A lot of readers sent us the story of a Florida teen who received the awesome birthday gift of some rocks and crumpled up Chinese newspapers inside a Nintendo DS box. After some fuss and the discovery that another customer had already returned the same box of rocks, Wal-Mart made the situation right. Reader Ryan found himself in a similar situation, but without the happy ending (yet!): a Texas Best Buy sold him a paving stone instead of a Macbook Pro.
Retail Services
Letter To T-Mobile Executives Results In Fees Waived, Charges Reversed
By 4.28.09
Chris was surprised to find that T-Mobile didn’t cancel his account as promised a few months ago. What’s worse, the note on his account that mentioned his cancellation request was missing, and nobody at customer service would help him. Chri works for a “very large consumer electronics company” that he won’t name (we’re pretty sure it’s Apple) and thinks customer service is important, so he gave up on the CSR angle and instead came to our site to find contact info for T-Mobile executives. One EECB later, Chris is free from T-Mobile and the ETF they tried to apply.
Worst Company In America: Bank of America VS Chrysler
By 4.28.09
Last year’s champion VS a troubled car company that used your bailout money to buy an ad thanking you for your bailout money? Which one makes you punch the wall with rage?
Morning Deals
By 4.28.09
- Mighty Dog: [Pet Food] Free Customized Dog Tag and Toy w/ Coupon CITIZEN222
- Jo Ann: [Crafts] 50% Off One Regular Priced Item Online w/ Coupon TTF120
- Costco: [Office] Office Scissors for $0.88 w/ Free shipping ($0.04 Extra for non-members)
- Restaurant.com: [Food] 80% Off Restaurant Certificates w/ Coupon lucky
Costco Might Fix Hot Fuel Ripoff
By 4.28.09
Vermonters get a better deal on gas than Texans. Fuel expands in the heat and shrinks in the cold, so 5 gallons of “hot fuel” won’t get your car as far as 5 gallons of regular. Oilmen know this, and that’s why at various points in the supply chain volume gets adjusted for the industry standard temperature of 60° F. The retail pump isn’t one of them. That might start to change if a proposed class-action lawsuit settlement with Costco as a defendant goes through. Under the terms, Costco would fix its pumps in the bottom half of the country so that they dispense fuel at 60° F. If it goes through, it would be a precedent-setting consumer victory. After all, you want a Tiger in your tank, not a Heat Miser, don’t you?
Sears Loses Lawnmower, Shrugs
By 4.27.09
Tracy needed a new lawn mower, and ordered one online from Sears. Later that day, an email arrived announcing that the lawnmower was ready for pickup. For whatever reason, Tracy wasn’t able to make the 17-mile trip out to the store until more than a week later. The mower was….well, nobody quite knows what happened to the mower.
Morning Deals
By 4.27.09
- Head & Shoulders: [Freebie] Free Shampoo Sample (registration required)
- JCPenney: [Department Store] $10 off purchase $10 or more w/ coupon MOMSGR8
- Amazon: [Headphones] JBuds Hi-Fi Noise-Reducing Earphones from $10
Walmart's Prescription Drug Couriers Arrested For Speeding, Smoking
By 4.26.09
When you think “prescription drugs,” you think of clean, sterile facilities, not three stoners driving 100 mph down I-15 with $30,000 of Walmart’s prescription narcotics in the backseat. Cops pulled the trio over, which included two illegal immigrants, and called Walmart to confirm that these were the folks employed to deliver their dirt-cheap drugs. “They said yeah they were expecting a delivery and the driver was late.”
You Curse At One Customer Service Representative, You Curse At Them All
By 4.26.09
Brad learned the hard way that asking a Chase customer service representative “WHAT THE F*** IS WRONG WITH MY ACCOUNT?!” is not the best way to find out what the f*** is wrong with your account. Brad had fumbled a wire transfer that temporarily shut down access to his card. He called to restore access, but the card still wouldn’t work. At this point, Brad decided to curse at the CSR and hang up after being placed on hold for thirty seconds. When he called back, he was surprised to learn that the next CSR knew that he had just cursed at a colleague.
Target's Continuing Descent Into Madness Affects Courtesy Phones, TVs
By 4.24.09
Target, we need to talk. No, sit down, Target. You’re among friends. You know that we care about you very much, which is why we’re concerned. Either you’re suffering from some serious mental problems, or you’ve decided that the laws of time, space, and reality no longer apply in your stores.
Consumer Reports Offers Tips For Saving On Pet Food
By 4.24.09
The Consumer Reports Health Blog has some good suggestions for pet owners who might not have quite as much money to spend on their animals as they used to.
Worst Company In America: Ticketmaster VS Citibank
By 4.24.09
A bailed out bank? Or the ticket scalper’s best friend? Who makes your blood boil?
Bank Of America CEO: The Bush Administration Made Me Do It!
By 4.24.09
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office is at it again. They’ve been investigating the circumstances that led to the merger of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch and the subsequent bonus payments to executives. In a letter to Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Cuomo quotes Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis as saying that former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson threatened him with removal from his position and mass firing of the board and senior management if he didn’t allow the merger to go through.
Make Sure You Secure Your Smartphone
By 4.24.09
Do you own an iPhone, G1, Blackberry, Windows or Nokia smartphone? Fancy phones are a nice target for thieves, and unfortunately they’re often packed with sensitive information that can be too easily accessed and exploited. Why not take the time this weekend to make sure it’s secure?
Morning Deals
By 4.24.09
- El Pollo Loco: [Free Food] Free Chicken Meal on April 28th, dine in or carry out only, at participating restaurtants
- Schick: [Free Razor] Quattro Titanium Trimmer Free Sample
- Fujitsu PC: [Notebooks] Save Extra $100 off Lifebook Notebook & Tablet PCs
- TigerDirect: [Cellphone] Unlocked Nokia 9300 Bluetooth Smartphone for $150 + $2 s&h
Target Is Losing Its Mind
By 4.23.09
Taken with yesterday’s sign denying its own existence, we are worried that Target, or at least its labelmakers, might be having some kind of existential crisis. You’re freaking us out, Target. Thanks, Caitlin!
By 4.23.09
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If you have an iPhone or a G1, Google has just announced a new version of their Product Search specially formatted for those phones. Here’s a video demonstrating how the mobile version looks and functions. [Google Mobile Blog via IntoMobile]
