Yesterday we posted a photo a reader sent in of a toy aisle in his local Walmart that was packed with junk food. We all got commenty on what exactly Walmart was doing—was it a one-off paid promo by Pepsi? A marketing experiment? A power-mad store manager driven crazy by shelving issues? Nah, it’s actually an intentional choice mandated by corporate.
mysteries
Energizer Responds To Weak Rechargeable Battery Claims
By 8.27.09
Energizer responded to Are Energizer Rechargeable “D” Batteries “AAs” In Disguise? by explaining why D size rechargeable batteries are made the way they are:
New Subway Gamepieces Exist Outside Of Normal Time
By 8.25.09
Justin sent us this gamepiece he scraped like a wet scab off the side of his moist Subway beverage cup. (I do not like gamepieces affixed to fast food drinks.) We’re in awe at its nearly k?an-like phrasing. How is an instant win not an instant winner? How do you peel the gamepiece that has already been peeled? Feel free to use these in your meditations.
GoDaddy Doesn't Outsource Customer Service
By 7.29.09
Last week, we posted that a popular web hosting company—GoDaddy, although we didn’t name it at the time—provided a strange customer service experience to a commenter. Cyberguy was contacted via phone by someone from their “Office of the President” after emailing them, but then Cyberguy couldn’t get their rep to state clearly which company he was representing. Cyberguy was rightly suspicious. Was GoDaddy outsourcing its own executive customer service?
Help, There Are Bugs In My Kitty Litter!
By 7.27.09
Dawn is freaked out because when she got up this morning, she found bugs in her cat’s litter box. She called the company that makes the litter to ask them what to do, and they offered coupons but no real explanation. “Maybe some of your readers have had the same experience and could help me figure out what to do,” she writes. “Thanks!”
Web Host Outsources Their "Office Of The President"?
By 7.24.09
Cyberguy had a weird experience with a web hosting company earlier this week. He tried to contact their office of the president, but the person from the “office” who called him back turned out to be an outsourced CSR with no power to do anything other than apologize. Update: The web host company was GoDaddy, and they’ve responded. (The short answer is no they don’t outsource it.)
Teen Finds Cocaine In CVS Candy Aisle
By 7.24.09
A 14-year-old in Middleburg, Florida, went to buy some Skittles at a CVS and found a small bag of cocaine next to the candy. Police have reviewed the security tapes, but say the store’s cameras don’t cover the candy aisle. As if sugar doesn’t make them hyper enough already.
Dodge Dealership Can't Repair Truck After 6 Days, Local Mechanic Does It In 10 Minutes
By 7.17.09
A Dodge dealership in Alexandria Bay, NY, wasted over $700 of Joe’s dad’s money and a week of their time not repairing a 20-year-old truck. Joe says he heard that the dealership recently replaced all of its mechanics—maybe they took a page from Circuit City’s playbook?
Banned Bank Of America Customer Says His Credit Is Clear
By 7.8.09
Earlier this week we wrote about how BoA told Jesse he could never have an account with them, but they wouldn’t give a specific reason. A lot of readers and tipsters suggested ChexSystems was the culprit, so we asked Jesse if there was something in his credit past causing the problem.
Bank Of America: "That's Why You Don't Open New Accounts Online"
By 7.8.09
After reading about how Jesse was banned for life from Bank of America for no clear reason, other readers wrote in with similarly bizarre BoA stories. Wayne was locked out of his new account after he opened it and charged a $75 overdraft fee. Chris was sent checks linked to a duplicate account and then charged penalties when the checks bounced. Edward’s new account was closed but the CSR refused to tell him why, and he was charged a $60 “research fee” for the closing. When Edward went to a BoA branch to clear things up, he says the employee there told him, “That’s why you don’t open up accounts online.”
How Did E. Coli Get Into Nestle's Cookie Dough?
By 6.24.09
USA Today is reporting that the FDA is “stumped” by the presence of E. coli 0157:H7 in Nestle Tollhouse Cookie Dough, which was recalled last week. How does bacteria normally associated with raw ground beef find its way into our buckets of delicious cookie dough? Some speculation, inside.
Pizza Hut Tries To Avoid Blame For Its Pizza, Shortens Name To "The Hut"
By 6.19.09
Update: To clarify, Pizza Hut isn’t changing its name. It’s co-adopting “The Hut” is a secondary branding mark, or something like that. (Thanks to William!)
Are Walmart's New Shopping Carts Shocking Customers?
By 5.25.09
We received a strange tip from Steve, who says the new shopping carts in his local Walmart shock him every time he touches them. He says he saw another shopper get shocked as well, and that a cashier confirmed it. Has anyone else experienced this?
You Had A Cat. Here Are Some Cat Ashes. Problem Solved!
By 5.20.09
How do you verify the identity of your cat after he’s been cremated? Matthew has no idea if the box he received really contains Spike’s cremains or the cremains of someone else’s pet. His vet offered to print out a new certificate with the correct name on it, but that seems less like a “solution” than a “waste of printer ink” designed to placate without providing answers.
Target Saves You Money In Ways You Can Only Imagine
By 5.19.09
Target continues its rebranding as the Duchamp of retail stores, with this receipt that indicates savings where no savings ever existed. Or perhaps multi-dimensional savings; we can’t pretend to know what Target sees when it stares into the void. Mark notes, “The cookies were on sale, as indicated. The cascade, I had a coupon for it to be free. Total savings should be $4.23. The receipt says $7.37. Maybe it’s a conspiracy since it is the Love Field (near the airport) in Dallas where Southwest flies only 737s.” That’s as good an explanation as any, Mark. Maybe you should work for Target?
Watch Out For Fraudulent ITunes Purchases, Whether You Have An ITunes Account Or Not
By 5.19.09
I woke up this morning to an email stating I had made two $50 gift card purchases [on iTunes Music Store]. I contacted my bank and apple, then did a google search and found that many others had the same thing happen to them.
Woman Dies In Walmart Parking Lot, Discovered Two Days Later
By 5.5.09
Imagine dying in your vehicle in the parking lot of a 24-hour Walmart. How would anyone know? The couple who discovered Patricia Glasscock’s body yesterday thought she was sleeping, which is probably what anyone who passed by thought.
