At Kay Jewelers, a popular mall chain and part of global mediocre jewelry corporate Voltron Signet Jewelers, owners of expensive diamond or gemstone jewelry can get a lifetime diamond or color gemstone guarantee, as long as they bring their jewelry for inspection every six months. Yet some brides who have tried to invoke the guarantee say that their stones were switched out during repairs, when they were in Kay’s possession. [More]
guarantees
Kmart’s “Plants For Life” Guarantee Doesn’t Cover Rogue Lawnmowers, “Acts Of God”
By 5.3.16 — Updated: 6.2.17
If you’re the kind of person who can kill a plant just by looking at it, Kmart’s “Plants for Life” guarantee might sound like the solution to your brown thumb: the retailer is offering a lifetime guarantee on its trees, shrubs, and perennials that gives a customer a replacement or store credit if their plant dies before its time. Claiming that replacement, however, means first clearing your plant from a slew of plant-death scenarios included in the offer’s fine print. [More]
Sprint Revives 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee Deal
By 3.28.16
If you’ve been thinking about switching to Sprint as your mobile carrier, but aren’t sure whether you want to sign your voice and data services over to them for the foreseeable future, good news! The carrier is bringing back its 30-day money-back guarantee deal, perhaps hoping that when combined with its aggressive discounts and promotions, it will draw new users who are skeptical about their supposed network improvements. [More]
Don’t Like Your Papa John’s Pizza? Tell The Company Why, And Get Another One For Free
By 2.8.16
What’s a pizza-loving person to do when the pie they ordered turns out to be a disappointment? After you’ve flung the offending pizza against the wall, that is? Papa John’s says it wants to turn those frowns upside down, by guaranteeing that customers will love their pizzas — and if not, they can get another one for free. [More]
Don’t Like Your Cruise? Carnival WIll Pay You To Go Home
By 9.13.13
The 2012 Costa Concordia disaster and the infamous Poop Cruise of the Triumph in February of this year did a lot to hurt the reputation of the cruise industry worldwide. So Carnival has a novel idea: try a cruise, and if you don’t like it within the first day, they’ll pay you to go away. [More]
Here’s Why You Should Always Read The Rules Before Cashing In A Guarantee
By 7.11.13
Guarantees can be tricky things. If you want to take advantage of a company’s low price guarantee, no matter how widely advertised it is, it’s a good idea to take a minute to read the terms and conditions of that guarantee before taking advantage of it. Even if it’s advertised on TV. Even if you think you know how the guarantee works. Just ask Marc. [More]
Is A Guarantee Really A Guarantee If It’s A “Gurantee”?
By 1.25.13
The operators of a company that claims, for an up-front fee of $395 and monthly payments of $395, it can keep foreclosed-upon folks in their homes for several more months may be confused about the meaning, and spelling, of the word “guarantee.” [More]
If You Don't Like VIA, Starbucks Will Send You Some Coffee For Free
By 2.1.11
Starbucks really wants you to try its VIA instant coffee, so much so that it will send you a free bag of Starbucks ground coffee if you’re not happy with VIA. [More]
Sorry, Your $80 Brooks Brothers Shirt Is Only Good For Two Years
By 10.6.10
The phrase “unconditional guarantee” gives the impression that a product has a guarantee, and that it’s unconditional. B. writes that at Brooks Brothers, “unconditional” seems to mean “as long as you don’t wash or wear articles of clothing.” Is he out of line to expect the company to stand behind frequently worn and laundered items like dress shirts? Or is Brooks Brothers’ use of the word “unconditional” in this situation misleading? [More]
Lenscrafters' Guarantee Is Kind Of Crappy Unless You Complain To Corporate
By 8.5.10
What does it mean to you when you hear that a company “guarantees” a product? Does it mean, “if this thing breaks, we’ll sell you a new one at half price?” Justin tells Consumerist that’s what means at LensCrafters, and he finds that very disappointing. He now refuses to go back there for his glasses in the future. Would you? [More]
Why Aren't Cellphones Under Warranty For The Duration Of Your Contract?
By 1.11.10
Adam got a bad iPhone that stopped providing some key functions–he can’t make calls on it, for example–18 months into ownership. He didn’t buy Applecare when he purchased it, which would have covered him during the second year of his contract. But that shouldn’t matter, he argues: “[Why isn’t it] incumbent upon a device maker to guarantee a product’s proper function for–at the very least–the length of the contract required at purchase?” [More]
GM's Money Back Guarantee Comes With Lots Of Fine Print
By 9.25.09
GM’s new 60-day money back guarantee (good through November 30th, 2009) on new car purchases sounds pretty straightforward—if you don’t want the car for any reason (it doesn’t have to be a good reason), you can bring it back. But it has a few rules that you should be aware of before your purchase, notes the Associated Press.
Comcast Guarantees You Will Have Your Entire Day Wasted
By 9.1.09
We’re happy for Comcast that it’s a giant company and all, but is it really that impossible to have someone in Connecticut talk on the phone with a Connecticut-based customer about a no-show installation tech who we presume should also be in Connecticut? Maybe that’s the problem—maybe the technician was accidentally outsourced and is presently driving around Mexico or the Antarctic looking for Karah’s address.
Ryder Refunds Customer $120 For Forcing Him Into U-Haul's Arms
By 8.25.09
Jesse, who wrote to us last week to complain about Ryder’s broken guarantee, has contacted us again with a follow up. We also spoke with Ryder directly to ask how their “Guaranteed Availability” promise actually works, so that future customers know what to expect.
Ryder's "Guaranteed Availability" Does Not Guarantee Availability
By 8.17.09
If you saw this image on the Ryder website, you might think that it means two things: that they guarantee some sort of vehicle availability to customers, and that they will make sure you are satisfied with your experience. You would be wrong. Update: Ryder has responded to Jesse’s complaint.
Sears: Lose Your Job, Keep Your Purchase, Forget The Debt
By 6.29.09
Acknowledging that skittish consumers are still unwilling to buy big-ticket items, Sears tomorrow plans to unveil a bold new guarantee: if you lose your job after charging a purchase worth $399 or more to your Sears card, the retailer will credit 1/12th of the purchase price to your account for each month you are unemployed. If you stay jobless for one year, the debt is entirely forgiven, and the appliance is yours to keep.
Host Monster Turns On Customer, Shuts Down Blog Without Warning Or Sensical Explanation
By 5.11.09
Web hosting company Host Monster only has so many SQLs to hand out to people, and can’t go around passing them out willy-nilly. Why, there are probably websites in Africa that don’t have any SQLs. We’re not really sure what “SQL” is but we think it’s used to store blog entries; whatever it is, Joe Posnanski used too much of it. The Kansas City Star/Sports Illustrated reporter upgraded his hosting package a few months ago and was assured by Host Monster that there’d be no problems as his professional blog drew more traffic. “No problems,” except that last Friday they permanently closed his account without warning.
U-Haul Forgets Customer, Forgets Guarantee, Then Forgets Extra Day Agreement And Threatens Criminal Charges
By 4.20.09
Consumerist reader Dionicious and his brother tried to rent a trailer from U-Haul over the weekend. First they were faced with a closed location, then they had to ask before the company followed through on its $50 “Right Time, Right Location” guarantee. They hoped that was the end of the screw-ups, but the next day an angry employee called and threatened to file criminal charges against the brothers. Too bad there’s not some sort of $50 “We Threaten You, We Pay” guarantee.
