We’ve never doubted the fact that Christmas Creep is a nefarious plot to destroy Thanksgiving, Halloween, Columbus Day and even Labor Day (it’s run by a big eastern syndicate, you know). But we never had proof that our disgust with early Christmas promotions is shared by other consumers. That’s why we commissioned the Consumer Reports National Research Center to find out the truth. [More]
polls
Poll: What Caused The Great Eggo Waffle Shortage Of '09?
By 11.14.09
Clearly, our post about the Eggo waffle shortages struck some kind of nerve. We contacted Kellogg’s about the real reason for the nationwide shortage, and they haven’t gotten back to us yet. So we let our imaginations run wild.
POLL: When Is Too Early For Christmas Creep?
By 11.6.09
After we proposed tracking Starbucks’s roll out of Christmas products as a metric to gauge yearly Christmas Creep, we got a fair amount of comments saying they saw no problem with Christmas stuff coming out once Halloween was over. So, inside, a poll: at what point does Christmas Creep become acceptable holiday display?
What Mobile Platform Do You Use?
By 11.2.09
Consumerist needs to get on your mobile device so bad it hurts. But first, we need to know which platform you use. Take our poll and tell us!
Would You Live With Ghosts For Cheaper Rent? 69% Would
By 10.27.09
Rent.com conducted a survey that found more than 2/3 of renters ain’t afraid of no ghosts, and would live with them as long as they got a hefty discount on rent.
Help Us Choose The Top 10 Shopping Gotchas!
By 10.20.09
We’re looking for the 10 most hated business practices that everyday consumers run into when they’re shopping. From a misleading door-buster ad to frustrations with gift cards, return policies, and mail-in rebates – We asked, you answered. Now it’s time to vote for the best suggestions.
Federal Employees Banned From Texting While Driving
By 10.2.09
An executive order issued this week bans federal employees from texting while driving when using government vehicles or phones, or while on government business. Given the safety risks of texting while driving, we think this was a good move, and hope that it extends to the general population. Take our poll and tell us what you think, inside.
Are All Xbox 360s Doomed To Fail? Student Survey Aims To Find Out
By 9.18.09
Reader Ben Strauss is doing a cool project for his marketing class – he’s surveying Xbox owners to find out how many have had failed Xboxes and/or know someone who does. So far he’s interviewed 200 people and is seeing a 71% failure rate, with 85% of respondents saying they know someone with a failed Xbox. Ben writes:
Poll Results: Our Significant Others Aren't Very Thrifty
By 9.10.09
Two weeks ago we mentioned that Cognitive Daily was running an informal poll about thriftiness. Here at Consumerist, we like to take polls. We bumped up their response rate to over 5,000, far higher than what they usually get, and now they’ve posted the results. Apparently we all think we’re thriftier than everyone around us, especially our significant others, and the world wants to shop at the GAP. We bet the GAP is happy to hear that—too bad (for them) the poll was informal.
Poll: Does A Company Pulling Ads Off A Show Affect Your Opinion?
By 8.18.09
We mentioned last week that some companies have pulled their ads off Fox News host Glenn Beck‘s show in response to comments Beck made and the controversy that followed. Now there are reports that even more companies are pulling their ads from the show. We’re curious whether any of this actually affects consumer opinion of a company, so we made a poll. Take it!
Has Your Credit Card Already Gotten Meaner?
By 7.22.09
The party is over. In advance of credit card reform that was supposed to make credit better for consumers, the banks are making terms tougher and policies less lenient. The result can be very expense for some customers. Have any of these adverse actions happened to your credit card lately? Take our poll. Multiple answers accepted.
Furloughs: Welcome Or Lousy?
By 6.15.09
Rather than layoffs, a number of employers are turning to furloughs – forced unpaid time off – to meet their budgets. According to a NYT article, employees are handling them in different ways. Some use it as chill time. Others keep working anyway without pay, either out of guilt, routine, or fear of an actual layoff. Has your company been hit with furloughs? How are you dealing? Take our poll inside.
Consumer Confidence Is Up. Wait, Compared To What?
By 5.26.09
Do you feel more confident? According to the Conference Board, consumer confidence is up to its highest level in eight months, and made its biggest increase in six years.
Bank of America-Sponsored Poll Shows That Most Americans Don't Trust Banking System
By 5.7.09
It may be a random confluence of sponsorship, but this poll from the front page of CNN.com last night is too funny not to share. Thanks to Douglas for sending it in.
Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds
By 5.1.09
Here are five wonderful photos readers added to The Consumerist Flickr Pool this week, picked for neatness and usability in a Consumerist post. Check ’em out!
Would You Use A Government-Issued Credit Card?
By 4.25.09
With President Obama and Congress threatening to tag-spank credit card issuers, Slate is left wondering why the government doesn’t just issue its own credit card. Before you scream “SOCIALISM!,” consider the government’s heavy involvement in the banking sector, not just through the recent bailouts, but through long-standing institutions like Fannie and Sallie Mae, and Freddie Mac. Credit-worthy borrowers in Germany, France, and India all have access to low-interest, no-fee credit cards issued by their central banks. Would you ever be interested in an Obama-backed credit card?
3 ATM Skimmers Found In One Week At Chase/WaMus – What?!
By 4.9.09
Three different ATM skimmers were found this week and reported on blogs, raising the question of what the heck is going on considering these are supposed to be a rarity. First, our reader Dan found a skimmer on a WaMu/Chase ATM in LA. Gizmodo picked up the story and subsequently their reader Sean Seibel found a skimmer on a Chase ATM in Manhattan’s East Village. Then this kid Nick McGlynn found a setup similar to the one Sean did, also on a Chase ATM. Now, when our reader Dan took the credit-card snagging device skimmer to the police he said they, “got a big kick out of the skimmer, saying they’d never seen one in person.” Hmm… Let’s look at a bunch of sexy ATM skimming photos and figure out what’s up with all these skimmers cropping up…
