Reader F. put some Consumerist-savvy to work and got Walmart to honor the price shown on their website. You see, when something is out of stock on Walmart.com — the item’s description says “Not Sold Online,” rather than “Out of Stock.” Not being psychic, F. took this to mean that the item was not sold online, and would be available at the listed price at the store…
internet
AOL Just Wants To Be Left Alone
By 7.2.08
Please just leave AOL alone! AOL is raising their dial-up internet access prices by $2 for everyone who refuses to promise not to call technical support.
By 6.26.08
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Chrysler announces WiFi-enabled cars: “We want to make the radio itself a WiFi port,” a spokesperson said. The service will require a subscription to a wireless phone carrier. [Washington Post]
Charter Announces It Will Abandon User Tracking
By 6.25.08
Last month we reported on Charter Communications’ plan to start tracking its users internet activity in order to serve more targeted ads. Charter claimed customers could opt-out of the service, but a reader reviewed Charter’s opt-out method and discovered that even if you said no, you would still be tracked. Yesterday Charter announced it was abandoning the program and will not track its customers’ activities after all—at least for the immediate future.
RESOLVED: Circuit City 24 Minute Guarantee Means Whatever Rob, The Supervisor, Says It Means
By 6.19.08
Dustin wrote back to let us know that Circuit City corporate had contacted him about his difficulty with their “24 minute guarantee.” It seems that the general manger of the store had misunderstood the guarantee completely. Apologies were given and gift cards were received.
Is Metered Broadband Designed To Keep You From Ditching Cable TV?
By 6.9.08
Om Malik is beginning to suspect that “metered broadband” may be less about bad, evil P2P and more about competing video download services.
Comcast To Test New And Improved Methods For Throttling Internet Traffic
By 6.4.08
Comcast says that it will experiment with a new method of managing traffic to thousands of customers in Chambersburg, Pa., and Warrenton, Va. The new method will not target file-sharing, but would focus on individual heavy Internet users – no matter what they are doing, says the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Rumors: Starbucks To Launch Free WiFi Tuesday
By 6.2.08
A blogger who is friends with a Starbucks manager says that it looks like the long-awaited free AT&T WiFi, even if you’re not an AT&T customer, inside Starbucks will launch tomorrow. A few caveats:
Does The World Need A Blockbuster Digital Download "ATM?"
By 5.29.08
At their shareholders meeting Wednesday, Blockbuster announced that they would soon begin testing a “ATM”-style machine that consumers could use to download movies “on the go.”
Borders Launches A Website With A "Magic Shelf"
By 5.27.08
Borders has finally decided to launch its own website (previously, its online business had been handled by Amazon.com). CEO George Jones says:
The Secret Behind Zappos Otherworldly Customer Service? Pay Employees To Quit
By 5.21.08
Say you want to staff your call center with friendly, high energy, intelligent people who want to help customers and who enjoy their job. How do you find them? Well, apparently you hire people, train them, then offer them $1,000 to quit.
UPDATE: Charter Will Track Your Internet Activity Regardless Of Whether You Opt Out
By 5.20.08
Last week, we wrote about Charter’s decision to begin tracking its users internet activity and inserting targeted ads. One of our readers wrote in to let us know he discovered that Charter’s insecure opt-out solution—downloading a cookie that must be downloaded for each user and browser, and downloading it again whenever the cache is cleared—only blocks the ads from showing up; it doesn’t block Charter from monitoring users’ searches and web activity.
Banned For Life From Royal Caribbean For Complaining Too Loudly On The Internet
By 5.20.08
Brenda and Gerald Moran are what you might call “regulars” on Royal Caribbean — or they were — until they were banned for life after they complained too loudly on a cruise website. For the past 3 years, they took two cruises a year with Royal Caribbean, but according to the cruise line, they complained about almost all of them. Finally, after stirring up too much controversy on a popular cruise site, the company banned the Morans for life.
Former Mortgage Broker Selling Possessions On eBay/Craigslist To Avoid Foreclosure
By 5.19.08
Marketplace Money took a look at some folks who are selling their possessions on eBay and Craigslist in order to pay their bills. The main interviewee was a former mortgage broker who used to make six figures but was now selling his collection of cool amps to pay off his $5,000 a month mortgage and $50,000 in credit card debt.
Charter To Begin Tracking Users' Searches And Inserting Targeted Ads
By 5.13.08
Charter Communications is sending letters to its customers informing them of an “enhanced online experience” that involves Charter monitoring its users’ searches and the websites they visit, and inserting targeted third-party ads based on their web activity. Charter, which serves nearly six million customers, is requiring users who want to keep their activity private to submit their personal information to Charter via an unencrypted form and download a privacy cookie that must be downloaded again each time a user clears his web cache or uses a different browser.
