Last month, we wrote about how a number of pharmacists at chains like CVS, Walgreens, and Target were being pressured by management to put customers into auto-refill programs, which led to some customers being enrolled in the program without their approval. Now Target says that it no longer measures pharmacists’ success by how many people they place into auto-refills. [More]
Retail Services
Bank Of America Is Really Good At Losing Documents, Really Bad At Believing My Mother Is Dead
By 11.26.12
Picking up the pieces of a late loved one’s life is something no one looks forward to. Many businesses know this and will do what they can to ease you through the process. Then there’s Bank of America. [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Uncover Ancient, Indestructible Nokia Phone
By 11.26.12 — Updated: 10.9.13
Do you ever get nostalgic for old technology, missing your Nokia dumbphone from 2001 or your Sony Mavica camera that saved photos to 3.5-inch floppy disks? Thanks to hidden caches of treasure in Walmart’s vast warehouses, you don’t have to. Wally World puts these items, brand-new and shrinkwrapped, on the shelves at comically high prices. Brave Consumerist readers seek out these rare finds and send their discoveries to us. We call these brave souls the Raiders of the Lost Walmart. [More]
Walmart Offers Rain Checks, Doesn’t Know How To Give Them To Customers
By 11.26.12
In theory, if Walmart doesn’t have a sale item in stock when you’re at the store, they offer rain checks. Here in the real world, no one at David’s local store seems to know what a rain check is, let alone how to issue one. A rain check is a document that allows you to get the sale price on an out-of-stock item, even if the sale is over when the item comes back in stock. Apparently, it’s a relic of the era when customers couldn’t just whip out a smartphone and order the same item elsewhere at a cheaper price. That’s precisely what David did, anyway. [More]
The Future Of Sears And Kmart Depends On Cross-Selling, And They Suck At It
By 11.26.12
It’s Christmas tree buying season! Alan and his wife shopped around and found a spiffy fake spruce on Sears’ website. “In stock from Kmart,” said the Sears website. Well, then, they’re part of the same company: it shouldn’t be difficult at all to go to Kmart and get them to match the Sears price. Right? [More]
Why I Left Best Buy After Waiting In Line For Two Hours On Black Friday
By 11.26.12
Like many people in his Connecticut town, Consumerist reader RC thought he would pop by Best Buy when it opened at midnight on Black Friday to see if he could land a deal. But either the store management grossly underestimated how many customers would show up or they have no idea how to manage the checkout process. [More]
Alleged Shoplifter Dies After Being Tackled By Walmart Employees Over Holiday Weekend
By 11.26.12
Every year shoppers get amped up to shop the Black Friday sales, and it seems that every year, that energy unfortunately leads to a few tragic situations. Early on Sunday morning, a man who cops say was trying to shoplift two DVD players from a Walmart in Georgia died after he was apprehended by two employees and a contract security officer. [More]
Sam’s Club Offers Great Thanksgiving Week Deals, Abruptly Cancels Orders
By 11.26.12
Is Sam’s Club the new Best Buy? Last year, Best Buy canceled orders for many of their hottest doorbusters just before Christmas, leaving customers sad and giftless. If that’s Sam’s Club’s plan, at least they’re operating on a shorter timeline before canceling their hottest deals. Readers report to us that Sam’s sold and then canceled these deals all in the space of Thanksgiving weekend. [More]
Best Buy Website Runs Ads For Competing Websites
By 11.21.12
Lots of large websites run Google ads in order to generate a bit of cash without having to actively sell an ad module. But the folks at Best Buy might want to rethink this strategy, as many of the Google ads on BestBuy.com are linking to deals at competing e-tailers. [More]
Survey: Target Beats Walmart For Cheaper Thanksgiving Dinner
By 11.20.12
Over the past decade, Walmart has quickly become the biggest seller of groceries in the country, but that doesn’t mean it’s the cheapest. In fact, a new survey says that shoppers would save money this year by hitting up Target for their Thanksgiving feast. [More]
Sears Will Do Just About Anything To Not Fix My Cracked Boiler
By 11.20.12
For almost two weeks, Consumerist reader Jim has simply been trying to get Sears out to repair his cracked boiler. Instead, he’s been given three separate appointments just to verify the existence of the crack, none of which have resulted in anything being done to actually fix the problem. [More]
Black Friday Creep: A Security Guard’s Perspective
By 11.20.12
It’s hard to hear the word “doorbuster” without remembering the death four years ago of Jdimytai Damour, the 34-year-old temporary crowd control worker stationed at the door of a Long Island Walmart who was trampled to death when the crowd ripped the door off the hinges, clamoring for the best deals on flatscreen TVs as the global economy collapsed. [More]
Using Your Spouse’s Costco Card Will Launch A Mini Fraud Investigation
By 11.20.12
Costco members, you should feel safe: the world’s most beloved warehouse club is looking out for you. In the event that a thief steals your membership card, happens to have the same last name as you, and makes Costco purchases while you stand a few feet away, Costco has got you covered. Which is to say that Adam’s local store freaked out on his latest visit when his wife forgot her Costco card and used his, but paid with her debit card attached to their joint bank account. [More]
3 Reasons Why 350,000 Signatures On A Petition Won’t Change Target’s Mind About Opening On Thanksgiving
By 11.19.12
For the second year in a row, a Target employee has managed to secure hundreds of thousands of names on a petition asking Target to rethink its plans to start its Black Friday sale on Thanksgiving night. And for the second year in a row, Target is politely declining the suggestion and moving ahead as planned. [More]
Walmart Files Complaint Against Union In Attempt To Thwart Black Friday Protests
By 11.19.12
Walmart seems to be feeling a bit squirmy about the upcoming Black Friday sales at its stores in light of workers’ plans to protest at over 1,000 stores nationwide, and has filed a complaint against a union it says is involving itself in the brouhaha even though it’s not the workers’ official union. Black Friday is The Main Event as far as the company is concerned, and it doesn’t want any strikes or picket lines to muck things up. [More]
Best Buy Online Sale Shows Company Not Quite Ready To Become E-Commerce Powerhouse
By 11.19.12
Last week, new Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly said the company needs to make online sales a priority, as the retailer continues losing market share to e-tailers like Amazon and Newegg. But if this morning’s scheduled sale is any indication, Best Buy is not ready to compete with the big boys and girls. [More]
Sears Parts Direct: Free Shipping Means We Only Charge You For Shipping Once
By 11.19.12
A chat customer service representative at Sears Parts Direct advised Jan about which part she should order for her garage door opener. They advised her incorrectly, which she figured out shortly after placing the order. It was too late: the wrong order couldn’t be reversed. A second chat agent offered to order the correct part, with free shipping. Jan interpreted this to mean “we’ll refund your shipping for the first, erroneous part, too.” Not so. [More]
NY Atty. Gen. Calls Out Wells Fargo For Halting Loan Mods In Wake Of Hurricane Sandy
By 11.19.12
As portions of New York and New Jersey begin to rebuild following the path of destruction cut by Hurricane Sandy, there are a number of area homeowners whose loan modifications have become collateral damage, with Wells Fargo suspending decisions on these requests until further notice. [More]
