If you, like so many grade-school children, dreamed of one day working at Taco Bell, but worried whether you had the technical aptitude to master their complex procedures and delicate processes, study this Taco Bell insider document, snagged by ANIMAL, and possibly the most scintillating of all the leaked materials we have ever posted, and you’ll have a leg up on all the former i-bankers clamoring for the same position. Flowchart in full glory, inside…
leaks
Exclusive: AOL's Collections Guide Encourages Agents To Lie And Deceive
By 4.5.08
An anonymous tipster sent us AOL’s 153 page internal collections guidebook for prying money out of delinquent account holders. The guide shows that AOL is following some of the debt industry’s most egregious collection tactics by encouraging agents to deceive and lie to customers. After the jump we present AOL’s scare tactics, tricks to negotiating a substantial discount, and the full collections guide.
Interview With ATA Insider On Day His Airline Went Bankrupt
By 4.3.08
ATA airlines abruptly ceased to exist this morning, leaving travelers to scramble for refunds and alternate booking arrangements. An ATA insider took time out from looking for a new job to give The Consumerist the inside scoop:
LEAKS: Best Buy To Purchase Wal-Mart
By 4.1.08
Some shillyshallying office worker came across some papers jammed in the Best Buy shredder that purport to show that Best Buy is going to buy Wal-Mart. Normally I wouldn’t sully the pages of The Conglomerist with such treacherous murk, but, irregardless, the news is just too good to keep to myself. If true, this would be the best thing ever to happen to consumers as two of the most kickass companies in America combine forces. Just thinking of of the cost-saving efficiencies provided by the vertical integration makes pleasure crystals ooze shoot out from my pores and explode all over my cat’s face (don’t worry, he’s ok). Oh, and so he can be fired, this traitor’s name is Ryan Smith
How To Get An "Iffy" Loan Approved
By 4.1.08
Sometimes when you’re trying to get a borrower approved for a mortgage the system will tell you something stupid like “this person is not qualified.” Luckily, this internal document from Chase shows a few tips and tricks you can use to tweak a borrower’s profile so they can get a stated-income asset loan (which recently has received the unfair pejorative of a “liar’s loan” by the sensationalist media apparatchik) a piece of The American Dream. It’s specific to Chase’s internal loan approval system. Irregardless, many of the principles have universal application, no matter what level of the fast-paced exciting field of sub-prime mortgages you work. Highlights:
XM-Sirius Merger Will Double Monthly Prices?
By 3.31.08
What does the XM-Sirius satellite radio merger mean for XM customers? Well, according to one customer service rep, it means mean prices are going to roughly double in May. Here’s what she said to one of our tipsters:
This is strictly confidential, but all the paperwork is signed and ready to go, and XM has fully acquired Sirius Radio. Come May, there will be a substantial price increase for XM Radio, as it will, in June or so, host all the Sirius channels. It would be best to simply extend your XM plan as we will honor your current contract price per month before we begin hosting the Sirius stations.
The tipster said he believed she said the price was going to double. Perhaps the customer service rep just wanted to score a renewal, but if true, it would certainly at least be ironic considering when the DOJ approved the deal was they said, “the evidence did not show that the merger would enable the parties to profitably increase prices to satellite radio customers.” However, reader comments on this post and this post over at Orbitcast say this customer service rep is full of pure baloney.
LEAKS: Best Buy Internal Doc Says Their "Extended Warranties" Are A "Myth"
By 3.28.08
An internal Best Buy training document sent to The Consumerist reveals Best Buy’s position on the “Extended Warranty” debate. Best Buy says they don’t sell those pesky “extended warranties” that get so much bad press— instead they sell “performance service plans.” The document also instructs Best Buy employees on how to sell these warranties to Upscale Suburban “Barry” and “Jill.” It’s important for consumers to be familiar with these tactics so they are able to recognize them while shopping in a high pressure sales environment such as Best Buy. Understanding the sales pitch puts you on equal ground with the salesperson.
LEAKS: Insider Says Verizon Isn't Fulfilling Advertised Discounts For Tens Of Thousands
By 3.27.08
A mysterious letter was anonymously faxed to our headquarters by a self-described “disgusted” Verizon customer service rep angry at how he/she says Verizon is screwing over landline customers. Here’s the highlights of his gut-spilling:
- 30,000+ people nationwide have still not received the free HDTVs Verizon promised new FiOS triple-play subscribers
- Verizon totally screwed up the “blitz” promotion, leading some customers signing up and not getting their discounts, others getting too much discount, and others not getting their discount for months
- Employees issued over $1 million in credit in January ’08, double what was given out in Jan ’07
- $250 in discretionary credit has been reduced to $50
- Internally, Verizon refers to customer service reps who give out “too much” credit due are called “offenders.”
