Walking into the rarefied air of a fancy boutique might take your breath away if you’re not used to staring at price tags with more zeroes tacked on than you’ve ever held in your hands, but add in a hoity toity salesperson and and you’ve got shopping magic, says a new study looking at snobby sales staff. [More]
rudeness
Rude Amazon Vendor Calls Me ‘Stupid,’ Only Wants Good Feedback
By 6.14.13 — Updated: 6.25.13
Robert found a great deal on swimsuits on Amazon, so he ordered a half dozen. What he didn’t notice during the ordering process was that the vendor is in China, and his purchase wouldn’t show up for six weeks. Sigh. Oh, well. He could deal with that, but didn’t like the seller hounding him for good feedback before he even received the items, then when he was unhappy with them. [More]
Sears Demands Verification Of Order, Yells At You
By 12.11.12
Theresa is a regular Consumerist reader, and was aware of the complaints our readers frequently share about the retailer. Still, complaints like that are outliers, right? Satisfied customers don’t write to Consumerist. Neither do people who have extremely minor, easily resolved problems. (Usually.) She didn’t think that ordering luggage sets for her nieces would lead to any kind of problems, until her run-in with the very, very stressed out verification department. [More]
Deli Imposes $3 ‘Yapping On Phone While Ordering’ Surcharge
By 6.28.12 — Updated: 5.15.13
We don’t have a “Consumerist Hero Citation,” but if we did, it would go to the person at this Vermont deli who had the idea to impose a $3 fine for yapping on one’s cell phone while trying to order at the counter. “$3 will be added to your total if you fail to GET OFF YOUR PHONE while at the counter. IT’S RUDE,” the sign reads. [More]
Bank Of America Threatens $75 Fee For 4-Day-Late Credit Card Payment
By 9.23.10
It’s one thing for a bank to nag customers who are late with credit card payments, but quite another to be rude about it and insist they’ll have to cough up $75 late fees in addition to interest. [More]
Is Rudeness Inevitable In A Service Economy?
By 8.16.10
The funny thing about a service economy, writes Peggy Noonan at the Wall Street Journal, is that it’s created a world where people who interact with the public are deliberately trained to be rude and compassionless. She thinks it’s partly because we threw out manners right as we reached a cultural moment where we interact with strangers more than ever. But that’s only part of it–she also notes that clerks are trained to get in your face and aggressively push for higher sales, and that the dreaded “Dead Face”–that stony look that’s used to shut down any communication at all–is probably taught by consultants as an efficient way to handle people. [More]
HP Laughed Off My Friend's Laptop Warranty Repair Request
By 5.17.10
Andrew’s friend has an HP laptop that suddenly couldn’t detect wireless networks. Although the original warranty period had passed, the internet-less customer discovered HP had discovered problems like this were rampant enough that the company decided to extend the warranty. But when the friend called and tried to set up a repair ticket, the rep laughed at him and told him it would cost $249. [More]
Hilton Hotel Tells You To "Just Wait It Out" While Other Guests Prank Call Your Room
By 4.27.10
Staying at the Hilton for his first-year wedding anniversary, Brian and his wife had to suffer through two different groups of fellow guests prank-calling his room, excessive noise, and a non-working air-conditioner. They did give him one free night for his troubles, but that didn’t make his experience any less unpleasant. Here’s the letter he just shot off to the CEO of Hilton Hotels and other top-ranking executives to express his dissatisfaction. It got him his entire stay refunded, a voucher for two-nights stay at any Hilton, and, holiest of holies, an apology from the manager. [More]
Adventures In Buying A TV From The Rudest Best Buy Staff Around
By 4.27.10
Reader Brian is an ex-Best Buy customer. All he wanted was to buy a TV, but he couldn’t even get the staff to get the one he wanted to buy from the back until his girlfriend actually called the store… from inside the store. [More]
There Is A Remarkably Surly Employee At Taco John's
By 1.11.10
Reader Jordan wants us to know that there is a surly individual at his local Taco John’s. He’s complained to the company, but the surliness continues. [More]
Help Your Friends Avoid Online Scams While Insulting Them
By 12.7.09
Lifehacker has put together a nice guide to avoiding on-line scams that you could share with those people you felt were likely to fall for them — if Lifehacker didn’t make it so obviously insulting by titling it “The Complete Guide to Avoiding Online Scams (for Your Less Savvy Friends and Relatives).” [More]
A Visual Primer On Airplane Etiquette
By 9.24.09
Here are 14 photo illustrations from Australia of jerk-like behavior on airplanes, for those of you who aren’t creeped out by the weird “lets use clones” art direction of the piece. The weirdest tip is that it’s apparently okay to kick your fellow passenger in the crotch if you’re certain you can do it without waking him up, but hey, that’s Australia for you.
When Someone Is Being Rude On An Airplane, Why Don't You Say Something?
By 9.23.09
The NYT has a “Frequent Flier” column from personal finance adviser to the chronically irresponsible, Larry Winget. In it he describes being the sole person on the plane to say what everyone is thinking.
Lowe's Ignores Your Mom Until She Gives Up
By 4.13.09
Here’s a story that made us sad. Reader Mary’s mom went to Lowe’s to buy a mailbox, and was ignored until she finally got so frustrated that she gave up and just left, in tears. Don’t cry, Mary’s mom. We will not ignore you.
Pennsylvania Training Its State Liquor Store Employees To Be Nicer
By 3.10.09
If you buy your devil juice from Pennsylvania, you might notice a difference in the way you’re treated starting later this month. Pennsylvania is spending $173,000 to train employees of its state-owned liquor and wine stores to be more polite, reports PhillyBurbs.com: “The board wants to make sure clerks are saying ‘hello,’ ‘thank you’ and ‘come again’ to customers coming in for wine and liquor.”
By 1.23.09
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Remember the father and son team who cut in line at Walmart, then threatened an off-duty police officer with bodily harm, then were arrested? They’ve been charged with battery, and the off-duty cop has been cleared. A police investigator said, “The [Walmart] video supports [Officer] Kirby’s version of what happened.” [Indy Star] (Thanks to David!)
Father & Son Cut In Line At Walmart, Go To Jail
By 1.13.09
When 26-year-old Edward Pluhar Jr. decided to walk past the people waiting in line at Walmart’s customer service desk over the weekend, he probably didn’t expect one of the men he dissed to confront him over it. What he and his father really didn’t expect, however, was for the guy to be an off-duty police officer who doesn’t appreciate being threatened.
A Plea For Treating Employees And Fellow Shoppers With Politeness And Compassion
By 12.27.08
As you scramble to redeem gift cards and return unwanted items, we remind you that honey attracts more flies than vinegar, tart words make no friends, and please stop dropping F bombs in crowded stores.
