Even if you’ve never lived near Chicago, longtime readers of Consumerist may remember Windy City grocery store Moo & Oink for its so-bad-it’s-friggin-awesome TV ad that launched our Great Moments In Commercial History series. But now comes sad news that the dancing cow and pig might be headed to the liquidation slaughterhouse if Moo & Oink doesn’t find a buyer. [More]
chicago
Hyatt Apologizes For Turning Heatlamps On Strikers. Heat Index Was 90 Degrees.
By 7.25.11
The Hyatt hotel chain has issued an apology after heatlamps were turned on above workers who were striking out front of the Park Hyatt Chicago during a day when the heat index was 90 degrees. [More]
Spike In Thieves Stealing Entire Central AC Units
By 7.6.11
They work silently, leaving no trace behind. A Chicago neighborhood is on alert after the number of thefts of air conditioning units have jumped sharply in recent weeks. The robbers are after the copper inside, which they can resell for scrap, a favorite quick money-making method for drug addicts. But they’re not just cracking open the units and plundering the pipe, they’re lifting the entire central AC unit. [More]
BofA Giving Away 150 Free Houses
By 5.25.11
Want a house for free? Bank of America is giving away 150 of them in Chicago. It’s a great plan. The bank gets some worthless properties off its books without the cost of trying to hold on and sell them, the city gets some cheap affordable housing, and BofA gets a PR bump. It’s win-win-win, with two of those wins being Bank of America’s. That’s the Chicago way. [More]
Michaels Debit Card Breach Not Just In Chicago, But Across 20 States
By 5.12.11
Last week we told you about a debit card breach found in Chicago area Michaels arts and craft stores. This week, the Chicago Tribune says that the impact is much more widespread than thought, as it turns out that actually, thieves stole debit card info at Michaels in 20 different states. [More]
Michaels Warns Customers Of Possible Data Breach
By 5.5.11
If you’ve shopped at a Michaels big-box craft store recently and used a credit or debit card, keep an eye on your statements, especially if you shopped in the greater Chicago area. The chain notified customers on its e-mail list earlier today about a possible PIN pad breach in Chicago that may apply to other stores as well. [More]
Groupon Gets Into Real Estate Deals
By 4.8.11
In a move that some will say is an example of the flexibility of the Groupon model, and that others will point to as a shark-jumping moment, the online deals site has partnered with a Chicago-area real estate firm for its first ever venture into the home-buying market. [More]
How Not To Show A Restaurant That You're Annoyed :(
By 2.22.11
What’s more obnoxious than leaving a few pennies on the restaurant table as a tip to make a point? Try writing in a tip of two cents on your credit-card slip, then leaving a passive-aggressive note with a smiley face. [More]
Waiter Thwarts Dine And Dashers By Leaping Onto Their Speeding Car
By 1.25.11
A brave waiter threw himself onto a customer’s SUV as it sped away from the restaurant. They had tried to run out without paying their $51 bill. The 24-year old jumped on as the car pulled out of the parking lot, grabbing onto the roofrack and planting his feet on the running board. Listen, you just don’t mess with a waiter’s tips. [More]
Now Banks Are Also Walking Away From Foreclosures, Just Leaving Them To Rot
By 1.14.11
It’s not just underwater homeowners just flat out walking away from their houses. Now some mortgage servicers, having decided certain properties would be too expensive to try to foreclose, secure, maintain and market, are just abandoning the properties entirely, to let nature, and whatever else, take its course. [More]
Chicago To Sell Naming Rights To Bus Routes, Train Lines, Everything It Can
By 11.11.10
Next spring, the commuters of Chicago may no longer be taking the Red Line to Addison if they want to catch a Cubs game. If the Chicago Transit Authority has its way, they could be riding on McDonald’s Express and getting off at Costco Station. [More]
McDonald's Runs Out Of McRib Buns, Slaps A Big Mac Bun On Instead
By 11.9.10
Consumerist reader Dan decided to McRib it for lunch today, so he drove through the drive-thru at a Chicago McDonald’s to pick one up. Unfortunately, what he got was a half-covered sandwich on a bun he can’t eat. [More]
UPDATE: Fairmont Hotel Drama Gets Happy Ending For College Students
By 10.13.10
Yesterday, we brought you the story of 128 Washington University students whose reservations at the Fairmont Millennium in downtown Chicago had been canceled and relocated 15 miles away to an airport Sheraton. We’re happy to report that the situation appears to have been resolved, without much bloodshed. [More]
Fairmont Hotel Cancels Reservations After Receiving $13,000 Deposit
By 10.12.10
UPDATE: Looks like this situation has been resolved.
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128 students at Washington University in St. Louis are more than a little peeved after finding out their reservations at a Fairmont hotel in downtown Chicago had been canceled, even after the hotel had received their $13,000 deposit. [More]
Should I Worry That My Townhouse Neighbor Has Disappeared?
By 10.7.10
Grant tells Consumerist that his next-door neighbor disappeared…maybe because of an impending foreclosure, maybe not. No one knows where she has gone. They do know that the house is unoccupied, and Grant worries that the ravages of a Midwestern winter might burst a pipe or cause other damage to the empty home. Why does he care? They’re townhouses, and whatever happens to the house next door could affect him. [More]
Man Caught In Deed-In-Lieu Of Foreclosure Hell
By 10.6.10
Since he had to get rid of his house and move to take advantage of some new opportunities, Joe has been working for months to get Chase to accept a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure on his condo in Chicago. A deed-in-lieu is when you hand over your house to the bank rather than go through a normal foreclosure process that is lengthy and costly for both parties. He met the requirements and began his descent into hell, full of lost paperwork, unreturned calls, and missed deadlines, despite contacting the executive offices of Chase, Freddie Mac, and Chase Home lending. Finally he catches a break, only to have his hopes snatched away again at the last moment… [More]
Orkin Man Uses Sippy Cup To Sprinkle Poison, Leaves It Behind In House With Little Kids
By 9.20.10
An Orkin exterminator’s decision to use a child’s sippy cup as a pesticide dispenser has gotten him suspended from his job after he left it behind in a house with three young children. [More]
Pregnant Traveler: TSA Screeners Bullied Me Into Full-Body Scan
By 9.9.10
Pregnant Consumerist reader Mary was recently going through the security checkpoint at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. When she realized that she would be going through a full-body scanner, she told the screeners she wanted to exercise her right to a pat-down — even if it meant experiencing the TSA’s new, icky “enhanced” pat-down. But instead of the screeners doing as she requested, Mary claims they proceeded to bully her into the scanner. [More]
