A man who claims he choked on a piece of Popeyes fried chicken has sued the fast food chain, claiming that his pain and suffering from the incident could’ve been avoided if a plastic knife had come with his order. [More]
Retail Services
ClassPass Eliminating Its Monthly “Unlimited” Option
By 11.2.16
More than three months after ClassPass started ticking off customers by raising prices for its “Unlimited” monthly memberships — first on the East Coast and then on the West Coast — the startup fitness company has some more bad news: it’s getting rid of unlimited memberships entirely. [More]
Instacart Shoppers Say Customers Confused By Change To Tipping Policy
By 11.2.16
Two months after Instacart announced it would ditch tips in favor of a “service charge,” and weeks after the company appeared to reverse course, declaring it would keep both the new sharable service charge and an option to tip on all orders, the change has officially gone into effect nationally, and some Instacart shoppers say the change has only resulted in confused customers and fewer tips. [More]
More Amazon Drivers Accuse Company Of Not Paying Required Overtime Wages
By 11.2.16
As Amazon shifts more of its logistics workload away from traditional parcel services like FedEx and UPS and toward contractors who deliver orders in Amazon’s name, the e-commerce giant continues to face legal challenges over the way those contracted workers are being treated. The latest example comes out of Illinois, where former delivery drivers are accusing Amazon of not paying them required overtime wages. [More]
JCPenney Kicks Off Black Friday The Wednesday Before Thanksgiving
By 11.2.16
Last year, JCPenney waited around until Thanksgiving Day to begin its Black Friday/Shopping Frenzy Week deals. This year, the department store chain has decided that’s way too late, and plans to start its deals even earlier: all of its advertised specials for Black Friday will be available on Wednesday. [More]
Amazon Now Charging Both Prime And Non-Prime Prices At Physical Bookstores
By 11.2.16
For years, Amazon has offered slightly different pricing for products depending on whether or not a customer was a member of the company’s $99/year Prime service. Now, it appears those price discrepancies have migrated to the company’s physical bookstores as the company works to bulk up its Prime subscriptions. [More]
MyPillow Subjected To Plenty Of Legal Tossing And Turning
By 11.1.16 — Updated: 1.3.17
Sleeping on the wrong pillow can make you pretty miserable, but that doesn’t mean that sleeping on the right pillow is a magical medical treatment. MyPillow, a $90 pillow that could be yours if you ordered it from direct-response television ads, has had some legal problems ranging from false advertising to knowing failure to collect sales tax to class action suits. [More]
Yeah, Black Friday Deals Are Pretty Much The Same Every Year
By 11.1.16
People usually don’t save their Black Friday circulars from year to year, because that would be really weird. Here’s the thing, though: the deals on the shopping holiday aren’t that great to begin with, and they also repeat from year to year. [More]
Chipotle Investors Looking To Remove Founder & Co-CEO Steve Ells From Board Of Directors
By 11.1.16
Things over at Chipotle haven’t been exactly great this past year, what with all that food-borne illness stuff, tanking stocks, and customers fleeing. And things might not be getting any better — or a least for the co-captain of the ship, Steve Ells, as some investors are now calling for the co-founder to step down from his position as chairman of that board. [More]
Why The Supreme Court Suddenly Cares About Cheerleader Uniforms
By 11.1.16 — Updated: 3.22.17
When you strip off the logos from your typical cheerleader’s uniform — especially in high school and college — you’re left with something that is still distinctly an outfit meant for a cheerleader. But can a uniform manufacturer copyright that basic uniform design? It’s a question currently before the U.S. Supreme Court, and one whose answer could have far-reaching implications. [More]
Guy Dresses As 12-Foot CVS Receipt, Redeems Costume’s Discount Code At Actual CVS
By 11.1.16
We’ve seen creative consumers poking fun at CVS for its infamously long receipts in the past, but one Halloween reveler took the idea a bit more literally by dressing as a giant CVS sales slip, complete with working discount code. [More]
Shoplifters’ 10 Favorite Things To Steal During The Holidays
By 11.1.16
In the shopping rush of the holiday season, it’s always wise to keep in mind that not everyone is in the giving mood: shoplifters do a lot of damage during this busy time of year, and there are certain things they like stealing better than others. [More]
Google Handing Out $50 Play Store Credit Over Delayed Pixel Phones
By 11.1.16
Minor delays are not rare in the world of electronics, but that doesn’t mean customers are any less annoyed when they find out their much-awaited new phone will not arrive as soon as expected. So it helps when companies throw in free money to ease the sting of a delay. [More]
Instagram Testing Feature That Makes It Easier To Buy Stuff Tagged In Brands’ Photos
By 11.1.16
In case you needed more shopping temptation in your daily social media feeds, Instagram is now testing a new feature that helps users buy the products that they see in brands’ photos. [More]
Colonial Pipeline Explosion And Fire Kills Worker, May Cause Gas Supply Issues
By 11.1.16
Hey, remember just just over a month ago when the Colonial fuel pipeline shut down, cutting gas supplies to the Southeast and leading to shortages at gas stations? The same pipeline, which is the nation’s biggest and brings gasoline from Houston to New Jersey with many stops along the way, will be shut down again after a fire that killed one worker and hospitalized five. [More]
Meijer Ditches Plus-Size Department To Attract More Plus-Size Customers: Wait, What?
By 10.31.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
At a time when clothing retailers are fretting over their business, there’s one segment of the market where sales are actually increasing: plus-size women’s clothing. Discount store Meijer is taking advantage of this change, and is changing things so the plus-size department will go away, and sizes XS through XXXL will be on the same rack together. [More]
Sonic Bringing “Pancake On A Stick” Back Next Spring
By 10.31.16
Is it too much for you to handle utensils in the morning? Sonic Drive-In thinks it has the answer in the form of a blast from the past: the chain is bringing back its previously popular “Pancake on a Stick” to restaurant menus this fall. [More]
U.S. Demand For Coffee At A Record High Thanks To Millennials
By 10.31.16
I don’t know what you picture when you heard the word “millennial,” but me, I just imagine a crowd of companies and brands trailing behind someone, begging them to buy whatever it is they’re selling. One product that doesn’t need to chase the younger set is coffee, demand for which is expected to reach a record high in this country. [More]
