets. [More]
Starbucks Opening Upscale Roastery In Seattle, Testing “Express” Stores In NYC
By 9.5.14
While there already seems to be a Starbucks on every corner, apparently the company thinks there’s always room for a few more. The coffee slingers announced today that it’s opening a new upscale roastery offering only its Starbucks Reserve line of coffee in Seattle, along with an express mini-store in New York City. [More]
Dozens Of Arrests Made In Fast Food Wage Protests Around Country
By 9.4.14
As we mentioned earlier this week, supporters of higher wages for fast food workers staged protests in cities all over the country today. According to reports, a number of these demonstrations resulted arrests. [More]
Burger King Drive-Thru Serves Up Whoppers, Chicken Fries, Boa Constrictor
By 9.4.14
Boa constrictor was on the menu this week at an Illinois Burger King, but not in the sense that you could eat one. No, we mean on the menu board at the drive-thru. Wednesday afternoon, customers alerted the restaurant’s employees that there was a boa constrictor relaxing near the drive-thru lane. How did it get there? No one knows. [More]
Perdue Stops Using Antibiotics In Chicken Hatcheries
By 9.3.14
There’s some good news for a change for those concerned about the rampant use of antibiotics in animal feed. Perdue, the nation’s most well-known chicken producer claims that 95% of its chickens will now be antibiotic-free (sort of) after removing all antibiotics from chicken hatcheries. [More]
Thousands Of Jars Of Parmesan Cheese Recalled Because No One Wants Salmonella With Their Spaghetti
By 9.3.14
If you were thinking of making a batch of spaghetti for dinner, complete with a heaping helping of 4C-branded Parmesan cheese, you might get more than you bargained for – salmonella. [More]
CVS Yanks Tobacco Products From Its Shelves A Month Earlier Than Planned
By 9.3.14
Earlier this year, CVS Caremark announced it would stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products in its drugstores across the country by October 1. It’s not October yet, but CVS has decided to pull those items early. As in, today. And it’s got another change in the pipeline, too — its new corporate name is CVS Health. [More]
Starbucks Employee Asks Woman With Service Dog To Leave Because There’s “No Proof” He’s A Service Animal
By 9.2.14
Starbucks is once again making headlines for an employee’s reaction to a customer with a service dog. And once again the coffee shop seems to be in the wrong – and apologizing. [More]
World’s Worst Taco Bell Customer Grabs Employee’s Butt Through Drive-Thru Window
By 9.2.14
We understand that Taco Bell’s sole reason to exist is to sate customers’ gluttonous cravings. But while it’s okay to satisfy your lust for cheese and meat-like product with a burrito, it’s most definitely not okay to give into an idiotic desire to grab a Taco Bell employee’s rear-end. [More]
More Fast Food Strikes Expected For Thursday
By 9.2.14
Getting a Big Mac, Whopper, Baconator, Double Down, or Chalupa might be a bit of an inconvenience on Thursday, as supporters of the movement for higher pay and union membership for fast food workers say employees will strike in 150 cities. [More]
Everyone Is Really Into Eating Butter Right Now, Sending Prices Soaring
By 9.2.14
When it comes to fatty spreads, it seems butter’s popularity is climbing these days. But because the butter industry can’t keep up with the spike in demand, you could be facing higher prices at the store. [More]
Not The Cheese!! Kraft Recalls American Singles For Possible Premature Spoilage
By 8.29.14
Obeying the correct storage process for ingredients is of the utmost importance when it comes to creating ooey-gooey cheesy deliciousness. And improper storage can spoil your cheese – as one supplier found out now that loads of Kraft Singles are being recalled. [More]
