Holly visited her local FYE store to purchase a DVD. She writes that she was met with such relentless upselling when all she wanted was to buy a single DVD that she is no longer interested in shopping at FYE at all. [More]
Retail Services
Geek Squad Founder Wishes He Would Have 'Put Foot Down More'
By 1.1.10
In a 2008 interview Geek Squad CEO Robert Stephens said he had some regrets about the customer-unfriendly behemoth he created, he told Fortune Small Business in a story posted on CNNMoney. [More]
Tackling, Stabbing, & Fake Heart Attacks: A Walmart Shoplifting Gone Awry
By 12.31.09
A Tennessee couple tried to bum-rush the exit of a Walmart with a cart packed with $2000 worth TVs and a computer. When an off-duty police officer showed his badge after the man tried to muscle past the greeter, the would-be five-finger discounter said it was fake and tried to push through. The cop tackled the man and cuffed him. Then it got even better: [More]
Consumerist's Top 10 Ads Of 2009
By 12.30.09
Advertising is all about optimism, aspiring to a better tomorrow that’s just a barcode scan away. So just because the economy is in the tank doesn’t mean we stop selling dreams, it just means we have to pimp a littler harder, together. For America. Common among this year’s best ads, in my view, is that they acknowledged the retardedness of their medium, and then got really real, or completely ridiculous. Here’s the top 10! [More]
Perfume Packaging Defeats Pen, Can Opener And Knives
By 12.30.09
Film critic Jen Johans can tear movies apart, but even her sharpest barbs were no match for impenetrable DKNY perfume packaging. [More]
HP Ink Costs More Than Human Blood
By 12.29.09
As this graph shows, printer ink is rather expensive, and costs more than things like human blood or a barrel of crude oil. [via ReflectionOf. Me] [More]
Giant Mold Universe Found Inside Chef Boyardee Can
By 12.29.09
Larry says that he opened a can of chef boyardee recently only to find a horrible giant mold world growing inside. When he contacted the store he bought it from, Walmart, a low-level employee was openly hostile to them and said the manager “wouldn’t believe them.” Yes, that’s the new scam: steal a can of food, open it up, grow a massive mold culture inside it for several weeks, then try to return it for a buck oh nine. [More]
What Were The Top Ads Of 2009?
By 12.29.09
What were the top ads on TV this year for you? For me, it’s got to be GEICO’s googly-eyes-on-a-pile-of-money bits. At first I didn’t like them but after the 20th viewing or so, I got it. [More]
Not All Fired Target Employees Who Went Zhu Zhu Crazy Got Their Jobs Back
By 12.29.09
Target fired employees for prematurely buying Zhu Zhu Pets, then hired them back. Ellen says her son, a former New Jersey Target employee, got the former treatment, but not the latter. [More]
BofA Locked Our Account Down While We Went Away
By 12.28.09
Alex says Bank of America’s efforts to protect him and his wife from fraud have stranded them in Salt Lake City without access to their accounts. He says the bank mixed up his and his wife’s security info, leaving neither of them able to break down the security walls. He writes: [More]
Best Of Return Policies, Worst Of Return Polices
By 12.28.09
To aid you in your post-Christmas return-a-thon, WalletPop has put together a capsule list of the best and worst return policies. [More]
If You Want The One On The Left, Cough Up An Extra $100
By 12.28.09
Jesse found identical sets of Six Feet Under on DVD, one for $249.99 and the other for $149.99. The more expensive set was most likely a labeling error that would have been caught at checkout — after all, Best Buy sells it online for the cheaper price — but you’d have to be during to grab the set on the right and take it to the register. [More]
Yes, Walmart Already Has The Easter Candy Out
By 12.25.09
The place: Walmart. The date: December 23, 2009. The endcap display at Bob’s local store: Easter candy.
Hug your loved ones close, my dears, for the apocalypse is nigh.
Guess What's In This Package?
By 12.25.09
No, really. Guess.
Are you entitled to a refund if your wrapping paper doesn’t sufficiently conceal a package’s contents? Megan thinks so. Last week when she wrapped her fiance’s Christmas present, he got an unexpected surprise. He could tell exactly what the gift was through the opaque wrapping paper.
UPS Dumped My Christmas Presents All Over The Street
By 12.25.09
Warren was expecting some gifts to arrive via UPS this week, and understandably hoped they might be dropped off in front of his door. That didn’t happen, he says, thanks to a snow storm and some less than diligent delivery efforts. He found his packages nowhere near his house. [More]
Chase Mistakenly Says My Rewards Balance Is In The Negatives
By 12.25.09
Daniel says Chase promised him to retroactively give him rewards on past purchases after he switched account types, but somehow he ended up with a negative rewards balance. He says he’s got more than $600 in rewards coming to him, but Chase won’t budge and give Dave what he believes he’s entitled to. He writes: [More]
5 Places To Do Last-Second Shopping
By 12.25.09
Merry Christmas! Finished shopping yet? If the answer is no, relax. You’ve still got time. And you’re in good company. Remember, after Scrooge got scared straight, he had to do all of his shopping on Christmas, and managed to pull it off. And according to one recent poll, 4% of consumers don’t plan on finishing their shopping until after Christmas. Compared to them, you’re an early bird. Just follow these tips, and you can avoid showing up empty-handed — or worse, bearing gift cards
It’s Sears’ Fault That Norad Tracks Santa
By 12.24.09 — Updated: 12.25.12
Santa is, as of this posting, heading towards Mount Everest. We know this because NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), tracks Santa. Apparently, they started doing this because Sears accidentally printed the phone number to the CONAD (Continental Air Defense Command) Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline,” as a number to call Santa. [More]
