PG&E has decided to start billing Josh’s parents for electricity from the 1970’s, to the tune of nearly $1000 per month.
readers
Consumerist: Better Than Your Dad (At Fighting Bank Of America)
By 10.8.09
Sometimes, your dad’s advice doesn’t apply anymore. Companies have realized that giving a damn is too expensive. That’s when it’s time to kick ass, Consumerist style. Craig writes:
Newegg Files For $175 Mil IPO – Going All Hollywood On Us Now?
By 9.28.09
Popular electronics retailer Newegg filed for a $175 mil initial public offering today, becoming the 3rd internet darling in recent memory, after Zappos and Mint, to seek a cashout. Let’s hope Newegg doesn’t switch their business model from being entirely beholden to customers to being entirely beholden to shareholders. Otherwise, the customers’ battle cry of “It’s Newegg or nothing!” will be getting a tryout. [Reuters] (Thanks to GitEmSteveDave!) (Photo: Matt & The Camera)
Food Makers Not Passing On Savings From Falling Commodities Prices
By 9.23.09
The prices of commodities has dropped from their peaks of last year, yet food makers are not reducing consumer prices, reports Marketplace. Now this is rather funny, and familiar.
Pizza Hut: 20% Off When You Order Via iPhone App
By 9.23.09
Pizza Hut is giving a 20% discount on all orders placed via its new iPhone app. We found a user review on YouTube, and he likes it. Beyond the usual app gimmickry, pinching a pizza to make it smaller or larger and shaking the phone to make wings spicey, it also has the excellent function of storing all your coupons for easy use.
Discover Vastly Improves T&C But Reduces Open Road Rebates
By 9.21.09
Discover Card customers received a notice in the mail recently that the card was reducing the “Open Road” rebate on auto maintenance and gas dropped from 5% to 2%. Around the same time, customers have also received notice that the terms and conditions for the card are basically coming in line with the CARD act ahead of schedule. Hmmm, coinkydink?
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:
Geek Squad Now Offering CD-Ripping "Service"
By 9.17.09
Sticking to its proud tradition of charging for services that take a couple button clicks to accomplish, i.e. HDTV and video game console “optimization,” Best Buy is now offering to rip music off your CDs and transfer it to an MP3 player or DVD.
Cruzin' Cooler Is A Drink Cooler That You Can Ride
By 9.15.09
The apex of human achievement has been reached, and it is called The Cruzin’ Cooler—a motorized cooler that you can ride.
Schwab Bank Gives Man Excellent Customer Service
By 8.31.09
Josh would like everyone to know that Amber Beyer, Schwab Bank customer service rep, is awesome. Recently he called the bank to tell them about his travel plans. He was so impressed with her knowledegeable and kind service that he was compelled to send a laudatory email to her supervisor, and cc Consumerist. Thus, we enter this chronicle into the halls of legend, the pantheon of excellent customer service known as “Above and Beyond.” Here lies the tale:
WSJ Discovers EECB, It Works On Insurance
By 8.27.09
The venerable Wall Street Journal recently discovered the classic “EECB” technique we’ve been telling you about for years. This time, it’s health insurance companies, an industry so predicated on denial-of-care-for-profit that a few years ago a class action lawsuit based on RICO statute, invented to prosecute Mafia families for racketeering, was able to make significant headway. Lucky for you, email is much faster than the wheels of justice…
