Bank of America may have lost this year’s Worst Company In America tournament by the narrowest of margins, but the results of a new customer service satisfaction survey put BofA at the head of the class when it comes to irking consumers. [More]
Retail Services
The Closer Your Last Name Is To Z, The Faster You Buy
By 6.2.11
A study finds that the closer your last name is to the end of the alphabet, the faster you make purchasing decisions. And yes, the behavior is ingrained in us based on how we all used to line up in school. [More]
Chase Screws Up Loan Modification, "Fixes" Error By Adding $8,000 To Balance Of Loan
By 6.2.11
The folks at ProPublica recently looked into the all-too-common problem of homeowners who thought they had successfully run through the loan modification gauntlet only to later find out that their bank had no record of the reduction and their house was suddenly in foreclosure. [More]
After Six Months, Target Mobile Still Hasn't Coughed Up $50 Rebate
By 6.1.11
Back during last year’s Black Friday shopping frenzy, Khoi purchased a new smartphone that cost $50, with a rebate offer of a $50 Target gift card along with it. The rebate card was supposed to show up within two weeks. Six months later, he’s still waiting on that gift card, and he hasn’t exactly been sitting around twiddling his thumbs and waiting for Target to mail it. Finally, at the 6-month mark, he decided to take his dissatisfaction to the very tippity top, writing to Target’s CEO. [More]
DC Comics Suffers Midlife Crisis, Gets All Modern
By 6.1.11
It seems that in the world of comic books, the equivalent of getting a sports car and a mistress when confronted with mortality is a wholesale shake-up that includes renumbered issues, new uniforms for its heroes and a focus on digital delivery. DC Comics, the home of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, is attempting to reinvent itself in the face of falling print sales before it’s too late. [More]
Skin-Care Mall Kiosk Flirts $666 Right Out Of Your Pocket
By 5.31.11
Beware of beautiful women wielding skin-care products in mall kiosks. Kevin was on his way toward the mall exit when a skin-care kiosk saleswoman approached him, putting a product in his hand. An hour later, he somehow had spent about $666 on skin-care products that he never really wanted in the first place. How does this happen? Did the woman drug him? Did she sneak his credit card out of his wallet and scan it while he wasn’t looking? Nope. It was all charm, flattery, and persistence. Then more persistence. His disjointed account sounds more like a description of a drunken evening than of a shopping experience. [More]
Mom Tries To Teach Kids Value Of Saving, Kids Learn Lesson About Bank Fees Instead
By 5.31.11
In 2007, a mother of three thought she would introduce her kids to the world of banking by having them each open up passbook savings accounts at the local Bank of America branch. But rather than learning how savings earn interest over the years, the kids found themselves schooled in the finer points of bank fees and the need to check your statement. [More]
Best Buy Orders Stores To Stop Saying They Don't Price-Match To BestBuy.com
By 5.31.11
Last week, we showed you the sign at one Best Buy store that openly stated it would not match prices found on BestBuy.com, flying in the face of the company’s stated policy. We subsequently received numerous e-mails from Best Buy staffers saying they had been ordered to not price match, but to tell customers to order on the website and arrange for in-store pickup. After that story was posted, BB HQ sent out a directive to staffers, laying down the law on this topic. [More]
Quantifying The Value Of College Degrees
By 5.31.11
As college costs continue to rise, it’s reasonable to step back and take a look at how much a bachelor’s degree may be worth in terms of career earnings. [More]
Alleged Walmart Shoplifter Goes On Violent Rampage After Being Asked For Receipt
By 5.27.11
This is a textbook example of how not to behave when asked for your receipt at a store’s exit. According to the Bradenton, Florida police, a 22-year-old woman tried to leave a Walmart with 43 items she hadn’t paid for, worth a total of $211. When asked for her receipt, she went on a destructive rampage, causing more than $1,000 worth of damage to merchandise. She also punched and spat on store employees, and hit a manager with a bar stool from inside her cart. Police officers discovered marijuana in her purse, and she has been charged with, among other things, aggravated assault and battery. [More]
Update: Best Buy Changes Credit Quota Firing Threat
By 5.27.11
Well, that was fast. The reader and Best Buy employee who wrote in earlier this week about the threat of termination being used to make employees generate more credit card applications from customers. (Or, as the headline put it, “cram credit cards down customers’ throats.”) The tipster wrote back in to let us know that management in this particular region has backed down. While offering credit applications is still an important part of the job, working twelve shifts without persuading any customers to apply is no longer grounds for automatic termination. [More]
Urban Outfitters Offers Jewelry Identical To Independent Designer's Line
By 5.26.11
Something is rotten in Denmark, or rather, in the I Heart Destination jewelry line of baubles offered by Urban Outfitters. Turns out those $19 danglers in the shape of the various United States of America with a heart cut-out are exactly like necklaces crafted by an independent jewelry designer named Stevie. Update: ‘Stolen’ Urban Outfitters Jewelry Design Not All That Original [More]
Best Buy Store Flat Out Says They're Not Gonna Price Match Their Website
By 5.26.11
There’s no more pussyfooting around the bush. Reader Daniel snapped a picture of this sign on the front door of his local Best Buy of a sign that just comes right out and says, hey, if you want the price shown on the Best Buy website, we’ll be happy to sell you a computer that will connect to bestbuy.com so you can order it there and have it shipped to your house or held for in-store pickup. Ok, it doesn’t really say all that, but it does say that they’re not going to bother honoring the prices shown on the website within the store at all. [More]
Class Action Suit Against BofA For Deceptive Loan Mods Goes National
By 5.26.11
Olly, olly, oxen, free. A class action lawsuit against Bank of America claiming they were less than above board with their loan modification practices has been certified for national participation. [More]
Chase QuickPay Decides Your Rent Payment Is Fraud, Locks Down Accounts
By 5.26.11
Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo customers will soon be able to send money to anyone with an e-mail address or mobile number using a new Voltron of a service called ClearXChange. Chase already has something similar to that called QuickPay, which Derek and his roommate (a Wells Fargo customer) used to transfer their rent money while Derek was out of town. Let’s see how that worked out for them. [More]
Marketers Reintroducing Vintage Package Designs
By 5.25.11
Everything old is new again. To tap into your nostalgia and your wallet, brands are dusting off old package designs not seen since the 60’s and 70’s and putting them back on the shelves. [More]
3 Big Banks Launch Pay By Cell And Email System Called clearXchange
By 5.25.11
Three of the nation’s biggest banks have teamed up to offer a new payment service that lets you transfer money from your bank account using only a cell phone number or email address. It’s called clearXchange and it’s being offered to Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo customers. An inkling of how it will work is revealed on the initiative’s placeholder web page. [More]
HP Starts The Tablet Smack Talk, Claiming Theirs Will Beat iPad
By 5.25.11
We can just hear it now: “Your tablet is so stupid, it thought a quarterback was a refund!” Hewlett-Packard hasn’t released their TouchPad tablet computer yet, but already they’re smack-talking iPad and Android devices and claiming it’ll be the best one ever in the whole entire world. So there! [More]
