Poor gigantic corporation Forever 21! They just can’t stop getting sued by people claiming they’ve stolen stuff! In the latest lawsuit against the low-priced fashion chain, the Feral Childe line claims Forevs ripped off one of their textile prints. [More]
Retail Services
Bank Of America Employee Does Something That Resembles Good Customer Service
By 7.15.11
With all the horror stories we read and write about Bank of America, it’s easy to forget that there are BofA employees who understand the value of treating the customer as something other than livestock. [More]
Who Ate My Amazon Account?
By 7.15.11
Some nefarious, unauthorized person “may have” accessed Joseph’s Amazon account. If you’re thinking, “So what? it’s just an e-commerce account,” note that he not only owns a Kindle and many annotated books for it, but has also now lost his purchase history and his wish list. Sure, Amazon has offered him a gift card to re-purchase the books he lost, but he’s not really keen to trust the company again. [More]
What Are Your Non-Netflix Options For Streaming Video & DVDs?
By 7.14.11
With many Netflix subscribers less than pleased about that company’s decision to effectively raise rates by 60% for customers who want streaming videos and DVDs, people are starting to take a look at other options. [More]
How Price Guarantees, Aren't
By 7.14.11
Reader Ziemowit has a good point. Some big box stores loudly proclaim their “PRICE GUARANTEE” signs but then actually do some stuff that make them irrelevant. The guarantee is supposed to be that they will match any competitor’s price. But when you have a number of manufacturers making products with packaging and SKUs just for that one retailer, then you can’t do a price guarantee because no one else carries that specific model. If you can’t find the same product at another store, you can’t match the price. Zing! [More]
50% Off Amazon Prime Renewals For Students
By 7.14.11
Students who signed up last year for a free year of Amazon Prime are getting close to their expiration date. So, Amazon is offering them a renewal for $39, 50% off the regular price of $79. [More]
Wait Until You Buy Beer At Walmart, Leave Store To Start Drinking
By 7.14.11
When you need a beer, you need a beer. But the law requires you to wait until you actually own the beer and exit the store, and in many cases, make it all the way home before you start guzzling. A 57-year-old South Dakota man who allegedly plays by his own rules was arrested for tossing caution to the wind and getting his chug on in the Walmart aisles. [More]
Bank Of America Paying Out $410 Million For Reordering Your Transactions To Maximize Overdraft Fees
By 7.14.11
What makes this Bank of America $410 million class action settlement special is that it’s over a basic consumer banking business practice. For years, banks have been processing your daily transactions in order from highest to lowest, rather than real-time. They say they’re doing us a favor so that if we have a check bounce, it’s the one for the babysitter and not the mortgage payment. But this class action suit claims that Bank of America did this to unjustly enrich itself. It’s one of over 60 lawsuits against various banks for similar practices, and it could reshape the entire industry. [More]
Your Complaint Is Not Important At Kmart If You're 'Just A Customer'
By 7.14.11
Terrie finished up her shopping at her local Kmart and headed for the checkout. She was horrified to see that each open checkout had at least dozen customers in line, and the store had no intention of opening any more. When she inquired about making her purchase at the jewelry counter or opening some more registers, she learned exactly how important customers are to this particular store. [More]
Will These Employees Please Stop Hijacking My Cart?
By 7.14.11
B. keeps getting cart-jacked in big-box stores. Not by fellow customers envious of the amazing bargains she finds, but by store employees eager to clean up the store who think that her unattended cart has been abandoned. Not so, she insists, raising another question altogether: how long can you reasonably expect to leave your cart alone before it is, indeed, cartjacked? [More]
Best Buy Holding Deaf Bed-Bound Girl's Laptop Hostage Since May
By 7.13.11
Jenni’s sister is disabled and bed-bound, and her laptop is her portal to the world. So when her HP laptop had to go in for repair, it was a big deal. It was an even bigger deal after the Geek Squad spent over a month dickering with the repair and while it was in their hands, the warranty ran out. Now Geek Squad won’t give it back unless the full out of warranty price is paid, and HP says it’s not their problem, it’s Geek Squad’s. Meanwhile it’s been almost three months and Jenni’s sister has no computer. [More]
Amazon, AT&T Team Up For Even Cheaper Ad-Supported Kindle 3G
By 7.13.11
A few months ago, Amazon unleashed its first version of a lower-priced, ad-supported Kindle, but if you wanted the 3G version it was still going to cost significantly more. Last month, they introduced a 3G Kindle with ads for $25 off the retail price, and today they announced a deal with AT&T that lops off another $25, taking the price down to $139. [More]
Bank Of America Disapproves Of My Spending Habits
By 7.13.11
Like a watchful, overprotective parent, Bank of America sees Alexander’s spending habits and disapproves of them. Whenever he makes a debit card purchase over $50, they put a hold on his card. “They told me that I should stop spending my money at an exuberant rate,” he notes. What? [More]
After The Storm: Shop At Home Depot, Eat At Waffle House
By 7.12.11
Which retailers are best at preparing for major disasters? According to some experts, big-box chains like Home Depot and Lowe’s earn high marks for responding rapidly to blizzards, tornadoes and hurricanes. Then there’s Waffle House, which FEMA administrator W. Craig Fugate cites as being one of the indicators he uses to determine whether a community has recovered from a disaster: If the restaurant is open and serving a full menu, things are okay. [More]
Chase Regrets To Inform You, And The Credit Bureaus, That You Are Dead
By 7.12.11
It was so thoughtful of Chase to send a letter of condolence to the family of a recently deceased customer in Florida. Or at least it would have been had the woman actually been dead. [More]
Amazon Wants To Bring Sales Tax Battle To California Voters
By 7.12.11
Amazon wants California voters to reverse a new law that requires online retailers to collect sales tax on purchases made in that state. Amazon previously dropped its California affiliates in response to the law. [More]
Bank Of America Gives Same Account Number To Two Customers, Deposits $30K In Social Security Payments To The Wrong One
By 7.12.11
While Bank of America may have millions and millions of customers, one would think that having 10-digit account numbers would allow the bank to have billions of customers without duplicating a number. But this is BofA, who not only managed to have two customers with identical numbers for two years — depositing $30,000 of Social Security payments into the wrong account during that time — but who also shrugs it off by saying this “does happen occasionally.” [More]
Target Really Wants You To Notice They've Raised The Price Of Cat Food
By 7.12.11
We hope this is a case of mismanaged math, and not just some employee with access to the sign-maker thumbing his nose at customers. Don’t be cruel along with raising prices, Target! [More]
