Reader Bret doesn’t particularly feel like buying a monitor for Gladys, a random woman who lives in Wichita, KS. Explaining this to Dell and UPS, however, is about as fun as you think it would be.
kansas
UPS Sends Your Monitor To "Gladys" In Wichita, Dell Tells You To Pick It Up. You Live In Boston.
By 7.23.09
Need An Ambulance? If You're Overweight, It's Going To Cost An Extra $543
By 7.4.09
An ambulance ride with American Medical Response in Topeka, Kansas will soon cost an extra $543 for folks weighing 350 pounds or more. Though AMR already owns cots that can support up to 500 pounds, they claim that because of rising demand from so-called “bariatric patients,” they now need to buy winches and “extra large and reinforced cots.”
Kansas Governor Vetoes Hormone-Free Milk Labeling Bill
By 4.24.09
Kansas Governor (and soon-to-be Health and Human Services Director) Kathleen Sebelius vetoed a Kansas bill that would have required a weaselly label on hormone-free dairy products.
Verizon Refuses To Help Locate Body Of Missing Woman For Four Days
By 9.17.08
Verizon, which has no problem helping the government spy on its customers, suddenly turned stupid in June when a police department asked them for help finding the body of a woman who had been abducted on camera. Despite pleas from the woman’s parents, the police, and the FBI, it was four days before a technician was sent out to the appropriate cell tower. When that technician gave the police the location info, they found Kelsey Smith’s body within 45 minutes. Verizon won’t respond to requests for an explanation of why they couldn’t help sooner.
Man Files Antitrust Suit Against Time Warner Over Forced Cable Box Rentals
By 8.13.08
Matthew Meeds of Fairway, Kansas, doesn’t want to pay Time Warner Cable a monthly rental fee for his cable box—he’d rather own one outright. He’s filed suit against the cable provider and its parent company, Time Warner, Inc., accusing them of establishing an illegal tying arrangement by making the box rental a condition of the subscription agreement. He’s seeking class-action status for all TWC premium customers in Kansas.
Travel Agency Charges For Airline Tickets, Cancel Tickets, Can't Be Reached For Refund
By 7.14.08
Dhanushka is having some trouble getting money back from his travel agent. He writes,
Limited New iPhones At ATT Stores, Latecomers Pay Extra To Have Phones Shipped
By 7.11.08
Only the first lucky clutch of people in line today at AT&T stores will walk out with a new iPhone 3G in-hand. There were only 30 phones available in total at the the biggest AT&T store in Waterbury CT, at the Brass Mill Center, according to a store employee. Reporting from the line, reader Kevin says that everyone else was given an option to buy a slip of paper for $226.79 (see a scan of it posted inside), have the phone shipped from the warehouse to you, then you come back to the store to activate the phone. Customers will have to pay for the shipping charges for this favor.
Home Depot's Extraordinary Service Leads To Free $800 Appliance Upgrade
By 5.25.08
Michael launched an Executive Email Carpet Bomb after Home Depot twice failed to deliver an undamaged washer and dryer. Home Depot’s CEO Frank Blake quickly thanked Michael for his even-handed letter, and promised that the local store manager would make him a happy customer…
University Of Kansas' New File Sharing Rule: One Strike And You're Out
By 7.22.07
The University of Kansas has a harsh message for its students: illegally download copyrighted material and you’ll spend the rest of your college days checking Facebook in the computer lab. The university previously operated under a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy. From Kansas University ResNet:
This Walmart Fried Chicken Could Use A Few More Feathers
By 7.12.07
Reader Sean is the most recent reader to purchase food at a major “big box” store, find it unacceptable, and send us a picture.
Bank Midwest Let Someone Pilfer Our Safe Deposit Box For $92,000
By 5.2.07
Ken and Nina say that that $92,000 was stolen from their safe deposit box after Bank Midwest allowed someone else to access it.
Rice Containing Human Genes Approved By The USDA
By 3.12.07
For the first time, the USDA has granted preliminary approval for large-scale planting of an engineered food crop that contains human genes.
AAMCO's "Repairs" Imperil Motorist
By 2.5.07
Justin took his Taurus into AAMCO for transmission repairs, only to endure a month of repairs that left his car in no better shape, and it ended up endangering his life.