LEAKS: Best Buy's Internal Customer Profiling Document
By 3.18.08
Attention Profiled Shoppers: Consumerist is now in possession of an internal training document that teaches Best Buy blue shirts how to stereotype customers. While Best Buy’s use of personas has been known for several years, our exclusively obtained document contains several brand-new Best Buy personas, including “Maria Middle America” and “Empty Nesters” Helen and Charlie.
AT&T To Start Charging You For Paying Them Money
By 3.12.08
An AT&T insider tells us that starting March 11th AT&T has begun charging customers in the Southeast an extra $5 if they call in to make their payment over the phone by speaking to a customer service rep. He says this is set to be rolled out nationally starting in May. Please only speak to our robots, otherwise you will be punished, thanks.
7 Confessions Of A Verizon DSL Tech Support Rep
By 3.12.08
A former employee has stepped forward to tell us what it’s like to work as tech support rep in a Verizon DSL call center. Learn about how the supervisors aren’t really supervisors, the numbers and call times the reps have to meet to keep their jobs (and the sneaky tricks they use to meet these numbers), and more…
By 3.7.08
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A Nextel customer service rep says that earlier this week around 25,000 customers erroneously received a text message saying they would be billed $5.3 million in overages. That’s each, as in $5.3 million per person. “Suffice it to say it was a busy day at the call center,” says our insider. Anyone get one of these messages and can send in a picture of it?
Uhaul To Start Charging $1-$5 "Environmental Fee"
By 3.3.08
Uhaul is going to start charging customers a $1-$5 fee to defray the cost of throwing away the various nasty junks associated with its rental business, according to an anonymous store manager. It will be called an “Environmental Fee.” Ok, whatever, but we like the rebuttal supplied in the Q & A for Uhaul managers in case a customer complaints: “Do you want clean air and water thirty or fifty years from now? If so, pitch in.” Nice, avoid raising upfront prices and get customers to cover your operating expenses through the power of guilt. Full text of the announcement, inside…
Barnes & Noble Limited Receipt Policy Won't Go National Until October?
By 2.12.08
A Barnes & Noble insider tell us the new policy limiting returns to 14 days with receipts won’t go in effect nationally until October, according to CEO Steve Riggio’s internal blog.. The policy is currently in testing in New York, New Jersey, California, and Virginia. “The point is to eliminate “customers” who empty their bookshelves of books they’ve owned for years and get store credit. The company line is “to bring our policy in line with other national retailers,” the insider tells The Consumerist. However, “the ability to “extend” the policy beyond the 14 days will be up to the compassion of the store/manager you encounter.” Looks like all you non-VA-CA-NY-NJ shysters have until October to ply your fiendish book return schemes.
Executive Email Addresses For XBOX Complaints
By 2.8.08
If you have a problem with your XBOX and you want it heard by senior executives, here are some dudes to blast it to:
Monster Cables, Monster Ripoff: 80% Markups
By 2.8.08
Ever wonder why gadget store employees push Monster cables like they’re crack? Bitchin’ markups, just like you suspected (or knew) all along. That’s what we found when a Radio Shack employee sent us his store’s entire inventory list, which included the wholesale and retail price of every item in stock.
Tiger Direct Sales Contest Thinks Pimps Are Funny
By 2.5.08
It’s really funny to rape women, beat them, force them to have sex with other men for money, and then take all their money. Which is why this internal sales promotion for gadget seller TigerDirect is so awesome! Start by selling a customer a notebook computer, then PIMP it up with all sorts of accessories. In turn, the more you sell, the more you get entered into a raffle to win some PIMP prizes so you can PIMP out your crib with pimpin’ a new computer and a pimp 50″ plasma TV with surround sound and a Logitech Harmony 1000 Universal Pimp Remote Control! The promotional flyer proclaims, “Now you have a controller in one hand and a cup full of Gin & Juice in the other. You got the nice gifts and the greens $$$$$$ in your pocket. Now you’re OFFICIALLY PIMPING!” Pimps are a hilarious American icon of entrepreneurship! PIMP PIMP PIMP! Full promotional flyer and contest rules, inside…
Countrywide Made Racist Sub-Prime Loans?
By 2.5.08
Countrywide Home Loans was racist and automatically put African-Americans into exotic and expensive sub-prime loans they didn’t want or need, and couldn’t afford, according to a former employee. This employee worked there for two years up until the sub-prime meltdown. They write:
“…a customer would be qualified for a loan because their credit score and other factors based on the written product description, however, when I went in to put their (this only happened to African-Americans) – they were not qualified for the loan product and had to be referred to Countrywide’s subprime mortgage company Full Spectrum. Full Spectrum offered higher rates and fees. I got wise one day and started not inputing the race so the computer could give me “approval.”
