Sick of being left out of the party as Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo sell downloads to gamers directly through their consoles, GameStop has started hocking downloadable content codes at all of its 4,400 stores, Game Informer reports. [More]
Retail Services
10 Companies That Were Once Great But Now Kinda Suck
By 8.19.10
There was a time when many of us got our videos at Blockbuster after shopping for a Sony Discman at Sears, all while talking on our Motorola phone. All of these companies have had their glory days, but now they’re on the U.S. News & World Report’s list of 10 Companies That Have Lost Their Edge. [More]
Should Dogs Be Allowed In Places Of Business?
By 8.19.10
Yesterday, we ran the story of a Consumerist reader who couldn’t seem to convince Continental her service dog was the real deal. At the opposite end of the spectrum, SeattlePI.com writes about a woman who brought her dog into a grocery store and just left it on its own while she went shopping and store employees did nothing about it. [More]
Proflowers Offers 12 Months Of Crappy Plants For Only $500
By 8.19.10
Proflowers’ “12 Months of Plants” sounds like it would make a lovely gift for a person who enjoys plants. At close to $500, it’s not cheap, but it does promise a pretty, seasonally-appropriate potted plant every month for the recipient. That’s what the company promises, at least. Reader Janet writes to warn readers that what she has actually received each month is a leafless, bloomless, or otherwise poorly cared for plant with no instructions. Complaining to the company only gained her another leafless rose plant. [More]
At Chase, Depositing A $4,000 Check In An ATM Is "Unusual Activity"
By 8.19.10
Carol tells Consumerist that while in a financial pinch, she took out a title loan for $4,000, depositing it in her Chase bank account using an ATM. Instead of helping the situation, the deposit made her financial mess worse. Chase froze her out of her accounts and made her order a new debit card, but no one at her local branch or in the corporate “Risk Control” department has the power to tell her what the problem is. Her account remained locked after the check cleared. Bank staff also took the opportunity to attempt to sell her student loans and overdraft protection. Not a good time, Chase. [More]
Are Automated Kiosks The Future Of Retail Shopping?
By 8.18.10
In recent years, vending machines have gone from lunch room relics intent on eating your quarters and holding onto your Sun Chips to high-tech automated kiosks that sell everything from DVDs to ice cream, wine, beauty products, useless Farmville crap, electronics, designer bags and much more. But are they here to stay or is this just a trend? [More]
Bank Of America Is Having A Hard Time Accepting This Whole Death Thing
By 8.18.10
Dave can’t get Bank of America to accept that his parents are gone, even after sending over the death certificates. He keeps telling the bank to take the house, because nobody in his family wants it and the mortgage is underwater. Bank of America keeps threatening his parents with letters about how behind they are on payments. Oh sure, everything about this story is funny on the surface, but not when Bank of America tries to extract money from a closed account you once shared with your dad, forcing it to re-open and siphon funds from your real accounts. [More]
Woot-Off Is Go!
By 8.18.10
Woot is holding a Woot-Off today. Instead of their normal one deal a day format, when one deal is gone, they put up another one. It is very exciting and to help communicate the excitement the deals are accompanied by flashing siren lights. Don’t forget the $5 off coupon code: SERENDIPITY. [More]
This Lady Knows How To Shop For Music At Walmart
By 8.17.10
This lady shows us how it’s done. We should all be more like her. I wish she’d teach me how to dance, I’m awful. [More]
New Kenmore Washer/Dryers Can Talk Directly To Tech Support
By 8.17.10
New Kenmore washer/dryers come equipped with voodoo science: when they have a service issue, you can dial the service number, press some buttons on the machine and then hold the phone up to the washer/dryer and it will transmit troubleshooting data directly through the phone to the company. “Over time, this technology will solve every problem. That’s our goal,” said a Kenmore product engineer. [More]
Where Do You Stand On The Geek Squad vs. God Squad Debate?
By 8.17.10
For at least two years, a priest in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, had been rolling the streets of his town in a VW Beetle with the words “God Squad” stenciled on its door in a design reminiscent of the logo seen on Best Buy’s Geek Squad vehicles. Now the priest’s car is unadorned after the retail chain got wind of his wheels and issued a cease and desist order. [More]
Chase Foreclosing On 90-Year-Old Even Though Son Is Willing To Pay
By 8.17.10
Chase is proceeding full steam ahead with foreclosing on a 90-year-old woman’s condo even though her son has offered to pay it off. Rather than get the full amount of the mortgage paid in full, they prefer to incur the expenses of a foreclosure and sell it at a loss. [More]
Look Out For These Fees As Bank Legislation Goes Into Full Effect
By 8.16.10
This is the first business day financial institutions have been required to give existing checking account customers the choice to opt in to overdraft protection. Since banks are looking for ways to make up for the lost revenue by sticking it to customers in other ways, they’ve dreamed up some new ways to trick you out of your money. [More]
Schools Asking Kids To Bring Basic Cleaning Supplies
By 8.16.10
New items on the back-to-school lists this year include cleaning spray, baby wipes, and cotton balls. It’s not for making a diorama or some kind of cheap puppet. Rather, with budgets slashed all over, schools have had to resort to asking the kids to pick up basic cleaning supplies for the school along with their usual TrapperKeepers and notebooks. [More]
Court Says California Mall Can't Ban Customers From Talking To Each Other
By 8.16.10
The Westfield Galleria in Roseville, California takes the comfort of its patrons seriously–so seriously, in fact, that it wants them to shut up and focus on shopping, or else ask for permission first if they want to talk about any topic that’s not mall related. Last week, the state’s 3rd District Court of Appeal found that the rule violated the state’s constitution, so now mall shoppers can gab as much as they want to each other. [More]
Walmart Says Employees Chose To Remain In Store During Flood
By 8.16.10
Last week, we reported the story of more than two dozen Walmart who became trapped inside an Ames, Iowa, store by rising flood waters. At the time, it was unclear as to just why the workers were in the store — authorities had warned managers of the impending flood the night before — but now Walmart says it was the employees’ choice to stay. [More]
24 Hour Fitness Rolling Out Fingerprint-Based ID Entry System
By 8.13.10
Gym chain 24 Hour Fitness is getting some attention for a new program that uses members’ fingerprints to replace the gym’s existing photo ID system. [More]
Does The "S. Larson" Who Always Signs Citibank Customer Letters Really Exist?
By 8.13.10
For decades, “S. Larson” has been the named that signed the bottom of Citibank’s letters to customers. But does this person actually exist or are they a construct? [More]
