Who needs a crowd of people dancing to a pop song in an elaborately choregraphed public maneuver, designed only to get attention? Well, sure, flash mobs are fun to watch, sure, but cash mobs — large groups of people descending on local businesses to give sales a push — are a lot more productive in terms of helping a community. [More]
Retail Services
Here's How Long It Will Take Nonperishables To Perish
By 2.24.12
If you keep large quantities of food on hand, it’s important to cycle through it — replacing it with recently-bought supplies — in order not to let the grub spoil. But nonperishable staples don’t always come with expiration dates. And even if they do, you might have lost the dates if you transferred the food to your own containers. [More]
British Jewelry Makers Tatty Devine Claim Claire's Has Lifted Multiple Designs
By 2.24.12
British jewelry designers Tatty Devine couldn’t believe their eyes when somehow, an almost exact replica of a few of their necklaces showed up at Claire’s Accessories over in the UK. So did Claire’s get hit with the same inspiration stick while dreaming up their version? Not likely, claims Tatty Devine. [More]
Cops Called To Florida Mall To Prevent Yet Another Riot Over Nike Shoes
By 2.24.12
Crazed consumers fairly foaming at the mouth over a new release from Nike which was timed to celebrate the NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, had to be subdued by cops in riot gear at one Florida mall Thursday night. This isn’t the first time a shoe has stirred up such extreme reactions, of course, and we doubt it will be the last. [More]
How Servers At Restaurants Use Special Waity Sense To Read Your Table
By 2.23.12
Maybe you didn’t even realize you wanted more water, or were ready to tell your server what you’ll be ordering for dinner, but among good waiters, the practice of reading a table means they’ve got a sense of what you need and when you’re ready for them. [More]
Chase Puts Stop-Payment On Its Own Check, Tells Customer To Suck Up The Fee
By 2.23.12
When there’s some miscommunication between your bank and your credit card company, you would hope that the two parties could act like professionals and sort it out — especially if they’re both part of the same financial institution. But that’s apparently not the case with Chase. [More]
South Carolina To Provide Tax Refunds On Bank Of America Debit Card
By 2.23.12
This tax season, South Carolina taxpayers will have three options for getting their tax refunds: direct deposit, paper check, or a prepaid debit card from Bank of America. While this last option might seem like a good idea to some, they could be paying for the convenience. [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Uncover More Retail Antiquities
By 2.23.12 — Updated: 8.15.13
They are always searching. The Raiders of the Lost Walmart never stop their quest for the most ridiculous, most outdated items still on the shelves of their local Walmart stores. Here are their latest discoveries: a game that you can download for free, and a decade-old digital camera. [More]
Target Sells You A Vacuum Full Of Crud, Won't Take It Back
By 2.23.12
Isabelle’s $300 Dyson vacuum from Target arrived on her doorstep without some of the parts, and filled with dirt from someone else’s house. Wanting to receive the item she actually had ordered, she dragged it to the nearest Target in a taxi and was told that she was obviously trying to pull one over on Target by returning this vacuum when she so clearly had used it and kept the handle. Clearly. [More]
Satisfaction Among Consumers Runs High For Amazon While Walmart & Netflix Flail
By 2.22.12
The results of a new study reveal that we’re all pretty happy when shopping at Amazon, Costco, Publix and Nordstrom — but that Walmart and Netflix have some serious work to do when it comes to pleasing customers. [More]
If You Must Bring Your Gun To A Walmart Bathroom, Don't Drop It On The Floor
By 2.22.12
If there’s one place in rootin’ tootin’ Arizona you might hope to be safe from random gunfire, you’d think it would be the bathroom of a big box retailer. But you’d be wrong, because a man was at a Mesa Walmart was nearly shot by a stray bullet when someone in a neighboring stall allegedly let his revolver slip out of his holster. [More]
Chase Takes Its Time Looking Into How Woman Received Envelope Full Of Strangers' Account Info
By 2.22.12
It’s a good thing not everyone wants to steal identities or drain strangers’ bank accounts, because that could’ve been a likely outcome when Chase mailed the account information for three of its customers to a woman in Illinois. She was surprised to get that envelope, to say the least. [More]
Pair Of Positive Experiences Reminds Chase Customer That Good People Work For Bad Companies
By 2.22.12
JPMorgan Chase is a regular fixture in our annual Worst Company In America tournament, but like most of the businesses in the WCIA brackets, there are a lot of decent people who truly want to help their customers. [More]
When To Keep Your Credit Cards Safely In Your Wallet
By 2.22.12
Yesterday we addressed reasons you shouldn’t use a credit card to pay your taxes, and there are several other situations in which personal finance experts recommend keeping your cards holstered. Fees, interest charges and security pitfalls are reasons to opt for other methods of payment. [More]
Amazon Completely Cuts Me Off For An Abuse Of Policy Of Unknown Origins
By 2.21.12
Jack is in college, which is a pretty expensive place. So he likes that he can use Amazon to buy textbooks for cheaper than at the campus book store, and uses the site to buy the electronics he uses in daily life as well as books for reading on his Kindle. Shall we imagine his exasperation when Amazon cut him off from his account for a mysterious “abuse of policy”? [More]
Motörhead Tells Fans Not To Pay $600 For Box Set
By 2.21.12
Aging rock acts are usually the ones most eager to cash in on nostalgia by going out on reunion tours and releasing deluxe box sets that might require a home equity loan to afford. But leave it to Motörhead, the band that made the umlaut cool, to tell its fans to turn their backs on a pricey package of its old music. [More]
Why Do You Need My Eye Color & Height To Let Me Trade In My Old Copy Of Mass Effect?
By 2.21.12
There’s nothing illegal about re-selling your used video games, but some state and local governments have now begun including your old games on the list of items that require buyers to take down detailed information about you in order to track the purchase. [More]
Gobbling Up Wireless Spectrum Will Lead To Slower Speeds & Higher Prices
By 2.21.12
American consumers’ need to be constantly connected to wireless airwaves for using our smartphones, tablets and mobile devices will lead to the complete depletion of our wireless resources, says one report. And when that time comes, we’ll all be paying more, seeing dropped calls and slower data speeds. It might also cut down consumers’ options for wireless carriers. [More]
