confusion

Tell A Friend: You WILL NOT Need Cable After The Digital TV Switch

Tell A Friend: You WILL NOT Need Cable After The Digital TV Switch

There are apparently huge amounts of people in the country that believe you will need to subscribe to cable after the “digital tv transition” in February. This is not true.

Comcast Disconnected My Verizon, What Should I Do?

Comcast Disconnected My Verizon, What Should I Do?

Here’s an odd situation: Reader Stephen says that Comcast (his old cable company) disconnected his new Verizon cable. He’s not sure what exactly he should do about it and would like your advice.

WaMu Doesn't Know How To Deal With Potentially Fraudulent Account?

WaMu Doesn't Know How To Deal With Potentially Fraudulent Account?

A reader writes in to tell us about “the world of suck I encountered at WaMu” over some wrong personal data. A year and a half ago, she started receiving Washington Mutual account mail—including overdraft and collection notices—for someone named Ly Ly V____ at her address. “I’ve lived at my home for 11 years, and have no neighbors with that name.”

Consumers Have No F*&@#%! Clue What's Going On With The Digital TV Conversion

Consumers Have No F*&@#%! Clue What's Going On With The Digital TV Conversion

Consumer Reports tells us that according to a survey they commissioned, consumers have absolutely no f@#$@%$ clue what the heck is going on with the digital TV conversion.

How Do You Get The Most Out Of Online Reviews?

How Do You Get The Most Out Of Online Reviews?

Products don’t advertise their drawbacks leaving shoppers to rely on online reviews as one of the only ways to determine a product’s true worth. Salon argues in an article heavy on fluff and light on content that reviews are just a meaningless muddle of questionable opinions. We disagree, but the article does raise one good question: how do you judge the value online reviews?

Can A Confusing Sales Pitch Trick You Into Buying Something?

Can A Confusing Sales Pitch Trick You Into Buying Something?

An article due out in the October issue of the Journal of Consumer Research studies a sales technique called “disrupt-then-reframe,” in which the sales person initially tries to confuse the potential customer, then restates the sales pitch in a more familiar way. By reframing the sales pitch in a more familiar way the consumers natural defenses are weakened and the consumer becomes more susceptible to the sales pitch. So, can you be confused into buying something? Yes. And it’s not even very difficult to do.

Toyota Prius Confuses, Confounds, Calls Your Wife A Whore

Toyota Prius Confuses, Confounds, Calls Your Wife A Whore

If you buy a Toyota Prius, your wife’s name and phone number will instantly find itself on many online escort websites. This we know. But it sucks for money in ways your wife doesn’t. In fact, the car’s so confusing that Consumer Affairs couldn’t even figure out how to turn one on: