Reader Dave said he was shopping with his friend (male) at Walmart, searching for the coveted Nintendo Wii. He was happy to find that Walmart had 7 or 8 of the consoles in stock — enough for both he and his friend to purchase one. Walmart, however, had other ideas. Dave says that Walmart wouldn’t let he and his friend each purchase a Wii because they were “together.” First they’re rationing rice and now men are forced to share their video games? What’s going on in America, folks?
rude
Why Does It Take IKEA Four Months To Replace A Defective Couch Cover?
By 4.26.08
Joyce has been waiting since December for IKEA to send her a replacement couch cover. IKEA admitted that the cover had a known defect, but since they were out replacements at the time, they promised to call Joyce a month later when new covers arrived. Joyce gave her information and asked for a reference number, but was told that one wouldn’t be necessary. Wouldn’t that have been nice?
IHOP Threatens To Call The Police Because You Refuse To Show ID With Credit Card
By 4.23.08
I went to IHOP(INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES) on March 30th with my wife to eat. After our meal I went to the counter to pay and presented my Visa as payment. I was asked for photo ID, and kindly declined. I was then told that they were not going to be able to accept my card without photo ID.
Update: Macy's Apologizes For Confiscating Your Item Because Another Customer Wants It
By 4.23.08
Dyan says that Macy’s contacted her with the apology she was looking for.
Macy's Confiscates Your Item Because "Another Customer Wants It"
By 4.22.08
Reader Dyan isn’t sure if she’s right on this one and wants to know if we think Macy’s owes her an apology. She was shopping at Macy’s last Saturday when she noticed a cast-iron pot on sale for $19.99. The display item was the last one in stock, so she asked if she could have it. An employee said she could, but before she could pay for the item the store’s manager stopped her and took the pot away because “another customer want[ed] it.”
Comcast Skips 3 Appointments, Hangs Up On You 6 Times, Makes You Want To Cry
By 4.21.08
Reader Stephanie wants to cry because of Comcast:
I HATE dealing with tech support. This time, I bit the bullet because my internet connection wasn’t working.
Sears Confiscates Your Coat For Attempting To Return It And Buy It Back For Less
By 4.21.08
Reader Nick’s mother bought a coat that was on clearance at Sears. A week later she saw that the coat had been marked down even further, so she brought it back and asked if she could return it and then buy it again for the cheaper price.
Rude Service Costs Bank Of America Yet Another Customer
By 4.20.08
Jim over at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity closed his Bank of America account after a teller forced him to fill out a deposit slip. Jim doesn’t care for deposit slips, calling them “a wasted branch on a tree we’d otherwise like to keep around,” and likes tellers to double-check his math. Even though Jim yielded and started to fill out a slip, the teller tapped a reserve of rudeness that inspired him to close his account.
Comcast Apologizes For Tech's Van Blocking Driveway
By 4.17.08
Frank Eliason from Comcast Executive Customer Service provided the following statement regarding the San Fransican whose Comcast cable service mysteriously shut off 10 minutes after asking a tech to move his van from in front of his driveway:
Ask Comcast Tech To Move His Van, Mysteriously Lose Signal
By 4.15.08
Reader Daniel lives in San Francisco, where parking is notoriously impossible. He came home one morning to find a Comcast van blocking his drive way, and politely asked the driver to move. Ten minutes later he lost his internet and TV signal. Mysterious coincidence, or malevolent tech? Check out the details, inside.
Raleigh Restaurant Requires Credit Card For Reservation, Then Charges $20 Per Person Who Doesn't Show
By 4.14.08
It’s common for restaurants to not seat a party until everyone has arrived, but here’s something we’ve never seen before: requiring a credit card to make the reservation, then charging $20 per person who doesn’t show up—but still refusing to seat an incomplete party. When Matthew tried to get his party of ten seated without two of the people—basically saying he’d pay the $40 to get out of the bar and at a table—management refused. We think this restaurant doesn’t like its patrons very much.
Dear T-Mobile: Please Stop Sending 5 Text Messages At 5 AM Every Month To Say That My Billing Cycle Has Started
By 4.11.08
H&R Block Says It Does Not Refuse Tax Returns For Same-Sex Civil Unions
By 4.7.08
H&R Block recently got into trouble because when a Connecticut same-sex couple tried to file their taxes through H&R Block’s website, the system spat back, “”We don’t support Connecticut Civil Union returns.” One of our readers wrote H&R Block about our post and their VP of Marketing actually wrote back to him to describe what she felt was media sensationalization of the story. She says that the problem happens because the Federal government doesn’t recognize same-sex civil unions. The information for state tax returns gets inputted based on the federal, so in this specific case, it’s not “flowing” correctly. It sounds like they’re working on fixing that, though. Here’s her email in full:
DirecTV Contractor Demands Tip Before Starting Work, Storms Out When Faced With A Table
By 4.5.08
William writes to tell us about an asinine DirecTV contractor who demanded a tip before starting work. The contractor was dispatched by Halstead Communications, DirecTV’s unfortunate installer of choice in New York. After being denied an entrance tip, the contractor noticed an easily movable table blocking his way and declared to his partner, “I can’t work like this, let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Gateway Admits That Complaint "Escalation" Really Means "Go Away For 3-5 Days"
By 4.1.08
My fiancee sent her computer in to Gateway 3 weeks ago for warranty repair. After repeatedly being told the computer would be repaired we have now been told it is still in the repair depot waiting for a part. Here’s the transcript of a chat we had with agent “Patrick” this morning. When he said he would escalate the issue, and we should check back in 3-5 business days, I asked if the escalation had any effect other than to make us stop bothering them for 3-5 business days… his response? “No.” When I asked him to connect me to someone who could solve the issue today, he ended the chat session.
Blockbuster Cancels Your Account, Will Let You Have It Back If You Pay $18 More
By 3.27.08
Long time reader, first time tipper. I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about Blockbuster and their shady Total Access dealings, but I thought I’d send along my experience with them.
Orchard Bank CSRs Go Home For The Night And Let The Phones Ring
By 3.27.08
I used to work at HSBC’s call center in Tigard, Oregon.
H&R Block Doesn't "Support" Gay Civil Unions
By 3.27.08
After 23 months of same-sex, civil-union bliss, Jason Smith and Settimio Pisu had grown accustomed to some institutions being not quite ready for the concept of gay spouses.
