McDonald’s has lost at least two customers in the San Francisco area. The fast food Goliath has threatened to sue a pair of hopeful restaurateurs if they go ahead with the plan to name their plan to name their small macaroni and cheese-themed restaurant “Little Mac.” [More]
san francisco
Apartment Scammer Wants To Give My $1500 Back – What's The Catch?
By 6.2.10
Pat tells Consumerist that her son fell for an apartment scam. Looking for a sublet in San Francisco from his home in Massachusetts, he settled on a place and met up with the landlord’s brother, who–what luck!–happened to live in the same area as Pat’s son! Of course, once he moved there, he discovered that his keys didn’t work, since someone else entirely lived in and owned the apartment. [More]
Earn $200/hr Teaching Angry Man To Use Apple Products
By 5.7.10
I guess Apple products aren’t idiot-proof after all. We have found your idiot nonpareil. There is a man in San Fran who needs help using Apple products. He is wiling to pay $200 an hour. This is his NSFW Craigsist ad/rant about how he is too busy to figure out how to get his credit card number from auto-populating when his kids buy stuff on iTunes, but has enough time for you to come over to his house and teach him how to use his devices. [More]
Demon Dogs Enjoy Coffee Mate, Owners Too
By 4.30.10
Someone San Franciscan decided to interpret this Coffee Mate ad’s suggestion of “add your style/flavor” as an invitation to do just that to the billboard itself. Unfortunately for the powdered liquid non-dairy creamer, this person’s personal style seems to be something involving the forces of Satan. Our headline is a little misleading, though. To be more accurate, the depiction is of a demonic pet “guardian.” [More]
Baseball Park Food Is So Overpriced, Do I Still Have To Tip?
By 4.25.10
Reader J was at the Giants game the other day and bought a seriously overpriced ballpark item from a vendor and was wondering if an additional tip was appropriate for a $6 hot chocolate. [More]
Faux-Hawked Wells Fargo Manager Allegedly Embezzled $900,000+ From Elderly
By 3.15.10
An ex-Wells Fargo bank manager is accused of embezzling more than $900,000 from customers, most of whom were frail and elderly. [More]
Zipcar Launches iPhone App With Magical Car Unlocking Powers
By 9.30.09
The San Fran/NY-servicing Zipcar car sharing service has finally launched their iPhone app. Besides the expected seamless reservation system, it has a pretty sweet extra feature: It turns your iPhone into a keyfob capable of locking and unlocking your car, and honking its horn. Not owning a car just got awesomer.
Pizzeria Employees Wear T-Shirts With Quotes From Nasty Yelp Reviews
By 3.4.09
Here’s a little bit of brilliance — a pizzeria in San Francisco has taken quotes from nasty 1 star reviews on Yelp! and make them into t-shirts for their employees to wear. We love this.
Chiropractor Sues Patient Over Negative Yelp Review
By 11.25.08
Chris Norberg left a negative review on Yelp after he got into a billing dispute with chiropractor Steven Biegel. Instead of quietly fuming like most people who get bad reviews on Yelp do, Biegel sued Norberg for defamation. Can you really sue someone for a negative online review?
How "Serial Evictees" Game A System Meant To Protect Renters From Abuse
By 8.14.08
There’s nothing we dislike more than people who scam a system put in place to protect vulnerable consumers from abuse, but the sad fact is that they do exist. SF Weekly has an article that tracks the exploits of a serial evictee, a “renter” who leases apartments with no intention of paying rent, and then games the system in order to stay rent free for as long as possible.
Despite What Their Website Says, Taking Pictures In San Francisco’s Museum Of Modern Art Is Cause For Ejection
By 8.10.08
Thomas Hawk was “forcibly thrown out” of San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art for taking photos in an area where photography is expressly allowed. Hawk had recently purchased a family membership to MOMA in no small part because of a policy change that permitted photography. When he arrived and started snapping away, he was approached by the director of visitor relations, Simon Blint…
Tony Roma Corporate Responds To Shrinking Beer Complaint
By 6.17.08
Tony Roma corporate sent Alex the following response to his complaint over being sold a 16 oz beer and getting a 14 oz beer instead:
University Of California Hospital Publicizes 6,000 Patient Records While Mining For Prospective Donors
By 5.4.08
The University of California’s non-profit medical center accidentally exposed 6,000 patient records as part of their continuing effort to hunt for prospective donors. The “large and very significant data breach” was caused by UCSF’s data miner, Target America, which received details on almost 40,000 patients.
The Worst Landlords In The World
By 4.28.08
Suffice to say, landlords aren’t allowed to do those sort of things just to get you to skedaddle. What’s the worst landlord you ever had and how did you deal with them?
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:
Arbitration Mill Sued By San Francisco
By 4.7.08
A San Francisco attorney has sued the National Arbitration Forum for being biased towards credit companies and ignoring consumer rights. [More]
San Francisco Orders Restaurants To Display Calorie Information, Industry Laughs
By 3.30.08
San Francisco passed a resolution last week requiring chain restaurants to display calorie information on their menus, but the industry couldn’t care less. They will continue fattening us up like gingerbread cash-cows, regardless of whatever regulations pitiful municipalities hurl their way.
