The guys who brought you “The Ghetto Big Mac” have a new video up about the the hilarious and not-so-hilarious realities behind check chasing joints (with guest appearance by yours truly, Ben Popken). Besides the part where Internet Celebrities Rafi and Dallas try to cash an oversized check at one of these places, what I like best about this video is that it actually makes a sound case for check cashing places at times. If there’s no banks around in a poor neighborhood, what other choice do you have? Especially when banks have constructed all sorts of fees to discourage patronage by lower-income customers. Like Dallas says in the vid, “You really know you’ve made it when you move from check cashing fees to ATM fees.”
ben popken
How Robots Are Killing Customer Service
By 5.20.08
Here is the live audio and powerpoint from a recent presentation I gave called, “The 5 Things Your Customers Aren’t Telling You.” This is number 3, “Stop Hiding Behind Walls Of Robots.” It’s all about how companies think they’re saving money by replacing humans with machines but sometimes machines can’t do jobs as well as humans, especially when it comes to customer service. I brought the point to life with a funny little story about eBay and their wonderfully inept automated email response system. I hope you enjoy the video, including the intro and outro ditties I worked up on my girlfriend’s old Yamaha synth. [More]
Meet Your Editors
By 8.29.07
A publication wanted a site photo from our press kit and we’re like, uhh, we don’t have a photo. So we went out and Gawker’s resident photog Nikola Tamindzic [nsfw] snapped this one of us yesterday. Full version inside.
Introducing Your Editor, Ben Popken
By 2.27.06
Let’s all give a warm, but slightly abrasive welcome to Ben Popken, the new editor of The Consumerist. Ben previously was the editor of the advertising blog The Spunker, is “up with people,” and lives in Brooklyn, the home of enough mangy shopkeeps to keep him fussy far beyond societal norms. Ben’s been the driving editorial voice of The Consumerist for nearly two weeks and is doing, as they say, a heck of a job.
