Consumerist reader Howard must’ve breathed a hugesigh of relief upon opening a box from Amazon containing his new center speaker. Some thoughtful, kind person had tossed in not one, but two thin sheets of paper, as protection against all the calamities that can befall packages. [More]
pointless
Arby's Coupon Promotion Wastes Trees, Mystifies Customers
By 11.29.09
Mike received this coupon sheet when buying a $5.01 combo at Arby’s. We get it, Arby’s, the combo is such a good deal that you don’t need a coupon. You’ve made your point. We don’t need thousands of useless coupon sheets that will go straight into the trash around to make the point for you. Thanks, commenters–evidently, this is the tray liner, so not so much a waste of paper. But a 1 cent coupon is still inherently silly. [More]
Does This Potty Seat Need An Extended Warranty?
By 11.20.09
Kelly just bought a plastic Baby Bjorn potty seat at Babies R Us. When the cashier rang it up, the system told her to ask Kelly if she’d like to pay another 30% of the purchase price for a service plan.
Microsoft Wants You To Host Your Own Windows 7 Launch Party, Really
By 9.29.09
Everyone likes hosting launch parties, right?! What? No one likes them? They’re not real parties—just promotional events dreamed up to move units? But Microsoft told me that it’s okay to host my own launch party! It’ll be cool! Just look at these two married couples hanging out and gabbing like a box of birds about how much they love Windows 7.
Americans Love Burgers. A Lot.
By 9.14.09
Apparently burgers are recession-proof. In fact, according to a recent survey cited by the Boston Globe, “It may be one area of food service where [consumers] are less willing to cut back, despite the current economic environment.” We didn’t know there was a shortage of burger options in the U.S., to be honest, but about half of us think restuarants should offer more burger variety.
By 7.28.09
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We don’t recommend keeping your savings in your pantry, but in case you were wondering, here’s how much money you can fit into an Apple Jacks box. [Slate]
Wachovia Sends Out Its Own "Free Credit Report!" Offer To Customers
By 5.27.09
Tom just received a great offer from his bank. He can receive a free credit report just by peeling off this sticker and affixing it to another part of the same page. That’s right, a free motherloving credit report! Who doesn’t want one of those? Free, you say? Sign me up!
CareerBuilder's Free Resume Review Is Bot-Driven Junk
By 3.7.09
Sometimes”‘free” means “wow what a great bargain,” and sometimes it just mean worthless. CareerBuilder offers a free resume review on their site—enter your email address, upload your resume, and “we’ll email you the results of your free evaluation, including tips on writing a resume that will help you land the interview.” All it really does is collect your address so it can send you unsolicited email (we got spammed 30 minutes later), and your “review” is just a boilerplate page of generic advice.
This Apple CSR Wants You To Learn By Doing
By 9.10.08
This chat transcript from “Yet Another Girl”‘s blog is an example of how sometimes you can find exactly the answer you’re looking for on a customer service chat. Unfortunately, in this case, you’ll do all of the work yourself while the chat agent stares numbly at the screen, wondering how did I end up here? I don’t even know what this “apple” thing is!
ATT Chatbots (People?) Don't Even Pretend To Help Anymore
By 9.3.08
This unedited transcript from a recent “customer support” chat is pure, undiluted idiocy. Do not be surprised if after reading it, you feel a little dead inside, or a little stupider. That’s how you know the customer service chatbot—or person, which is kind of sad—is doing its job.
