Josh’s phone from Verizon kept crapping out and they kept giving him replacements, which also crapped out. After a year of dealing with this, a friend of his turned him on to the idea of sending an “EECB.” His letter grabbed the CEO of Verizon’s attention, and that’s when he got satisfaction. [More]
readers
Costco Selling $1 Million Diamond Ring
By 4.7.11
If you’re a rich baron of industry out to impress your beloved with a pricey piece of jewelry, forget Tiffany’s. Go to Costco. They’re selling a big ‘ol 6.77 ct diamond solitaire ring for $1,000,000. And true to form, it’s a bargain. The piece has been valued at $1,601,875. [More]
Comcast's CEO Pay Valued At $31.1 M. Did He Earn It?
By 4.7.11
$31.1 million is what you get for being the CEO of Comcast, reports the AP in their breakdown of Brian Robert’s compensation package. Do you feel this pay is deserving and accurately reflects your experience as a Comcast customer? Our handy poll has buttons that you can push to tell the world your opinion. Just don’t push the red button with the lips on it. That orders more naughty movies and makes a silver bell in Brian Robert’s office go ting-a-ling. [More]
Apple Store Guard Shoots And Kills Robbery Suspect
By 4.4.11
A suspect in a smash and grab robbery is dead after engaging in an estimated 40 shot gunfight with an armed private security store guard hired by Apple to protect its San Diego store, reports 10News and NBC San Diego. [More]
OB Tampons Reappearing On Shelves
By 4.4.11
Looks like o.b. brand tampons, missing from shelves for months because of an unspecified Johnson & Johnson “supply chain interruption,” are slowly making their way back into stores. The company announced back in February that they were back, and a reader saw them at their Fred Meyer in Arkansas, but by mid-march another reader said they hadn’t returned. Here it’s April and o.b.’s haven’t returned to my go-to supermarket here in Brooklyn but then I spotted these at a local upmarket pharmacy this weekend. At this point it’s a question of what suppliers your store is working with. Ask your store manager if you still don’t see them yet. [More]
This Cigarette Ice Cream Truck Is Doing It Wrong
By 4.4.11
Pro tip: when you buy an old ice cream truck and turn it into a mobile cigarette dispensary, you should probably cover up all the old ads for Bombpops and Choco Tacos. Reader discounteggroll’s co-worker snapped this picture at a gas station on the NY-CT border in Greenwich, CT. (Perhaps the truck is parked on the CT side of the parking lot, to take advantage of CT’s lower cigarette tax?) If it doesn’t violate any regulations, like the Tobacco Control Act of 2009 which prohibits the sale, distribution, marketing and promotion of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to children under the age of 18, it’s in poor taste, even with the sign asking for ID. “One Big Vanilla ice cream sandwich, please.” “Sorry kid, we got Pall Malls.” [More]
What Mailing Method Should I Use For The Best Paper Trail?
By 4.4.11
So you’re involved in a dispute and you want to make sure that your well-crafted complaint letter is mailed in a way so that it’s indisputable that your recipient got it. What’s the best way to shoot off your epistle? Certified? Signature delivery? Wrapped around a brick? Nay. [More]
ID Thief Mars Victim's Record With DUI
By 4.1.11
Another thing that can suck about having your identity stolen is that the crook can rack up crimes in your name. That’s what happened to one University of Georgia student who opened up the campus paper to find his name underneath the mug shot of another young man for a DUI, reports Red And Black. [More]
Ryanair Launches "Child Free Flights"
By 4.1.11
Most proclamations by RyanAir, the Irish “jet strapped to a metal pole” low-cost airline, sound like April Fool’s jokes anyway but at least their attempt today is right on message. RyanAir announced they are introducing “child free flights” starting late this year. “When it comes to children we all love our own but would clearly prefer to avoid other people’s little monsters when travelling,” said RyanAir’s head of communications Stephen McNamara in a press release. Staying classy is not what this airline is selling. [More]
Man IDs, And Shames, Alleged Laptop Thief With Dance Video
By 3.28.11
A man says he has his stolen laptop back after he posted a video of the guy who snatched his laptop took of himself dancing, using the camera on the laptop. [More]
Why Is The Quilted Northern Tube Wider But The Square Footage The Same?
By 3.25.11
Here’s a conundrum. Reader Jim bought a new 12-pack of Quilted Northern Three-Ply and noticed that the diameter of the cardboard tube inside was about a quarter of an inch larger than his old roll. Both packages said they contained 266.6 square feet of booty-wiping tissue and the total thickness of the rolls was the same. So what’s going on? Are these simply a more efficient — however you wish to definite it — version of TP? Inquiring minds want to know. [More]
Why Is Abercrombie Selling Push-Up Bikinis To 7-Year Old Girls?
By 3.25.11
The Sociological Images blog has sparked an online furor over Abercrombie Kids, which markets its products to children ages 7-14, selling a line of push-up bikinis. Is this an age-appropriately targeted product, harmless dress up, or just the latest in the race to capitalize on the gross and premature sexualization of our youth? [More]
Man Gets Lead On Laptop Thief Using Dropbox Program
By 3.24.11
Ryan believes he has a lead on who stole his laptop thanks to the Dropbox filesharing program that was installed on his computer. Turns out his laptop could be just up the street from him right now. But what does he do with the IP address he got from Dropbox? [More]
Palm Pixi Survives 45 Minutes Inside 450 Degree Oven
By 3.24.11
It’s not just iPhones, Palm Pixis are perfectly capable of surviving harrowing exploits as well, writes reader Jim. In the interest of fair and balanced coverage, we must give the Pixi’s story its due. [More]
Video Of Home Depot Easy Button Ripoff In Action
By 3.24.11
Reader Ed went back to Home Depot and took a video of that Home Depot ripoff of the Staple’s “Easy Button” getting pressed. The mechanized voice released from inside says, “Don’t see the product you want you want on our displays? The Home Depot can still provide it! Ask an associate to set up a CFP to locate the product you want!” That’s a lot more words than when you push the original button, which says, “That was Easy.” Nice job, big orange, you steal someone else’s idea and then totally ruin the whole concept by adding a bunch of extra marketing language. [More]
EECB Gets Microsoft To Stop Dillydallying And Overnight Laptop
By 3.18.11
George was able to get Microsoft to pick up the pace and ship him a laptop he’d been waiting for for almost a month thanks to a well-crafted EECB. What I like about his is the little personal story he puts at the beginning that’s very much in line with the “praise with faint damn” approach we’ve advocated in the past. [More]
Would You Berate Someone For Eating On Public Transit?
By 3.18.11
Public transit smooshes together people from all walks of life. In this video, a person from the “don’t eat on the subway” class of society comes into contact with the “I’m hungry and I’m going to eat my noodles” class of society. The woman from the first group keeps asking the woman from the second group to stop eating, at one point saying that “animals eat on the subway like that,” and the woman from the second group and her friend take offense. Then the train lurches and punches start flying. The noodles appear to stay intact, thank heavens. [More]
BofA Comes To Trash Out House After It's Sold
By 3.18.11
Bank of America is apologizing after a frustrated realtor took her venting to YouTube in a dramatic recounting, reports the Charlotte Observer. The realtor was representing a seller who was selling house through short sale. The realtor found a buyer, the seller was happy, and supposedly, the bank was happy. A week later when the new homeowners were moving in, a “trash out” crew rolled up in a truck with tinted windows, sporting black tshirts with an image of a gun on the front and the word “agent” on their backs. They were there to throw everything in the house out and change the locks. [More]
