Here’s a video of Comcast VP David Cohen’s opening remarks during the FCC hearing on Monday, the one where Comcast bused in employees. These employees all wore yellow highlighters to identify themselves to company organizers.
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Video Of Comcast's Opening Remarks During Net Neutrality Hearing With Seats Stuffed By Company Employees
By 2.27.08
Animals Bring Phishing Call To Life
By 2.27.08
Chris went ahead and added some animal pictures to make a video of that phone call between a scammer and a Southern gentleman. A weasel plays the Indian phisher, a houndog plays the gentleman, and a goose plays his wife. Go back to the post and watch it, it’s even funnier than the original.
Is Your Vet Ripping You Off?
By 2.26.08
KNBC went undercover and found a bunch of vets are more sales people than pet doctors, using fear to sell more treatment than is necessary. They took pets with minor ailments, checked out by a vet, to several different vets. Instead of getting the minor fixes they should have been recommended, these vets advised expensive extra tests, procedures, and medicines geared more towards lining their pockets than healing the pets. One dog had an upset stomach but was recommended a $300 “eyelid scraping,” despite his eyes being perfect. When confronted, the vet said she had done nothing wrong, and “eyelid scraping is not done in the states, but she used to do it in Austria.” She also admitted there was nothing the matter with the dog’s eyes. The report says that if you get recommended an expensive procedure, get a second opinion.
Man Records Phishing Call
By 2.26.08
–> A man in Virginia who apparently likes to record suspicious phone calls captured a very funny 10-minute talk with the world’s clumsiest phisher who called his house trying to get his bank account number. His local news station reports, “Howard says he recorded it because he wanted to help people by putting it on the news.”
National Energy Rebate Fund Scam
By 2.15.08
Some window installers are offering what sounds like a great deal, a 50% off rebate, but just try to collect it, like the unlucky people in this KUTV investigation video (transcript inside).
Call Center Call Customer "Little Girl" For Not Buying Computer
By 2.15.08
In this supposedly real call leaked from a Panamanian call center, a call center rep mocks a customer when he decides not to buy a new computer because it doesn’t come with speakers, calling him a “little girl” and a “little pussy girl.” Whether it’s real or not, it doesn’t really matter, it’s funny. Transcript inside…
Customs Searching, Seizing, Gadgets
By 2.12.08
Amir Khan, a Pakistani-born US Citizen, has had his laptop searched by US customs agents on five separate occasions when returning to the US from overseas. It’s no longer just rifling through your luggage, Customs is now going through laptops, Blackberries, and other gizmos, sometimes confiscating them, and sometimes never returning them. Please bend over and spread your laptop. Transcript, inside…
It Costs $134 Million To Make $80 Million In Pennies
By 2.11.08
Guess it’s time to start making ’em out of plastic. Transcript, inside…
Time Warner's Hilarious Verizon FiOS Attack Ad
By 2.8.08
Competition brings out the best in employees, friends, and companies, as demonstrated brilliantly in Time Warner’s attack ad against Verizon FiOS. The scenario is that a cocksure suburban dude is interrupted making a bowl of fiber cereal by the doorbell.
Mother's Blog Spawns Investigation Into Unsafe Car Seats
By 2.8.08
When mother Debbie rented a car from Advantage Rent-A-Car she was surprised to have to paw through rows of shoddy, dirty, car seats, some missing parts, to find one that worked. When she complained to the manager, he insisted that the car seats were thoroughly cleaned and inspected after each use. Her blog post about the issue caught the eye of the local news station, who did an investigative report on the matter. Following the report, Advantage-Rent-A-Car conducted a company-wide inspection and cleanout of its seats, and instituted new policies to make sure they rent only clean and safe car seats. ” This was a huge change for the company and a fantastic and very satisfying result from my perspective,” writes Debbie. Inside, her 10 tips for working with a local news team to resolve your consumer complaint.
Computer Techs Caught Overcharging, Lying, And Snooping Through Your Personal Files
By 2.1.08
KNBC did an undercover investigation into tech repair services and found that, yep, they routinely overcharge customers, charge for services not rendered, make shit up, and look through your personal videos and pictures. They tested Circuit City, Fry’s, some local repair places, and Best Buy. Surprisingly enough, Best Buy is the only place that correctly diagnosed the problem and didn’t peek through their pictures (Probably because bossman Robert Stephens had vowed to fry peepers with the giant laser he has hidden on top of the Geek Squad HQ if any more techs got caught).
CDW Takes The Ethical Treatment Of Chimpanzees Seriously
By 1.19.08
WHO:CDW WHAT: PETA doesn’t like it when chimpanzees are used in advertising. (Shocking, we know.) WHERE: CDW advertisement assailed by animal rights group [Crain’s Chicago Business] THE QUOTE: “We take their concerns seriously and will keep it mind in future campaigns,” the CDW spokesman said.
Shank Found Inside Mattel Polly Pocket Toy
By 1.17.08
Here’s a story that makes you wonder what sort of tools the workers at Mattel’s factories use. A “shank” (a blade wrapped in electrical tape, to be exact) was found inside a sealed Polly Pocket toy purchased at Walmart.
By 1.14.08
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Remember that Wachovia Hands $100,000 To Fake Armored Car Driver story from Friday? This video shows how easy it is to pull off. Check ID, ask questions, don’t blindly accept the word of someone in an authority costume. [The Real Hustle]
American Airlines Ex-CEO Bob Crandall Shares His Crazy Cost-Saving Strategy
By 1.12.08
Former American Airlines CEO Bob Crandall fired a guard dog at a Caribbean outpost to keep costs down. Just look at the self-satisfied gleam in Crandall’s eye. This is no mere cocktail party story, but a defining act of corporate leadership for his grandkids to cherish.
Buyer Beware: The Condo Squeezeplay
By 1.11.08
CBC Marketplace did an undercover investigation into buying a condo, and found that it’s rife with risk for the buyer, while the sellers completely protect themselves. You get lured in by the model condo they set up, all spacious and with stunning views and stainless steel appliances and breakfast bar and all that jazz, but contractually, there’s no guarantee that you will get that space. The contract pretty much says everything is subject to change, the floorplan included doesn’t have any measurements or square footage, and there’s clauses that say that any sales material or verbal promises made don’t count at all. One contract lawyer says that any relationship between what you’re told you’re buying and what you end up with will be a “coincidence.” Watch the video to learn more about protecting yourself from the condo bait-and-switch squeezeplay.
Great Moments In Commercial History: Hai Karate Aftershave
By 1.9.08
The ads for Axe body sprays have a cultural debt to be paid to the makers of Hai Karate aftershave, sold from the 60’s to the 80’s. Their whole marketing strategy hinged on the notion that the budget aftershave would turn women into wild maniacs who couldn’t wait to put their hands on you.
