JetBlue, JetBlue, JetBlue. When you cancel a flight, should you be allowed to uncancel it? If you do uncancel it, shouldn’t you tell your customers? Customers who may have left the airport when they saw that their flight was canceled? Grace Kim and her boyfriend had return tickets on JetBlue when their flight was canceled, forcing Kim to rebook on the next available flight 2 days later. When she heard JetBlue was offering vouchers to inconvenienced passengers she called and was told she qualified. Or did she?
NEW YORK
Ask The Consumerists: Can I Fly With No ID?
By 4.3.07
I have a friend that moved to NYC a little while ago from Iowa. She hadn’t switched to a NYS Photo ID yet, as she isn’t sure if this is going to be a permanent move, so she has been using her Iowa State Photo ID (non-Driver’s License, which is important as you’ll see) around town.
Universities Settle Allegations Of Citibank Kickbacks For Student Loan Referrals
By 4.3.07
Eight universities agreed to stop accepting kickbacks from Citibank for private loan referrals, and five agreed to refund a total of $3.27 mil to thousands of students, following an investigation by NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (pictured).
PointMaven Uncovers Superior Hotel Reward Offers
By 4.1.07
The makers of MileMaven.com, a utility to compare airline reward offers, have expanded their offerings to include PointMaven.com, a utility to compare hotel reward offers. PointMaven displays offers from several conspicuously named hotel reward programs, including the Best Western Gold Crown Club, Choice Privileges, Hyatt Gold Passport, and Intercontinental Hotels Priority Club. Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, and TripRewards are in beta testing, and compatibility with Hilton HHonors and Radisson Gold Points Plus is “coming soon.”
New York Has Crazy Wine Retailing Laws
By 3.29.07
Yes, it’s time for another edition of “New York’s crazy wine retailing laws!”
Read The Fine Print Before Buying From A Floor Plan
By 3.26.07
•If all else fails, make the fine print work for you. Loopholes may allow a penalty-free escape from disappointing properties. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Tweeter To Close, Liquidate 49 Stores
By 3.24.07
Tweeter is closing 49 locations, joining the ranks of stores capitulating to competition from Best Buy and Walmart. The restructuring will leave the consumer electronics retailer without a presence in California, Tennessee, Alabama, or New York. According to CEO Joe McGuire, surviving Tweeter locations will sport Consumer Electronics Playgrounds offering high-end home theaters.
“Since our Playground stores are clearly resonating with consumers and articulate our vision so well, we will continue to execute this concept in our remaining 97 traditional stores by taking what we have learned from our current Playground stores and rolling it into our existing fleet.”
Stores on the chopping block will immediately offer liquidation sales. The complete list of closures, inside.
Virgin America Cleared For Takeoff
By 3.21.07
The Department of Transportation has dropped its objections to Richard Branson’s latest venture, Virgin America. The domestic version of Virgin Atlantic was blocked in December over concerns the airline was a tad too British. Federal law requires U.S. ownership and control of domestic airlines. Branson won approval by yielding the CEO slot to an American, former Delta executive Fred Reid, and diluting Virgin Atlantic’s presence on the board.
Virgin America, based in Burlingame, Calif., near San Francisco’s airport, said yesterday that it was pleased by the ruling and hoped to start flights between San Francisco and Kennedy International Airport in New York by midsummer. Within nine months of beginning flights, it said it planned to serve Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Washington.
Finally, competition between New York and San Francisco. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Reader Forces Verizon To Sell Her Phone At Advertised Price
By 3.19.07
Kim just wanted to buy a Samsung i730 smartphone for $199 with $100 rebate, just like Verizon advertised.
BREAKING: JetBlue Cancels All NY Area Flights, Police Respond To Riotous Crowds
By 3.16.07
Police are responding to crowd disruptions in the Newark International Airport following JetBlue’s announcement that it was canceling all flights in the New York Metro area.
NYC Health Department Closes 'Hip' Union Square 'Coffee Shop'
By 3.13.07
Yesterday, would-be Coffee Shop diners were shocked to see their neighborhood hotspot shuttered. “I wasn’t surprised about Taco Bell, but this?” a regular patron, Ursula Pilter, 34, said. “It’s such a hip place. I just can’t believe it.”
Oh, no! Not ‘hip’ restaurants! You mean rats don’t know they’re not cool enough to hang out at the Coffee Shop? —MEGHANN MARCO
Parking Garage Rates Are Out Of Control
By 3.13.07
Getting in and out of a downtown garage in 20 minutes is possible — but just barely. A Globe reporter managed a 20-minute turnaround at 75 State St. only by racing from the garage to gulp down a drink at a nearby coffee shop and then racing back.
Why Is It So %#$%@-ing Impossible To Get Your Mail Delivered in Brooklyn?
By 3.9.07
Sorry for the local flavor of this post, but we live in Brooklyn. When we order things from UPS the UPS guy does not ring the bell. Ever. We work from home, so we know he does this. We’ve seen him do it. When we complain, they tell us that he’s a 10 year veteran with no prior complaints. We’ve complained before, so we assume this is part of a standard script. It’s not just UPS that’s messed up in Brooklyn. The post office may be even more screwed up. We hardly ever get any mail. Even junk mail.
NYC Health Commissioner: Rats Are Not A Health Risk
By 3.9.07
The city spends $8 million a year on rodent control and has a team of more than 100 inspectors who close about 500 restaurants each year.
NYC Mayor Bloomberg Calls For Boycott Of Shady Chinese Restaurant
By 3.1.07
The Chinese restaurant accused of discriminating in favor of customers who speak Chinese has irked Mayor Bloomberg. “If nobody goes to that restaurant, then they won’t make any money and they’ll go out of business,” Bloomberg told the Daily News.
More Fast Food Rats In Tomorrow's New York Post?
By 2.28.07
I was just at Au Bon Pain on 38th & 3rd, and when I stepped outside with my coffee, a NYPost reporter and photographer stopped me to talk about the recent spate of rat sightings in that particular ABP, and their poor grades on recent health inspections. He said a story will run in tomorrow’s Post (headline: French Rats Invade! (?)). We stood on the corner and chatted about the recent KFC thing, and he agreed that if he could get them on video, it could be another front-page ‘scandal’. I had previously seen a little mouse in the ABP on 39th & Madison, (which they said they’d check out) but these guys said large rats were spotted this time. He asked me if I was still going to drink the coffee, and I shrugged and said ‘I went to Manhattan College, so rats in the eating area isn’t a huge deal to me.’ He smiled and said look in tomorrow’s News section.
Well, we’ll say one thing for the New York Post, they’re certainly more proactive than the NYC Health Department. Have any of you people seen rats at the Au Bon Pain? —MEGHANN MARCO
Buy Brand Name Cereal For Only $1.79 At Grand Central Northeast RiteAids
By 2.28.07
For some inexplicable reason, you can get any box of cereal right now for $1.79 at the Rite Aid in Grand Central in Manhattan. These normally run $6-plus. $4-plus.
Charged Extra For Not Speaking Chinese?
By 2.26.07
David Lopez, a visitor from Wisconsin, contacted the commission after eating at the restaurant with several friends last October.
