An Ohio barbeque restaurant owner was having trouble getting drive-by customers to stop, so he decided to prop a mannequin in a bikini top outside (warning: video). He says that over the past three weeks she’s been standing in front of his store, he’s had over 70 new customers come in and buy food—a 30% increase in business. So far, he says, no complaints; apparently his “mail girl” even donated a different top and some Daisy Dukes that he’s going to use on the dummy next week.
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Would Practical Wisdom Improve Customer Service?
By 4.28.09
Barry Schwartz spoke at TED this past February about “practical wisdom,” a classical term that Schwartz redefines in a modern context as knowing when and how to make exceptions to every rule, and when and how to improvise. His point, largely, is that a lot of modern life would run more efficiently, and more justly, if people would stop blindly following and enforcing rules when they become absurd.
Stephen Colbert Supports Payday Lending, So You Probably Should Too
By 4.17.09
Chicago Democrat Luis Gutierrez introduced a bill last month that supposedly reforms out of control payday lending, where interest rates can exceed 300%, but actually gives payday lenders the freedom to charge annual interest rates that can exceed, um, 300%. It doesn’t sound like much of a reform, and in fact Gutierrez has been heavily funded by the payday lending lobby. But luckily for you and me, Stephen Colbert explains why this is all a good thing.
Romance Novels Selling Like Hotcakes Because We're All Poor
By 4.15.09
Harlequin, the been-around-forever romance novel company, reported a 32% increase its 4th quarter from a year ago, says ABC News. In this video clip, they look at the company’s single minded focus on churning out 1200 new titles per year at $5 each, in pretty much every sub-genre you can invent. The best parts of the segment, however, are watching various celebrities—especially Martin Bashir, George Will, Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd—read samples. Their interpretations will make you feel “the purely caveman urge to pick her up and carry her to bed.”
Maybe Those Domino's Dorks Can Get Jobs In This McDonalds
By 4.15.09
Lots of readers have been sending us this clip today. It’s called “The Filthiest McDonalds in the World,” and yes, it pretty much is. On the plus side, you don’t have to send your kids to the ball pit—you can just place them on the floor and watch them sink out of sight.
Domino's Rogue Employees Do Disgusting Things To The Food, Put It On YouTube
By 4.13.09
Here are three clips of Kristy and Michael, a couple of not-that-bright idiots getting themselves fired, and quite possible sued, by doing unsanitary things to customers’ orders on camera while their manager sits in the back reading the newspaper. “Whiteair2” posted them to YouTube in the last day, and now everyone knows that Michael likes to put cheese and peppers up his nose. [More]
Smart Mop Holds Up To 20 Times The Crazy Of A ShamWow
By 4.6.09
The people behind the new Smart Mop infomercial have clearly studied the success of the ShamWow guy, and they’ve taken the infomercial genre to a new level of silliness. Their new ad is so ridiculous that it seems designed more for YouTube than primetime, but since it’s funny and entertaining (for an infomercial) we’ll take the bait and post it.
Videos: Getting Your Property Value Reassessed
By 3.12.09
Filing an appeal to get your property value reassessed so you can pay less property taxes appears daunting, but this video series from the California State Board Of Equalization is here to helps walk you through the process. It’s designed for California, but there’s things in here that you can learn from regardless of where you live.
Sham-Wow And Zorbeez Tested On Attack Of The Show
By 3.3.09
See, this is why you let experts like Consumer Reports or Captain Duvel Moneycat handle product testing. Kevin and Olivia from G4’s AOTS decide to have a Sham-Wow/Zorbeez faceoff to see which one works best. All we can say is maybe they shouldn’t have used so much fake vomit. Oh, and apparently both products smell bad when they’re wet.
By 2.26.09
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One final Tropicana thing: this video clip from 5 weeks ago shows Peter Arnell explaining the thought process behind the Tropicana redesign. It’s a peek behind the curtains at how much thought goes into packaging, and how it’s designed to communicate to you subconsciously. [AdAge] (Thanks to wanda!)
By 2.13.09
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Best Buy is streamlining its high end Magnolia Audio Video stores by closing down Magnolia HQ, disbanding all current Magnolia management positions, and closing 7 of the 13 stores. [TWICE] (Thanks to Klay and Eric!)
E*Trade Baby Buys Superbowl Ad
By 1.30.09
The E*Trade baby is back in this year’s Superbowl lineup. A series of ostensible outtakes are posted on YouTube. Highlight of the bunch: “I want to punch the economy in the face!” (baby cries).
Cheers To You! Motivational CD Offers Eight Creepy, Life-Affirming Tracks
By 1.22.09
If you’re down in the dumps and have nowhere else to turn, consider this collection of congratulatory remarks dubbed over applause. Only $24.95! But wait, if you order right now, you’ll also get some, uh, pewter puzzle pieces?
Sprint Clears Up 'Unlimited Messaging' Confusion
By 1.20.09
We got an email today from a Sprint representative addressing the confusion over just what “unlimited” means in their unlimited messaging package. If you recall, Erica says Sprint told her she would still be billed per message when sending pics or video, which runs contrary to the offer she signed up for. Now Sprint has officially responded that unlimited means no additional charges, and they’re investigating the matter. Below is their statement.
This Is Not A Good Method For Transporting Shopping Carts
By 11.20.08
If you were thinking of loading a semi with tons of shopping carts, make sure you view the following video before you attempt it — just in case you’ve missed a small detail.
Video: JiffyLube Caught Upselling Car-Damaging Repair Services
By 11.13.08
KNBC undercover cameras caught local JiffyLubes and EZ-Lubes upselling customers to buy engine-flushing and fuel-injection cleaning services, services which have been forbidden by auto-manufacturers because they’re unnecessary and can severely damage your engine. One guy’s engine died while he was driving on the highway, and it cost him $5,000 to replace his engine.
Video: What Are Margin Calls?
By 11.10.08
What are margin calls? The term has been bandied about lately as being one of the reasons for the steep declines in the market. Basically, it’s when depositor’s margin account at a brokerage falls below minimum levels and the brokerage tells the depositor to either deposit more money or they have to sell off some of their holdings. And a spate of selling drives down stock prices because as supply increases, prices drop. But why are there margin accounts and why are brokerages making margin calls in the first place? Marketplace’s ever-salubrious Paddy Hirsch explains with girl scouts, girl scout cookies, a whiteboard, dry-erase markers, and stick figures, in the video inside…
