Reached for comment about concerns that people could steal your Starbucks Reward card by taking a screenshot of it as it appears on the iPhone app, a Starbucks spokesperson told Consumerist, “We definitely want our customers to have a good experience with mobile payment. We take security seriously.” They also recommended customers take additional safety measures and offered a solution for anyone who had their card stolen. [More]
followups
DNA Links Grocery Clerk In Tainted Yogurt Case
By 2.10.11
Not only was there semen in the yogurt, but DNA testing has linked it with the same pushy grocery clerk who gave the free sample to the shopper who complained about it. [More]
Cabby Pleads Guilty To Ripping Passenger Off For $800k
By 2.9.11
The car service driver accused of ripping off a Hong Kong feng-shui master for over $800,000 on his credit card has plead guilty, New York Post reports. [More]
Taco Bell Releases New Statement On Class Action: We're 88% Beef!
By 1.27.11
Earlier this week a class action lawsuit was filed against Taco Bell, alleging that their beef is actually only 36% meat and the rest is “extenders” and other non-meat substances. Taco Bell’s President and Chief Concept Officer Greg Creed has released a new and more in-depth statement that goes into detail about the percentage of ingredients in the recipe, like how it contains 88% USDA-inspected quality beef. [More]
Google Fixes Algorithm So Harassing Your Customers Doesn't Boost Your Page Rank
By 12.2.10
Google says it has updated its algorithm so that making your customers hate you so they complain about you on other sites and boost your SEO no longer works. The move to soak up the “black Google juice” comes after a big NYT profile/investigation of the owner of an online store that was stoking customers to hate him because the inbound links from their complaints on other sites boosted his rankings in Google Search Results. [More]
Gorilla Coffee Sues New York Times For Posting Worker Walkout Letter
By 11.30.10
Gorilla Coffee, the coffee shop where eight employees jointly quit over protests about working conditions, is suing the New York Times for publishing their resignation letter. The Times reporter and the eight ex-workers were also named in the suit, which claims the epistle was defamatory and caused them to lose business. [More]
Update: Couple Waits 7 Months For FiOs Refund. Instead, They Get A Debt Collector.
By 11.29.10
There could be some relief on the way for the couple, who, after waiting 7 months for their $144.81 refund from Verizon FiOs, got a call from a debt collector instead. [More]
Canned Unicorn Meat Hits Market
By 11.19.10
Just in time for an unforgettable Thanksgiving, canned unicorn meat is here. Yes, this is a real product which you can purchase and open. [More]
The Candwich Is Real! Sorta.
By 9.9.10
I thought the Candwich was a hoagie-in-the-sky scheme stringing along hapless, and, sometimes, unwitting, investors, but here’s some video of actual market-ready sandwiches rolling off the Mark One production line. Unfortunately, instead of a pre-made sandwich in a can, they are simply sandwich ingredients in a can, consisting of a bagged bun with a packet of jelly and a packet of peanut butter. This is not the future I was looking forward to. [More]
Parents Who Named Kid "Adolph Hitler" Lose Custody Battle
By 8.6.10
The child, Adolph Hitler Campbell, and his siblings, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbel and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbel, named for Schutzstaffel head Heinrich Himmler, who first came to our attention after ShopRite refused to make him a cake with Adolph’s name on it – though, according to the original news article, Walmart had no problem with the request – will remain wards of the state, an appeals court has ruled. [More]
HOA Board Member Says They're Not All Money Grubbing Scumbags
By 7.1.10
Yesterday we wrote about how in Texas, there’s been a bit of a spree of homeowner’s associations (HOAs) foreclosing on people’s houses over just a few hundred in late dues, then selling the house to themselves and turning it around for a juicy profit. And now, the other side of the story. Robert is an HOA board member in Texas and while his association does sometimes foreclose in order to collect, there’s more to the situation than meets the eye. Here’s his take: [More]
Coffee Shop Reopens After Entire Staff Quit, Business Is Tepid
By 4.28.10
Gorilla Coffee, closed for 16 days after its entire staff quit simultaneously, has reopened, to decidedly decaf customer response. [More]
Sued By Chase For $7k, In Debt For $40k+, I Think I'll Declare Bankruptcy
By 3.23.10
Justin’s friend who was being sued by Chase Bank for $7,500 has an update for us after he and his friend read our advice and your comments on his situation. Turns out he’s not just in debt for $7,500, but for over $40,000: [More]
Photos From Guy Banned By Coffeeshop
By 3.16.10
So, the amateur street photographer who was banned from a coffeeshop for creeping people out? Here’s his Flickr stream. And here’s the picture of the girl smoking that got him banned in the first place: [More]
Steve Jobs Doesn't Trust Consumerist
By 2.16.10
Rob emailed Steve Jobs to tell him that until Apple fixed reader Joel’s account that had been billed $50,000 for iTunes purchases, he wouldn’t buy another Apple product. Replying via iPad, Steve Jobs told him, “I wouldn’t believe everything you read from places like this.” Ohhhh snap! But it wouldn’t be Jobs who had the last laugh… [More]
Man Who Pledged To Never Buy Another Vizio Gets Help
By 2.11.10
The man who said he’ll never buy another Vizio after his crapped out just a few months after his warranty ran out and would cost nearly half the purchase price to repair, says that after our post went up a gal in their customer service department called him and is “doing their best to rectify the situation.” He Jeremy writes on his blog, “This entire situation has taken an unexpected turn, which I will keep you abreast of in the days to come.” [More]
Took Matter Into Own Hands After RoboCaller Spoofed Cell
By 2.5.10
A scammy robocaller had spoofed Rodger’s phone number and angry recipients of the calls were calling him incessantly, but now it’s over. With AT&T’s help, he realized that the autodialer had spoofed his new work number, which was being forwarded to his cellphone. So he disabled the call forwarding, kept his cellphone number, and just had his new work number changed. Victory. [More]
UPS Promises To Stop Catapulting Your Packages
By 2.2.10
UPS has pledged to fix the problem with their drivers lofting Ryan’s packages through the air and over the fence to smash on the concrete. After Ryan’s complaint went up, UPS contacted Consumerist, and we put them in touch with Ryan. They are also apparently going to work on the whole leaving packages to soak in the rain thing. Hurray. [More]
