It’s easy to figure out why fast-casual chain Chipotle has fallen in the opinion of American consumers: there was that series of foodborne illness outbreaks in their restaurants from the fall of 2015 through early 2016. Since last year, the chain fell from the top position in the Harris Poll restaurant rankings for its category, behind Taco Bell, Qdoba, and Baja Fresh. The top position was taken by Moe’s, a smaller chain. [More]
polls
Survey Says: You’d Rather Have Your Nude Pics Leaked Than Your Financial Information
By 7.9.15
MasterCard wants to know how you feel, so they asked a bunch of people: Do you feel safe? Do you feel secure? Do you feel like you need a cookie and a nice cup of cocoa? Wait, scratch that last one. MasterCard’s survey only covered feelings about how safe and secure you feel your financial information is. The answer? Not very secure at all. [More]
Jerk Or Genius: Burger King Customer Buys 23 Apple Pies Just So Loudmouthed Kid Can’t Get One
By 8.6.14
We’ve all had to stand in line next to some insufferable brat of a child who won’t stop shouting out his desires for the entire world to hear. But most of us don’t have the gall to do what one Burger King customer claims to have done. [More]
Ethical Or Not-So-Ethical: Using A Secondary User Name To Give Free HBO Go Access To Friends?
By 11.21.13
Whether you approve of it or not, a lot of people out there share usernames and passwords for services like Netflix and HBO Go so that their friends, families and loved ones can share without having to pay for their own subscription. And some say there is a way you can do this for HBO Go (and presumably other services that use your cable login) without having to actually share your info. [More]
Poll: Would You Watch Football On TV Without The Commentators?
By 9.30.13
Several years back, when Consumerist was flush with all that bubble money from our house-flipping and day-trading side gigs, we posted one person’s suggestion on how you can manipulate your surround sound system so that you wouldn’t have to listen to Joe Buck shill for American Idol, Phil Simms condescend to everyone who isn’t him, or Mike Mayock say…anything. Now some football fans are begging the NFL to give fans the option of just hearing the game without the constant blah blah from the announcers. [More]
Should Everyone Have The Right To A Break During The Work Day?
By 9.4.13
Many of us have the option of taking at least one brief lunch and/or rest break during the work day (whether you take it or not is a different discussion), and lots of people believe they are legally entitled to a break for every few hours worked. But the fact is that it is perfectly legal in most states for employers to not give employees any rest during the time they are on the clock. [More]
Woman Returns $20,000 Bag O’ Cash To Chase Bank, Gets $500 As Reward
By 6.19.13
When a currently out-of-work schoolteacher in Texas came across a bag containing enough cash to buy a car, she did what some other wouldn’t even think of — she took it to the nearest bank and returned it. [More]
Pittsburgh Penguins Fans Upset After JetBlue Pilot Hears Crying Baby, Asks If It’s Sidney Crosby
By 6.5.13
Some angry Pittsburgh Penguins fans are calling for a boycott of JetBlue after a pilot on a flight to Boston made a crack over the intercom equating Penguins star Sidney Crosby with a crying baby. [More]
Creepy Or Cool? Your Webcam Can Now Monitor Your Pulse
By 4.16.13
Webcams already have all sorts of practical purposes, from chatting with your friends, to business teleconferencing, to the growing number of people who make money baring their all on cam. But now, some clever folks have figured out a way to use your cam to monitor your heart rate, just by looking at your forehead. [More]
Is This Comped Olive Garden Receipt The Real Deal Or Just Viral Marketing?
By 3.27.13
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When a restaurant receipt story gets wildly popular online, it’s usually because a horrible customer leaves a rude message or because a restaurant staffer insults a diner, but occasionally it’s a happy story about an eatery doing something nice. Question is, are restaurants beginning to fake these stories for positive PR? [More]
Razor Blade Companies Could Make A Longer-Lasting Product, But Why Would They?
By 2.1.13
Every day, there’s another development in shaving technology, but it usually involves adding more blades or making yet another part of the razor vibrate. No matter how high-tech the devices get, the blades just don’t last very long. In the words of every hack comedian from 1990: What’s up with that? [More]
Is It Rude To Take Photos Of Your Food In A Restaurant?
By 1.24.13
Since the earliest days of photo sharing, shutterbugs have been posting images of their restaurant meals online for all to see. That behavior has only become more common through the use of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and whatever other service was launched yesterday. Now some chefs say it’s gone too far. [More]
Do You Still Tip Your Cab Driver When He Gets Lost?
By 1.18.13
If your waiter accidentally brings you someone else’s food, you’re probably still going to tip him, provided that he takes it back and eventually gives you the correct dish. But when your cabbie gets lost, that meter can keep running while he tries to correct his course. So does he get a tip? [More]
Is It Ever Acceptable For Waiters To Be Unpleasant?
By 11.13.12
The “snooty waiter” who looks down his nose with disdain at his customers is a character that has been trotted out on film and TV too many times to count. But while we may not blink when we see this well-known caricature on screen, it’s a different story when that same snob is taking your lunch order. [More]
Should Your Landlord Be Able To Decide If Your Significant Other Can Stay The Night?
By 9.10.12
Remember the days of Three’s Company, when the only way a man could convince the landlord to let him stay in an apartment with two single women was by pretending to be gay? Even when I first moved to New York in the mid-’90s, more than a few landlords told me I could only have male roommates and that female overnight guests were frowned upon. But times are changing and most people just expect their landlord to butt out, so long as they aren’t knocking down walls or installing hot tubs in the bathroom. But there are still some people out there that don’t want any unwed hanky-panky going on under their roof. [More]
Americans Increasingly Reach For Smartphones In Emergencies
By 9.5.12
A few decades ago, it was unimaginable for most of us. Would you have believed that even regular old middle-class people would have a device like the smartphone? It’s about the size of a pack of cards, with hours of battery life, and you can use it in a time of natural disaster to get the latest news, learn about road closings and emergency services, send mass updates to friends and loved ones, and maybe watch TV or play some games. In a pinch, it even makes phone calls. Yes, as long as cell towers are still up and you can charge the battery, a phone is an ideal companion in a natural disaster. The Red Cross confirmed that this week, releasing a survey of American adults that shows more of us are getting our emergency information in app form: then, presumably, playing Angry Birds. [More]
How Early Should You Be Able To Put Out Your Garbage Without Getting Fined?
By 8.28.12
Though most people think of “Trash Day” as the day of the week on which their garbage is collected, many of us place our refuse on the curb the night before. But how early is too early to put out the trash? [More]
Would You Give Your Dealership A Positive Rating In Exchange For A Free Oil Change?
By 2.1.12
Where do you draw the line between a business offering an incentive for you to fill out a survey and an attempt to buy your opinion outright? And just what would a business need to offer you for you to part with whatever principles you might have? [More]
