With all other remaining contenders having had their time trying to shoot each other with crossbows or burn each other alive with wildfire in the vast, Worst Company In America Hunger Games arena, Round Two comes to a close with this match-up between two reviled retailers. [More]
Retail Services
Verizon Math At T-Mobile: 1¢ Is The Same As Free
By 3.23.12
I don’t really want to sit here writing painfully obvious sentences, but here’s the thing. A penny isn’t very much money. It is, however, more than zero, so an item that costs one cent is not free. In practical terms, it might as well be free, but it still isn’t. Which is why Mark found this bit of math confusion on a Verizon T-Mobile phone purchase page through Costco so amusing. “Even though the difference between .01 and .00 is quite small,” he writes, “it’s still not infinitesimal enough to be considered ‘free,’ right?” No, not yet. [More]
Bank Of America Tests Converting Delinquent Homeowners Into Renters
By 3.23.12
Because there’s more money in being a landlord than there is in going through the lengthy foreclosure/auction/short sale process, Bank of America is testing a program that will let homeowners with delinquent BofA mortgages stay in their homes as renters. [More]
Buying Snacks & Sodas From Vending Machines Is Like, So 2006
By 3.22.12
Traditional vending machines are dying off like snack food dinosaurs after a meteor strike. But in this case, the meteor is just that less people want to buy chips and gum from a machine. Between 2007 and 2010,134,000 vending machines disappeared from locations in the U.S. [More]
Sears Employees Not Entirely Sure How Manufacturer's Warranties Work
By 3.22.12
Russell was browsing at his local Sears, seriously considering a purchase of fitness equipment. He grossly miscalculated, though: he got the idea in his head that he could ask an employee about the products for sale in the store and receive a factually correct answer. Instead, the salesperson emphasized the uselessness of the warranty, losing the sale and annoying the customer. [More]
Worst Company In America Sweet 16: Bank Of America Vs. Citi
By 3.22.12
A perennial Golden Poo favorite slips into a red, white and blue unitard and struts into the WCIA Rollerball arena to the strains of Hulk Hogan’s “Real American,” thinking this is the year they win it all… Well, not if a scrappy underdog from New York City has anything to say about it. [More]
Which Worst Company Contenders Force Customers Into Mandatory Arbitration?
By 3.21.12
As we sifted through the mountain of nominations for this year’s Worst Company In America tournament, we noticed a trend of readers who cited companies’ mandatory binding arbitration clauses as a reason for nominating. And while it’s businesses like AT&T and Sony that have made all the headlines for effectively banning class action lawsuits, there are a lot of other WCIA contenders who are forcing customers into signing away their rights. [More]
Connecticut Demands Sales Tax From Scholastic Book Club & Its Teacher Accomplices
By 3.21.12
Those no good, book-spreading fat cats over at Scholastic Book Club are finally getting their just desserts from the state of Connecticut, along with their nefarious teacher accomplices, who encourage kids to buy and read books. The state’s Supreme Court ruled the Missouri-based company must pay Connecticut sales tax. [More]
Kraft Announces Their Snack Business Will Be Sold Under "Mondelez" Name
By 3.21.12
Wouldn’t it be fun to be in the boardroom meetings at big corporations when they’re brainstorming names with whatever consultants they’ve hired to insure a big impact? We’d have been stifling giggles if Kraft had let us in on the process of naming their snack spinoff business Mondelez. You know, like Condaleeza, without the “ah” sound. [More]
Worst Company In America Sweet 16: Best Buy Vs. EA
By 3.21.12
The opening bout of this year’s Sweet 16 should result in some sparks, as the video game company everyone seems to hate (but whose games people keep buying) squares off against the electronics retailer most of us would rather not shop at (but still do when we don’t have time to wait for an Amazon order). [More]
Please Join Us In Welcoming Your Worst Company In America 2012 Sweet 16!
By 3.21.12
The floor of the Worst Company In America BattleDome is stained with the blood of the vanquished. But only one company can earn the privilege of placing the WCIA Golden Poo in its trophy case, so the violence must continue. [More]
Walmart Hoping To Get Cash-Only Customers To Shop Online
By 3.20.12
Walmart is the largest retailer in the country, which means that there are inevitably a number of the store’s customers who don’t use credit or debit cards. In the checkout aisle, that’s not a problem because cash is always an option, but the lack of plastic keeps these shoppers from buying anything online. Walmart thinks it may have found a compromise that could resolve that issue. [More]
Filmmaker: Bank Of America Wouldn't Adjust My Mortgage Because I Couldn't Prove I Was Dead
By 3.20.12
We’ve already written about Bank of America customers trying in vain to prove that they are not dead. But this story is a bit different. A man says he tried to get a modification on his BofA mortgage, but the bank won’t do anything until he can prove he’s dead and that he’s paying child support to children he doesn’t have. [More]
Bagel Battle Royale: Consumer Reports Chows Down To Find The Best
By 3.20.12
While you shouldn’t even bring bagels up with a New Yorker if you’re not prepared for a fight, the brave, expert testers over at our smarter siblings Consumer Reports took on a bready battle of epic proportions, as they sought the best bagel you can find in stores nationwide. [More]
NetZero Returns From Oblivion To Offer Free Wi-Fi Service For One Year
By 3.20.12
Remember NetZero? Back in the day, and by that we mean the 1990s, they wooed customers with free dial-up service. And now, after some time lying low in the Internet game, the company is coming back with an offer for one year of wireless broadband service with no contract. [More]
May I Offer You A $200 Cup Of Organic Green Tea Grown With Panda Dung?
By 3.19.12
Pandas are prized all over the world, and now a Chinese entrepreneur is banking on that adorable appeal to sell $200 cups of green tea grown with the aid of panda poo. Of course, the man behind the dung tea is doing it all for the environment. And because he loves pandas, probably. [More]
Environmentally-Friendly Toilet Paper Is Just The Right Shade Of Brown
By 3.19.12
In an attempt to go green, Cascades tissue company is browning up their toilet paper with a 100% recycled, unbleached offering. They’re peddling the brown bath tissue to businesses now and hope to bring it to consumers’ bathrooms later this year. But yeah, brown toilet paper! Interesting. [More]
The Luck Of The Irish Doesn't Extend To Leading U.S. Beer Sales
By 3.16.12
It might not matter to the masses which alcohol they’re dumping green dye into tomorrow on their annual celebration of St. Patrick, but it likely won’t be Irish beer anyway. Samuel Adams leads the best-perceived brand in the country, while Guinness comes in far down the line at sixth. Faith and begorrah! [More]
