We started the day writing about a Twitter mistake from a company that got all-too-human in its attempt to be funny online. Now comes a story from the other end of the social media idiocy spectrum, with Bank of America’s Twitter ‘bots caught in a loop, confounded that someone would be Tweeting about BofA without actually being a BofA customer. [More]
Retail Services
Proof That Bank Of America’s Twitter Account Is Moderated By Robots Or Morons (Or Moronic Robots)
By 7.8.13 — Updated: 10.1.14
Is Back-To-School Creep A Thing?
By 7.5.13
Holiday Creep is the retail phenomenon where retailers market holidays earlier and earlier in order to maximize their sales of Christmas trees or chocolate eggs. We all know Christmas Creep and Easter Creep, but is back-to-school creep a thing? How early is too early to start getting ready for the next school year? [More]
New York Attorney General Investigating Walmart, Home Depot, Others Over Prepaid Payroll Cards
By 7.3.13
Though it’s been a point of concern with employee-rights advocates for years, the use of prepaid debit cards as a substitute for traditional payroll checks is finally getting attention from the powers that be, with the New York state attorney general’s office investigating the practice at some of the nation’s largest employers. [More]
Pebble Has Enough Watches For Best Buy, But Not For All Preorders & Kickstarter Backers
By 7.2.13
Upon posting the news on this site that Best Buy had inked an exclusive deal to sell Pebble’s E-paper watches, we started hearing more than a rumble from our readers who had pre-ordered the watch as either a Kickstarter backer or during the general pre-sale. They wanted to know how Pebble had enough watches to stock Best Buy’s shelves, but not to send to those who had been waiting for months or even a year since ordering them. [More]
Pebble Makes The Move From Crowdfunders’ Darling To Exclusive Deal With Best Buy
By 7.2.13
Pebble’s smartwatches are a classic David and Goliath story: A product that only exists online but is beloved by the masses (as evidenced in $10 million in backing funds on Kickstarter) rises to the front lines to take on the big box retailers in the physical world. Well, it would be a classic story if instead of slaying Goliath, David shook hands with him and put on a blue Best Buy shirt. [More]
Best Buy Forgets That Quebec Is Actually Part Of Canada
By 7.2.13
Quebec, as you may know, is the fiercely francophone province of Canada that has held two failed secession votes and somehow still remains part of Canada. The question “is Quebec a part of Canada?” is loaded with centuries of history and ton(ne)s of baggage. So, of course, Best Buy Canada stepped in the middle of it in the interest of selling some TVs. [More]
Jury Finds Bank Of America Protester Not Guilty Of Vandalism For Chalk Drawings Outside BofA Branches
By 7.2.13
Last week, a San Diego man made headlines when he went on trial to face 13 counts of vandalism related to chalk drawings he’d made on sidewalks outside of Bank of America branches in the area. On Monday afternoon, the jury returned after only a few hours of deliberation with “Not Guilty” verdicts on each count. [More]
Soleus Air And Kenmore Dehumidifiers May Catch Fire, Pulled From Stores
By 7.2.13
Our venerable sibling publication Consumer Reports gave a dehumidifier from Soleus Air their “Best Buy” rating. Now it’s off the list and off store shelves after the manufacturer sent a stop-sale notice to retailers. There’s no consumer recall yet, but Amazon did reach out to customers and let them know about the issue. [More]
Wear A Surgical Mask Into A Wells Fargo Branch, You Might Be Mistaken For A Bank Robber
By 7.1.13
Whether it’s Patrick Swayze in a Ronald Reagan mask or a woman holding up a McDonald’s with a girdle stretched over her face, robbers will wear just about anything to hide their identity from those being robbed. But sometimes a person walks into a bank wearing a mask not because he’s a criminal, but because he just underwent chemotherapy. [More]
Some Best Buy Customer Service Reps Not Thrilled With Having To Stick To Script
By 7.1.13
Anyone who has called up customer service knows how frustrating it can be when you reach a rep who insists on sticking to a script rather than having a genuine conversation about your issue. A phone agent for Best Buy’s website says the company recently instituted a new script and those who don’t follow it verbatim are risking their jobs. [More]
Bank Of America Makes You Opt Out Of Junk Mail Every 5 Years, Even If You Don’t Have An Account
By 7.1.13 — Updated: 7.22.14
When you opt out of receiving junk mail from a company, you might think that this is the last time your mailbox will be filled with that particular business’s unsolicited offers. But no, as some companies put time limits on how long you can stop them from wasting time, paper, and money to send you things that go straight into the shredder. [More]
Citi To Pay Nearly $1 Billion To Fannie Mae For Toxic Mortgages
By 7.1.13
Ever since taxpayers bailed out Fannie Mae, the mortgage-backer has been trying to get some of the nation’s largest lenders to buy back the toxic loans that had been sold to the company before the housing bubble went POP. Today, Citi announced that it has agreed to pay $968 million to Fannie Mae to put an end to its part in the matter. [More]
Judge Issues Gag Order In Trial Of Man Accused Of Writing Chalk Messages Outside BofA Branches
By 6.28.13
As you may have heard, a California man alleged to be a serial graffiti artist faces prison time for scribbling anti-bank messages on the sidewalks outside of three Bank of America branches. The trial began earlier this week and yesterday the judge issued a gag order banning any of the involved parties from speaking to the media — and admonishing San Diego Mayor Bob Filner for chiming in on the topic. [More]
Walmart Erroneously Labels Me ‘Credit Risk,’ Won’t Send Data Plan Code
By 6.28.13
Kirk shops online a lot, but has never made a purchase from Walmart before. Apparently, this is some kind of crime, and has held up his online order of an activation code for his new T-Mobile prepaid plan. Walmart customer service calls him a “credit risk,” but T-Mobile thinks that his credit is peachy keen. [More]
Paula Deen’s Empire Continues To Crumble As Target Phases Out Her Products
By 6.28.13
UPDATE: The bloodshed continues — Sears, Walgreens and Kmart will all be phasing out Paula Deen’s products as well. [More]
Sam’s Club Takes Back Ancient Desk Chair, Delights Customer
By 6.27.13
People come in different shapes and sizes, and companies make products to fit us. Well, the products are supposed to. Reader Chris got a wonderful desk chair designed for people who are, as he puts it, “big and tall” for Christmas. Christmas 2011. When it broke, he was stuck: surely the warranty was up and the retailer wouldn’t take it back. Right? [More]
Used Games Are Great, But Not Worth An Extra $25
By 6.27.13
Okay, it can be kind of inconvenient to deal with the original packaging, security tape and plastic wrap and all, for a brand-new video game. That privilege might be worth something…but it probably isn’t worth $25. [More]
Walmart “Will Not Place New Orders” For Paula Deen Products
By 6.26.13
Paula Deen’s business deals are sliding away faster than a pat of butter on a pile of hot cakes: Joining Caesars Entertainment, Smithfield Foods and the Food Network, Walmart has announced that it’s cutting ties to the southern chef. QVC also said earlier this week that it had “concerns” over the recent controversy involving Deen’s use of racial epithets. [More]
