Retailers Resort To Offering Refunds To Customers For Positive Reviews Online
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 27, 2012 5:00 PM
10 Comments
What's a retailer to do when they're not getting enough online love? Just offer customers a kickback in the form of a refund for a positive review. Some businesses have been pumping themselves up in this dastardly way, which could mean all those glowing reviews of the latest blanket-and-sweatsuit-all-in-onesie might not be the real deal. More »
TSA Can't Tell The Difference Between A Gun & An Insulin Pump
By Chris Morran on January 27, 2012 4:15 PM
24 Comments
Travelers at Los Angeles International Airport this morning were held back from boarding this morning after the brain trust at the TSA security checkpoint not only managed to mistake a passenger's insulin pump for a gun, but also waited until after she'd passed through the checkpoint to think it might be a good idea to check out the mysterious item. More »
I Stuck With Netflix Through Thick And Thin And All I Got Was This Broken Game Disc
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 27, 2012 4:00 PM
53 Comments
It was Wayne's fault for accidentally sending Netflix his WWE'12 instead of returning The Magnificent Seven, that much he knows. But he had some hope things would be resolved pleasantly when he called the same day he sent it out, and was assured they'd return it to him. More »
Is $200 An Appropriate Penalty For Stealing A $.79 Donut?
By Chris Morran on January 27, 2012 3:15 PM
118 Comments
A Wyoming college student probably never thought he'd be making headlines around the country when he got caught eating a donut he hadn't paid for. More »
(Enokson)
When The Lights Go Out, You Might Be Stuck Without A Landline
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 27, 2012 3:00 PM
61 Comments
Now that telephone and cable companies have increasingly moved away from using the old tried and true copper lines to provide landline service, you might find yourself without a phone in a power outage. Our seriously smart siblings at Consumer Reports looked into the drawbacks of landline fiber optic and VoIP telephone systems. More »
(8one6)
American Workers Growing More Flexible About Temp Work, Changing Careers
By Chris Morran on January 27, 2012 2:45 PM
42 Comments
With about a half-decade of a blah economy and weak employment, Americans are growing more amenable to taking temporary employment, changing their viewpoint from the glass-half-empty opinion of "it's a job without permanence" to "it's a job that may lead to something permanent one day." More »
Study: Sugar & HFCS Not As Identical As Some Would Have You Believe
By Chris Morran on January 27, 2012 2:15 PM
49 Comments
While the corn industry waits on the FDA to decide whether or not it can have high fructose corn sugar (HFCS) relabeled with the marketing-friendly "corn sugar" label, it continues to push home its assertion that the human body reacts the same, whether the sweetener is HFCS or table sugar. But a new study claims that just isn't the case. More »
(WDAF-TV)
How About Some Cocaine To Go Along With That Terrorism Textbook You Ordered On Amazon?
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 27, 2012 2:00 PM
42 Comments
A college student was a bit surprised when she opened a used textbook on terrorism that she'd ordered from Amazon, and a package of cocaine fell out. Perhaps whoever sent it thought she might need an extra kick for those hours of studying. More »
(Scoboco)
21 CEOs Who Floated Away On Golden Parachutes Worth More Than $100 Million
By Chris Morran on January 27, 2012 1:30 PM
53 Comments
Being the CEO of a multibillion-dollar global corporation is tough work. Or at least it had better be, considering the amount of money some of these folks were paid just to quit. More »
Customers Pitch In To Save Business Almost Ruined By Ill-Advised Groupon Deal
By Chris Morran on January 27, 2012 1:15 PM
55 Comments
Since Groupon launched, we've written a handful of stories about businesses — like the bakery that claimed $19,500 in losses and the cafe owner who called it the "single worst decision" she'd ever made — that said they took on huge amounts of red ink when they were overwhelmed by bargain-hunting shoppers who only wanted the discount. Well, here's a story that's slightly different, in that the shop's regular customers have come to the rescue to save the sinking business. More »
(afagen)
FTC Commissioner Puts Verbal Smackdown On Facebook & Google Over Privacy
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 27, 2012 1:00 PM
8 Comments
Aww, snap! Federal Trade Commissioner Julie Brill doesn't care that her speech opening a forum on Data Privacy Day was being streamed on Facebook and likely Googled by many — she still put the verbal smackdown on those two companies for their problems protecting user privacy. More »
(bnilsen)
Top Posts Of The Week And Open Thread
By Laura Northrup on January 27, 2012 12:30 PM
136 Comments
- Game Company Apologizes For Failure To Upgrade Purchases Without Being Publicly Shamed First
- Online Vendors, Meet The 1099-K
- Has Olive Garden Lost Its Way In A Forest Of Breadsticks & Cheap Gimmicks?
- Government Prevents 101-Year-Old Evictee From Moving Back Home
- Target Asks Vendors To Help Combat Store-As-Showroom Problem
(Scoboco)
Curb Impulse Spending By Carrying Larger Bills
By Phil Villarreal on January 27, 2012 12:15 PM
40 Comments
If you've got a bunch of singles in your wallet, you probably don't think much of burning a few of them on a trinket or snack that catches your eye. If you've got larger bills, such as $20s or $50s, you're probably less likely to go through the hassle of breaking them just to indulge your whims. More »
Physics Professor Uses Super Math Skills To Investigate Classic Question Of Generic vs. Brand Name Battery
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 27, 2012 12:00 PM
56 Comments
It's a good thing there are physics professors around to do all the complicated math when we need questions answered, otherwise how would we know if it's worth it to buy name brand batteries? We would never know, is the answer. More »
(lymang)
Time Warner Cable Is Really Anxious To See You Go
By Laura Northrup on January 27, 2012 11:34 AM
23 Comments
Jack has been a customer of Time Warner Cable for a long time, what with the virtual monopoly in his town and all. He never really had any complaints until he was getting ready for his upcoming move. He dutifully called in a week and a half before the move, so his TV/Internet/phone package would be turned off at his current home, and installation set up at the new place. So, naturally, they turned off all three services at his current place the very next day. He complained, and they turned them back on. Then a Time Warner rep called up to "fix" the problem, flipping a switch to turn off all of the services. Again. More »
How To Decide Whether To Sock Funds Away Or Pay Off Debt
By Phil Villarreal on January 27, 2012 11:15 AM
43 Comments
When you get a hold of a large chunk of cash — say, from a bonus, tax refund or item sale — those with the self-control not to blow the funds have to decide whether to save it or pay off debt. While there are other options available, such as investing or donating the money, saving vs. debt reduction is one of the tougher quandaries to decipher. More »
Twitter's Decision To Block Content In Specific Countries Sparks Protests From Users
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 27, 2012 11:00 AM
6 Comments
Twitter announced yesterday that they'll be enforcing a new policy that will allow for reactive blocking of content on a country-by-country basis, and already today some users are vowing to stop using the social media site on Saturday in protest. More »
My New Kindle Went Astray...Pre-Loaded With My Credit Card Info
By Laura Northrup on January 27, 2012 10:30 AM
63 Comments
The cloud of invisible information that surrounds is is a wonderful thing, but there are dangers as well. Brandon ordered a Kindle as a gift for his girlfriend, and upgraded to one-day shipping, but the package went astray. Amazon overnighted a new Kindle and things were glorious...until Brandon started receiving purchase confirmations of Kindle apps and content using his credit card and e-mail address. His girlfriend wasn't making the purchases. So who was? More »
