Two weeks before announcing the recall of nearly 1 million toys tainted with toxic lead paint, Mattel was featured in the New York Times as a role model, the “gold standard” for companies manufacturing goods in China. The Chinese Poison Train’s ability to sneak past Mattel’s fortified defenses highlights the tremendous difficulties faced by well-meaning American manufacturers trying to police their supply chains. Mattel spared no expense to ensure the safety of their products.
whoops
Disney Exits Winemaking Buisness Before Actually Entering It
By 8.1.07
Plans to market a French Chardonnay under the brand name “Ratatouille,” have been shelved due to a “trickle of inquiries and complaints,” according to Disney spokesperson, Gary Foster.
Safari for Windows Has Glitch That Could Let Attackers Take Complete Control Of The PC
By 6.13.07
According to an article in PC World, only hours after Apple debuted its Safari browser for Windows, 8 bugs were found, one of which is so severe that it could let an attacker “grab complete control of the PC.”
DirecTV Installer Jokes That He's "Being Held Hostage," Dispatch Sends SWAT Team
By 6.4.07
Julie Pyle’s DirecTV installation was taking so long she decided to bake cookies for the installers. Sadly for Julie, the installation would not end with snack time. Julie was led at gunpoint out of her Savage, Minnesota home, ordered to the ground and handcuffed. Why? Her DirecTV installer had joked to his dispatcher that they were being “held hostage until they were done.”
Airlines And Cable TV Score Lower Than The IRS In Customer Satisfaction
By 5.18.07
We’ve already written about this quarter’s ACSI, but when we saw this headline, we just couldn’t resist: Both the airline and the cable/satellite TV industries have actually managed to score lower than the IRS in customer satisfaction, according to USAToday.
Of the 19 industries the ACSI asked consumers about, only the cable and satellite TV industry, at 62, fared worse. In comparison, the IRS scored 65.
Trader Joe's Has The Authority To Install Traffic Arrows
By 5.7.07
Oh, wait. No, it doesn’t. A reader wrote in to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer because he was suspicious that a traffic arrow installed in the alley near his home wasn’t legit.
“Area residents, like myself, use the alley to rejoin the neighborhood arterials and frequently have difficulty going against the flow of the oncoming alley traffic,” Sarbach said. He said he’d “had several close calls as cars quickly turn into the alley off of Galer; my son and daughter have noticed a few impolite finger gestures from vehicles backing out of the alley onto Galer (Street) to clear (a) way for our vehicle.”
Consumer Reports: Um, About Those Car Seats…
By 1.19.07
- Consumer Reports received information from NHTSA raising questions about the test.
H&R Block Leaves Guy With $3100 Bill
By 12.7.06
guarantee”, so Travis will be responsible for the bill. Whoops. H&R Block’s included “Accurate Calculations Guarantee” covers “penalties and interest caused by such error.”
UPS Takes a Year to Deliver Package
By 5.31.06
Matt got a funny package the other day through UPS. Inside was a hydraulic gear puller set which he had no recollection of ordering. Checking its tracking history, he had in fact hadn’t:
