Author: Laura Northrup

What items do you keep around your house, but don’t use very often? A shovel? A laundry drying rack? A food processor? What if you could rent these items out to people in your area, and in turn rent seldom-used items from them for a few dollars? Rentalic.com is trying to make these exchanges happen nationwide.

The site even has a cute origin story, which the Boston Globe shared with the world:

In June 2008, when Punsri Abeywickrema was working on his backyard in San Mateo, Calif., he found himself in need of a wheelbarrow. He didn’t own one, but his neighbor did, and he had borrowed it the previous weekend; due to space constraints, he preferred not to buy one himself. Yet he hesitated to impose on the neighbor again.

He ended up renting a wheelbarrow from a store. But then he wondered, what if he had instead offered to pay his neighbor a small fee to borrow the wheelbarrow? Abeywickrema would have fulfilled his need without acquiring a cumbersome object or feeling like a freeloader. The neighbor, meanwhile, could have reaped a modest windfall. This thought led to an inspiration – wouldn’t it be great if a whole network of residents in his area could conduct similar transactions, with locals they didn’t even know yet?
Americans may just be starting to realize that owning tons of possessions is not always a good thing, and sometimes it’s simpler and easier to rent things than to own them.

Each transaction costs 99 cents, paid by the borrower. There’s not much on the site yet, but the idea is promising. Americans are starting to see the appeal of renting things instead of buying them. Why, look at Zipcar, Bag Borrow or Steal, and Rent The Runway.

What do you prefer to rent, rather than purchase? Is there anything in your life that you would rent if you could?

Rentalic [Official Site] (Thanks, David!)
The leased life [Boston Globe]

Erin has a Valentine’s Day warning for Consumerist readers. Not only is FTD part of the nefarious WebLoyalty cabal, but she tells Consumerist that they’re also happy to take customers’ money and conveniently forget to dispatch a florist with actual flowers.

Just a warning to your readers about the abysmal service I received from FTD.com. On December 22, 2009 I ordered flowers to be delivered to my Grandma on January 2, 2010 for her birthday. Her actual birthday is January 3rd, but since that day is a Sunday I was unable to get delivery on that day. FTD.com charged my credit card $46.99 for the flowers on the day that I placed my order and sent me an email confirmation.

I called my Grandma this afternoon to wish her a Happy Birthday and she had not received the flowers. I called FTD.com customer service and was told that there are no FTD florists in the area (even though I clearly entered the correct deliver address and zip code), and that my order should never have been accepted! My order was going to the 64836 zip code. Their website still shows that they deliver flowers to this zip code, and a Google Map search confirms that there are numerous FTD florists in the area. Although they apologized, I am extremely upset that my Grandma spent even one minute on her 81st birthday wondering if I had forgotten about her.

I have learned my lesson and will call the florist directly next time. However, I think many people would assume that FTD is a trusted name in the florist business. If any of your readers are planning on sending flowers on Valentine’s Day, or any other occasion, I urge them to not use FTD.com.

RELATED:
FTD Never Mentioned That They Failed To Deliver The Flowers You Ordered In December
FTD.com Delivers The Bill, Forgets The Flowers
88 Big Sites Earning Millions From Webloyalty Scam

Braxton came across a great deal while shopping for a new freezer. However, being a good Consumerist, he writes that he went home and researched the product before handing over any money. What he learned was that the freezer had no warranty…a fact that Home Depot conveniently forgot to disclose.

I recently went into my local Home Depot and found a freezer I really like.
I had been looking casually for a while, but this popped up practically
overnight and I thought “SCORE!” I talked to the sales guy and he said they
had several in the back and that they had just got them in. They were on
sale at an “introductory” price.

All sounds good. I figure though, that I
should do my homework before committing any funds. What did I find? The
company that made the freezer went bankrupt back in Sept and declared on
Sept 12th that all warranties were null and void. Home Depot has disclosed
none of this and is obviously trying to sell the last of their stock. They
are basically selling these “as-is”.

My questions is, is there any law against this or perhaps one requiring Home Depot to disclose this (if nothing else) as an “as-is” item with no warranty?

Yes. Implied warranty laws differ by state, but they ensure that when consumers buy things, they will work. You can generally expect to bring a freezer home, plug it in, and it will get cold inside. As the FTC explains:

The implied warranty of merchantability is a merchant’s basic promise that the goods sold will do what they are supposed to do and that there is nothing significantly wrong with them.

Saying that a product is sold as-is gets the retailer and manufacturer around that. But that’s the problem. They have to tell you. It would be interesting to know whether Home Depot disclosed the situation to customers as they were about to purchase the freezers–if not, the store could be in some serious trouble.

A Businessperson’s Guide to Federal Warranty Law [FTC]

Noah found a bottle of contact lens solution that proclaimed on its package that it’s small enough to comply with the TSA’s liquid rules. This would be great if the bottle were small enough to comply with the TSA’s liquid rules.

He writes:

I’m a lifelong user of Opti-Free contact solution, mostly because it was what my optometrist gave me to use all those years ago, and I was thrilled to see they had a travel size that was TSA compliant. That was until I saw it was a 4oz container which is of course not TSA compliant.

Yes, the maximum size allowed on airplanes is 100 mL, or 3.4 ounces. Nice try, Opti-Free. Update: Yes, as some commenters have noted, you can bring more contact lens solution on a plane if it’s declared as a medical product and chemically tested. That’s why this product is misleading–a contact lens wearer shopping for a travel-size bottle would be misled into buying it in order to save him- or herself the hassle of declaring the liquid.

Make Your Trip Better Using 3-1-1 [TSA]

Global fast fashion retailer H&M and European chains C&A and Tchibo have been caught selling misleading “organic cotton” products to consumers. Independent testing done by Germany’s Financial Times showed that 30% of the samples contained genetically modified strains of cotton. Oops.

Lothar Kruse, a director of the independent testing laboratory Impetus in Bremerhaven, who examined the cotton fabrics claimed around “30% of the tested samples” contained genetically modified (GM) cotton. The head of the Indian agricultural authority, Apeda, Sanjay Dave, told the newspaper they were dealing with fraud on “a gigantic scale.”

The GM cotton found in the brand’s collections has been traced back to India which now supplies nearly half of the global supply of organic cotton. According to Organic Exchange figures – to be released shortly – India produced 61% of the total amount of organic cotton produced in 2008/09 with some 107,000 tonnes of fibre out of the total 175,113 tonnes grown worldwide.

In order to be considered organic, according to EU regulations and the standards of the Organic Trade Association, genetically modified organisms can’t be part of a product calling itself “organic.” Europe allows a small amount of GMO organisms (.9%) to allow for seed spillage and other accidental cross-contamination. US standards do not.

Considering the amount of cotton (and purportedly organic cottons) imported from India, it will be interesting to determine the source of and fallout from the fraud.

Organic cotton ‘fraud’ uncovered [Ecotextile News] (via Fast Company – Thanks, Brandy!)

David noticed something strange about the purportedly new, sealed DVD that he bought at closeout chain Marshalls. He writes that when he unsealed and opened the case, the DVD inside formerly belonged to…Redbox?!

I recently purchased a new, sealed DVD from a Marshall department store. I get home and open it up and I am surprised to find the looks of an ex-Redbox rental, complete with barcode/stickers that encircle the center of the DVD for the Redbox scanners. It is also used as you can see from the picture. The black circle around the center has faded some and smudged. Is it normal practice for Redbox to sell their old DVDs to companies who pass them off as new ones?

Could this be some kind of fluke? Has anyone else run into a similar situation, with a secondhand DVD ending up in a sealed case this way?

Sam’s Club, owned by Walmart, is cutting about 11,200 jobs nationwide in its stores. That’s about ten percent of the chain’s workforce. The part-time employees who currently hand out product samples and perform demonstrations will be replaced with ringers from the outside company that performs the same service in Walmart stores.

Here’s the company line:

“In the club channel, demo sampling events are a very important part of the experience,” said Sam’s Club CEO Brian Cornell in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “Shopper Events specializes in this area and they can take our sampling program to the next level.”

Shopper Events, based in Rogers, Ark., currently works with Wal-Mart’s namesake stores on in-store demonstrations. Sam’s Club is looking to the company to improve sampling in areas such as electronics, personal wellness products and food items to entice shoppers to spend more.

When I was growing up, my family would wander around Sam’s Club on a Sunday afternoon and basically eat our entire lunch from the samples. We can’t be the only ones.

Our tipster, a Sam’s Club employee, added some information about how the layoffs went down and the likelihood of the now-former employees going to work for the new regime.

[T]hese people were given practically no notice that they were losing their jobs. All associates were threatened with a reprimand if they “gossiped” about it before it was made official. Most of these people are elderly and/or disabled, and the chances of them being hired somewhere else in this economy, even by the “Tastes & Tips” team, are ghastly. One of our people was over 80 years old! I am planning on leaving the company within the next few months because the lack of concern for employees is disgusting. I hope the public crucifies Walmart Stores, Inc. for doing this.

If the company can do better demonstrations, is hiring back the old guard what they really want to do? If they contract to do the same work, but cheaper, these employees will be performing the same work for less pay for a new employer.

Wal-Mart cutting 11,200 jobs at Sam’s Club [MSNBC]

Chase’s statement cycle trap isn’t just set for credit card customers. Mortgage and loan customers can be charged a fee for paying too early, too. Serves you right for trying to be proactive and plan ahead! Dana says that Chase punished her for setting up her automatic monthly payment to send on the 30th of the month instead of the 1st, and charged her $52.96 for two months’ transgressions.

Yes, unbelievable as it may seem, Chase mortgages come with an EARLY PAYMENT penalty.

I was a WaMu customer whose mortgage was taken over by Chase. I already hated WaMu for their sneaky fee-incurring policies*, but Chase is even worse.

I opened the statement this month to find a $52.96 “late charge” (for last month and the month before).

When I called to find out why I was being charged a late fee for an account that is never late (it’s electronic), I was told it’s because I pay too early, and I need to send in my payment after the 1st of the month instead of on the 30th of the previous month (I pay on the 30th because I don’t trust Chase and I want time for the payment to clear). There is nothing on my statement about this – only a warning about paying after the 15th of the month.

The customer service rep seemed genuinely embarrassed to have to inform me of such a stupid policy. But she did remove the “late fee.”

* I’ve learned to open statements every couple of months because WaMu once changed their “send payment to” address, refused a payment from my bank, and then tried to charge me a fee for being “late.” It took three months and a letter from my bank to straighten this out.

This is a stupid policy. Learn from Dana’s mistakes and check your bank’s policies if you want to pay early.

RELATED:
You Paid Your Bill 3 Hours Early? Then It’s 30 Days Late
Chase Sets Early Payment Trap, Customer Falls Into It

At a time when everyone is fretting about their “carbon footprint,” it’s nice to see that Coca-Cola has decided to to reduce the amount of petroleum used to make their bottles by using some plant-based plastic. But not just any plant: the bottles will be made from mono-ethylene glycol derived from sugar cane.

The change doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to toss Coke bottles on your compost pile. It means that the process of making the bottles will (in theory) use fewer nonrenewable resources, and in turn the bottles will have a shorter shelf life and may not hold carbonation as well as bottles made from dead dinosaurs.

Traditional plastic bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate, commonly known as PET, which is derived from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource. In 2006, production of plastic bottles for U.S. beverage consumption required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil, according to the Pacific Institute, a California-based environmental think tank.

The new plant-based bottle developed by Coke is composed of 70% petroleum-based and 30% sugar-cane-based materials. The cane is crushed and mashed to produce juice, which is then fermented and distilled, producing ethanol. That ethanol is then converted through a series of chemical processes such as oxidation to a mono-ethylene glycol—a component normally derived from petroleum for use in plastic bottles. The MEG is then mixed with terephthalic acid to create PET plastic.

You know what else sugar cane is really good for? Making soda. Look into it, Coke.

Coke’s New Bottle Is Part Plant [Wall Street Journal] (Thanks, GitEmSteveDave!)

Collectibles are a strange thing. People buy them for aesthetic or sentimental reasons, or as an investment. The latter reason is kind of stupid, since if everyone holds on to and cherishes a mass-produced item, it never becomes rare enough for supply to go down and demand to go up. (See: Beanie Babies.) It took much, much longer for the market to crash, but that’s what’s happening now as Hummel figurines no longer suit modern tastes and their aficionados in the Greatest Generation die off.

My family inherited a Hummel recently when an elderly relative passed away. We expected it to be worth…well, a lot more than it is, so it’s a good thing that it’s a priceless reminder of a beloved relative instead of an opportunity to cash in. Other people looking to divest themselves of Hummel figurine collections have made the same discovery.

Prices, [antiques expert Terry] Kovel says, have “gone to hell.” “If we have a Hummel whose book value is $325, they are now bringing about $50, sometimes less,” wrote estate liquidator Julie Hall, the author of The Boomer Burden: Dealing with Your Parents’ Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff, in an email. On eBay, ultra-rare Hummels still occasionally fetch big bucks — ‘Adventure Bound’ recently sold for $1,135 on eBay. But that’s the exception. Many other Hummels don’t sell at all — or sell for less than $50, a once unheard of price for Hummels.

Good thing I’ve invested my whole retirement account in limited-edition Snuggies, then.

Kitsch and capitalism: The rise and fall of Hummel figurines [WalletPop]

Last week, 1.2 million pounds of various cured meats made by Rhode Island’s Daniele International but sold under different names were recalled due to possible salmonella poisoning. Labels the affected meats were sold under include Daniele, Dietz & Watson, Black Bear of the Black Forest, and Boar’s Head.

Check out the following list, or look at the affected product labels (PDF one, PDF two) to see if any of the products look familiar.

• 10-ounce packages of “DANIELE NATURALE SALAME COATED WITH COARSE BLACK PEPPER.”
• Catch weight packages of “DANIELE PEPPER SALAME.”
• 9-ounce packages of “BLACK BEAR OF THE BLACK FOREST BABY GENOA PEPPER SALAME.”
• 20-ounce packages of “DANIELE DELI SELECTION, GENOA SALAME, SMOKED SALAME, PEPPERED SALAME, RUSTIC SALAME.”
• 340- and 454-gram packages of “DANIELE SURTIDO FINO ITALIANO, SALAMI GENOA CON PIMIENTA, LOMO CAPOCOLLO, SALAMI CALABRESE.”
• 16-ounce packages of “DANIELE ITALIAN BRAND GOURMET PACK, HOT CALABRESE, PEPPER SALAME, HOT CAPOCOLLO.”
• 8-ounce packages of “DIETZ & WATSON ARTISAN COLLECTION PARTY PLATTER PACK, HOT CALABRESE, PEPPER SALAME, HOT CAPOCOLLO.”
• 8-ounce packages of “DANIELE ITALIAN BRAND GOURMET PACK, HOT CALABRESE, PEPPER SALAME, HOT CAPOCOLLO.”
• 16-ounce packages of “DANIELE GOURMET COMBO PACK, PEPPER SALAME, CAPOCOLLO, CALABRESE.”
• 500-gram packages of “DANIELE ITALIAN BRAND GOURMET PACK EMBALLAGE ASSORTI GOURMET ITALIEN, HOT CALABRESE, PEPPER SALAME, CALABRESE PIQUANT, SALAMI AU POIVRE, HOT CAPOCOLLO, CAPOCOLLO PIQUANT.”
• 8-ounce packages of “BOAR’S HEAD BRAND ALL NATURAL SALAME COATED WITH COARSE BLACK PEPPER.”
• Catch weight packages of “DIETZ & WATSON ARTISAN COLLECTION, BABY GENOA PEPPER SALAME, MADE WITH 100% PORK COATED WITH BLACK PEPPER AND PORK FAT.”
• 20-ounce variety packages of “DANIELE DELI SELECTION, GENOA SALAME, SWEET SOPRESSATA, PEPPERED GENOA, MILANO SALAME.”
• 21-ounce variety packages of “DANIELE GOURMET ITALIAN DELI SELECTION, SWEET SOPRESSATA SALAMI, PEPPERED GENOA SALAMI, HOT SOPRESSATA SALAMI, MILANO SALAMI, SALAMI SOPRESSATA DOUX, SALAMI GENOA POIVRÉ, SALAMI SOPRESSATA PIQUANT, SALAMI MILANO.”
• 7-ounce packages of “DANIELE SALAME BITES PEPPER SALAME.”
• 14-ounce packages of “DANIELE GOURMET ITALIAN DELI SELECTION ASSORTMENT DE FINES CHARCUTERIE ITALIENNE, SWEET SOPRESSATA SALAMI, MILANO SALAMI, SALAMI SOPRESSATA DOUX, SALAMI MILANO.”
• Catch weight packages of “DANIELE NATURALE SALAME COATED WITH COARSE BLACK PEPPER.”
• 32-ounce variety packages of “DANIELE DELI SELECTION, GENOA SALAME, SWEET SOPRESSATA, PEPPERED GENOA, MILANO SALAME.”

Rhode Island Firm Recalls Italian Sausage Products Due to Possible Salmonella Contamination [USDA]

PREVIOUSLY: 1.2 Million Pounds Of Cured Meat Recalled For Salmonella

Sure, we focus on stories of bad customer service here, but Gizmodo turned the shiny white counter around and solicited stories from anonymous Apple Geniuses about the worst customers they’ve ever encountered.

It’s really hard to pick a favorite, but here’s a customer who misunderstood the concept of “Genius Bar,” and perhaps thought that everyone working there is like Micah on “Heroes,” able to diagnose and fix computers with their minds.

Genius Bar appointments are a sad fact of life if you need to get anything made by Apple fixed. But you know, some people don’t have time for that crap. They’re too important. When a guy, we’ll call him Chuck, found out the wait at Robert’s Genius Bar would be at least 30 minutes, he pitched his laptop onto the counter, and told Robert to call him when it was fixed. Without mentioning what was wrong with it, or leaving any contact info.

A few weeks later, Chuck returns, asking about his laptop. Robert remembered who it was, and told Chuck he needed to get it checked in and sign the paperwork before any work could proceed. Chuck didn’t time for all that, and left again. Without a signature, it couldn’t be fixed.

Another few weeks go by, and Chuck returns. Robert’s been waiting, and has a form ready to go that just needs a quick signature. He explains that they haven’t been able to work on the laptop without his signature, but it would only take a couple of days once he signed it over.

Chuck explodes, “IT’S NOT DONE YET? BUT YOU’RE A GENIUS! YOU’RE A GENIUS! YOU’RE A GENIUS! YOU’RE A GENIUS!” Chuck starts doing the Tom Cruise hop as he repeats his cry, over and over.

A different employee goes out to take care of Chuck, who manages to calm down and sign the form, but not without asking the new guy, “What’s it like to work with fags all day?”

Chuck never returned for his computer.

Go to Gizmodo to read them all. The winner gets pizza, so vote if you’re so inclined.

Genius Bar War Stories [Gizmodo]

Meal plans may not be very exciting or sexy, but they keep you from staring blankly at the refrigerator before padding off to order pizza. One family in Texas cut their grocery expenses in half by planning their dinnersa year in advance. That’s pretty extreme, but their example is still useful for the less insanely organized.

When it comes to shopping for groceries, Chisolm always takes her menu to the store. She also builds up a stockpile when items go on sale.

“You can wait for the meats to go on sale and the vegetables to go on sale,” she said.

Finally, Chisolm buys in bulk to save money. When she gets home she separates her servings.

“Put it on my baggies, I label it and it’s stacked in my freezer,” she said.

Then when Chisolm is ready to cook each night, it’s on her calendar and she’s fully stocked at home.

Whether you have a family of six, like the woman in the story, or only cook for yourself, planning meals ahead (even vaguely) saves money and hassle and help you to eat a more varied and balanced diet. Plus, you can really go crazy and plan your meals around weekly grocery specials, what happens to be plentiful at your local farmer’s market that week, or the ongoing Iron Chef match that is a Community Supported Agriculture share.

Grocery Bill Was ‘Out of Control,’ but Year-Long Meal Plan Saves Texas Woman Time and Money [ABC News]
Creating a weekly meal plan [Unclutterer] (via Lifehacker)
Leslie Chisolm’s meal calendar for 2009 [ABC News]

After receiving a ten-piece cookware set with one pan damaged right out of the box, Drew’s girlfriend knew that she wanted to replace it. That’s what warranties are for! He tells Consumerist that when they tried to send that pan back to Cuisinart for replacement (instead of shipping the entire set back to Amazon, which seemed wasteful) customer service staff insisted that while the product’s warranty might say something, that doesn’t actually make it true.

My girlfriend recently received the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless
Cookware 10 piece set as a gift from her parents. Soon after taking
the cookware out of the box, she noticed that the rim of the sauté pan
was dented.

The cookware set was purchased from Amazon, so returning it would
entail repacking the items and shipping everything to Amazon in
exchange for a set without a damaged sauté pan. Since only that one
item was damaged, it seemed logical and most efficient to ship the pan
to Cusinart to be repaired or replaced.

After reading Cuisinart’s warranty, which includes special provisions
for “California residents only,” she was further convinced that
returning just the damaged pan to Cuisinart was the appropriate course
of action. (We live in Los Angeles.) The warranty states:
“California residents may also, according to their preference, return
nonconforming products directly to Cuisinart for repair, or if
necessary replacement, by calling our Customer Center at
1-800-726-0190. Cuisinart will be responsible for the cost of the
repair, replacement and shipping and handling for such non-conforming
products under warranty.”

My girlfriend asked me to call Cuisinart the following day to arrange
to have the sauté pan shipped to them to be repaired or replaced. The
next morning I put in a call to Cuisinart customer center and was told
by the first representative I spoke with (I would eventually speak to
three including a supervisor) there was no such provision for
California residents. She said my girlfriend would have to pay to ship
the item to them as well as include $7.00 to have the item shipped
back. (Note: This is an item that has never been used and most likely
left their factory damaged.)

I didn’t have the warranty in front of me and thought that maybe by
girlfriend had misread it. I told the representative I would call back
later. After retrieving the warranty and reading it for myself, I
realized my girlfriend was right and the customer center
representative’s statement that no California provision existed was
completely wrong.

With the warranty in my hand I called back. This time the customer
service representative I spoke with admitted (after putting me on hold
for 5 minutes) that there was a warranty provision that called on the
company to pay for all shipping and handling of “non-conforming”
items. But she said that section of the warranty was referencing a
California consumer protection statue that only applied to electronic
items.

This response seemed odd. The “California residents only” provision
was in the warranty pamphlet that was included with the cookware set.
The warranty pamphlet was not a generic Cuisinart warranty that
referred to multiple items including electronics. In fact, the
pamphlet had a picture of the cookware on the cover and included
instructions for how to clean it. I asked the customer service
representative to read to me a copy of the warranty, line-by-line, and
then show me any reference to electronic appliances. She said she
could not read the warranty to me because she didn’t have a copy of
it. Apparently, the first rungs of Cuisinart customer service are
experts in California consumer protection laws but don’t get copies of
the company’s own warranties.

I asked to speak to a supervisor. After about 10 minutes on hold, the
supervisor came on the line. She had a copy of the warranty. The
supervisor read through the whole warranty (at my request), but she
conveniently left out the provision under the “California residents
only” heading that states Cuisinart will pay for the shipping and
handling of “non-conforming products under warranty.” I pointed out
her oversight, and after a few moments of silence she said as a
“courtesy” she would waive the $7.00 fee to cover the cost of
Cuisinart shipping the item after it had been serviced or replaced. In
my estimation there was nothing courteous about having to argue with
three different customer service representatives over 30 minutes to
get a $7.00 fee that according to their warranty shouldn’t apply. And
after all that my girlfriend would still have to pay to have the
damaged item shipped to Cuisinart.

In the end, she elected to repack all the items and return the whole
set to Amazon. Also out the door: Any expectation that logic (or
warranties) hold any sway at Cuisinart.

Tony writes that he purchased a Western Digital hard drive from Best Buy this weekend, but not the hard drive he had thought. When he opened the box, he discovered that it contained a different hard drive entirely–not quite a Box of Crap, but still not what he had paid for. But Best Buy stood firm, admitting there was nothing they could do.

This evening I purchased a new Western Digital 2TB hard drive from a local Best Buy store. When I got home and unpackaged the product I noticed that the hard drive inside the box was not the right product. The label on the drive had the correct part number but it appears as though the label was is a fake label that was placed over the existing hard drive label. The two hard drives are completely different interfaces.

I immediately packaged the product back up and went to the Best Buy store to exchange the product. When I arrived the customer service rep started the return process and proceeded to call around to the different stores to find someone that had this same drive in stock so I could drive and pick up the replacement product. So far so good. As soon as the customer service rep was about to finalize the return I attempted to explain to her not to put the product back on the shelf because it wasn’t the correct product. She looked a bit confused and had a Geek Squad technician come over to verify. After she spoke with the Geek Squad technician she left the customer service area and came back with a manager.

This is when things got down right ugly. The store manager started the conversation with “You’re not going to like what I’m going to tell you.” The manager said it was my responsibility to call the manufacturer and work this out because it wasn’t Best Buy’s problem. I begged for her to assist me with an exchange but she insisted that her responsibility ended at that moment. After 20 minutes of arguing and getting nowhere I asked if I could get her managers name and number so that I could try and get a resolution to my problem. She said that they would tell me the exact same thing but finally told me that she didn’t have a general manager because that person had quit. After demanding a number for someone she gave me a number to Best Buy corporate.

I have purchased over $10,000.00 worth of electronics and appliances in the past year alone and it might be hard to believe but I don’t have a criminal background. This was horrible customer service. Any recommendations on what my next step should be? Part of me just wants to throw in the towel because its only $200.00 but it just doesn’t feel right.

Having been in the customer service rep’s position before, let me say: arguing for twenty minutes with someone whose hands are metaphorically tied by store policy does no one any good. It wastes everyone’s time and raises everyone’s blood pressure, and only serves to make the employee feel even more powerless and lowly than they normally do. Or maybe that was just me.

Also, as a public service announcement – always check electronics to make sure that the correct product is in the box before you leave the store. Always.

But don’t throw any towels anywhere yet–Tony hasn’t even made an attempt to talk to Western Digital yet, as Best Buy instructed him. If they don’t help, though, here are a few next steps. First, carefully read the instructions in our article “What To Do When A Store Sells You Box Of Crap And Won’t Take It Back,” which deals with similar but more extreme situations. An EECB could be also a good idea in this case. Here are some Best Buy addresses to get started.

Maybe Tony would have been better off shopping at Walmart.

Rosemarie very optimistically ordered a new freezer from Sears’ web site. She writes that she had every reason to believe that she would actually receive a freezer on the day she chose–yesterday, Saturday, January 23rd. The site told her that this particular freezer was in stock and could be delivered on the 23rd. Great! Except the freezer somehow mysteriously went out of stock in the next 24 hours, and Rosemary’s delivery was delayed for three weeks.

I have experienced a problem with Sears on line. Tuesday [January 19th] I ordered on-line a freezer that they had for sale for $197. My freezer was giving me problems, so I thought that this was a good deal.

When you order an appliance, they ask your zip code, and then give you a day they can deliver it. They said they could deliver it today, on Thursday, Jan.21 but I wanted it delivered Sat.Jan 23rd and it was confirmed.

I got an email from Sears that it was confirmed. However, yesterday [January 20th] I got a call from their delivery department (by the way this person did not speak english well) and was told I couldn’t get it delivered until February 12th! I asked why, and couldn’t get a legible answer.

So, I called customer service. They were confused too, so told me to call their delivery department again. This time I got another person and she told me they were out of stock, and that’s why they wouldn’t be able to deliver it when I wanted it.

I was angry because no where on that online page did it say that. I then called customer service and cancelled the order.

I wanted to warn other on-line consumers about this. I think it’s best if you do find an item for sale to call customer service and make sure they have this in stock. I did this for a dryer about a month ago and had no problem.

I sincerely hope that Sears at least makes a note about deliveries on items sold. Right now, I have crossed them off my list and will shop around to buy the freezer that I want.

Nice job holding on to those customers you have left, Sears. If you want to order from Sears and would like your new appliance in a timely fashion, heed Rosemarie’s advice.

1.2 million pounds of Daniele International salami, sausage, and other cured meat products have been yanked out of stores and recalled due to possible salmonella contamination. The meats are linked to 184 sick individuals in 38 states. At least 35 people have been hospitalized, but none have died.

What makes this recall interesting is not its scope, but the amount of detective work it took to track the source of infections down.

The recall comes after six months of painstaking work by health officials at both the federal and state levels who have been trying to track down the cause of a national outbreak of a relatively common form of the disease, called Salmonella Montevideo. It was first reported in July and has thus far sickened 184 people in 38 states, leading to at least 35 hospitalizations but no deaths, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“To my knowledge, this is the longest continuously active investigation of a commercial product that’s been done,” says William Keene, a senior epidemiologist with Oregon’s Dept. of Public Health.

Oddly, the company believes that the black pepper used in the products, many of which were coated with the spice, may be the source of the salmonella bacteria. As opposed to the actual meat.

1.2M pounds of pepper-coated salami recalled [USA Today]
Daniele salami recalled over Salmonella concern [Reuters]

A mysterious Target employee has come forward to share a closely guarded secret with the readers of Consumerist. The secret of why Target is so freaking crazy.

Consumerist has brought to light examples of the retailer’s loose grip on reality for years now, and we have learned the real reason. Mostly, it’s the computers’ fault.

Instant Substitutions
I’ll go with the easiest thing to explain first. Every store has a special team of workers who go through and find products that are on sale but out of stock. They set up rain checks using their gun or store PDA. When they set up a rain check the program asks if they want to set up a substitution along with the rain check. A substitution isn’t a real substitution, it’s Target’s way of saying, “F***, we have no more of this, and we have a rain check for you, but we’re going to immediately put something else on sale right now that you might enjoy also.” Stores actually get graded on how many substitutions are attached to rain checks. The more substitutions, the higher the score, the higher the store ranks in their region.

For instance – say a 5×7 white frame is on sale but the store is out of it. The employee sets up a rain check and gets a substitution prompt. They have to find an item in that aisle that isn’t also on sale to put on sale. In the frame aisle, you have a good chance of finding something decent to substitute. In other aisles, you might not be so lucky. Like the iPod. There is nothing logical to substitute – so a lot of the time we find an accessory to substitute. Now you get earbuds on sale, and a rain check for the sale price of the iPod if you’re willing to wait a couple of extra days. It’s a shame that it’s poorly named and not well explained to customers who must look at those signs and think the employees are really only earning their minimum wage.

Some rules to substitutions:

• Employees can’t put something that’s already on sale or on clearance as a substitution.
• Employees can’t find something from another aisle, even if it make sense.
• Employees can’t adjust pricing on things like 42″ TVs.
• Sometimes you’re going to see batteries as a substitute for a DVD player because it’s in the same aisle and the only thing not on sale.
• Most DVDs and CDs aren’t authorized for substitution because they come from vendors and not a distribution center.
• Since the employee picks the item… sometimes they’ll pick an item they’ve had their eye on. When we were out of a $20 sale plate set, I took the opportunity to place an $80 dishware set on sale and the system marked it down to $40. I won, and of course, anyone who also wanted said plate set won. Of course, another time I had to substitute a pregnancy test for a box of condoms. (I was being ironic in frustration, but the system accepted it. Maybe computers DO have a twisted sense of humor.) Sometimes the substitutions will be lame, and other times they’ll be sweet.
• If you see a sale item out of stock and no rain checks, you can ask someone to set up a rain check for you. Usually it will be a team leader or higher if it’s late.

Pricing craziness!
As awesome and efficient as Target is, there are too many variables affecting proper display of pricing in the store. You have a team that cleans up the aisles and pulls merchandise forward who sometimes get lazy and just put things places. You have a team that handles signing. You have a team that handles stocking shelves. You have a team that handles pricing. All of those teams have overlapping responsibilities that can sometimes cause crazy pricing labels.

Target has a labeling system designed to help employees easily identify merchandise that is normal merchandise, discontinued by the distribution center, discontinued by the manufacturer, changed by the manufacturer, out of stock, in multiple locations in the store, or getting ready to go on sale. It goes by color, lines, dots, and numbers.

In the case of the diapers – the manufacturer added 10 additional diapers to the total in the package. Target still had a bunch of the old count lying around. They sold as much of it off as they could. When the shelves became bare, a team came and reset the shelves to fill it back in with the new product. Any remaining product with the smaller count was supposed to be marked by another team with clearance stickers. But wait – it’s Tuesday! That team won’t be coming to the infants section for another two days! And the team that was supposed to reset the shelves dropped the 54 count price tag on the floor! And the team that kept the shelves and aisles cleaned put it back up! Auuuuugh! Chaos ensues! Customers think Target is crazy!

And if it is a complete screw up and the pricing hasn’t changed (because the product number is still the same because technically, it is the same product, just with more diapers) in the system – you can always talk to someone at Guest Services or at a cash register. Every single employee at Target has the authority to price change in situations like this. Not all of the employees know this – especially employees who work in the stockroom or are new and weren’t properly trained. You can even talk to someone on the floor and they can call up to the cash registers and tell them to change the price for you.

That goes for anything. If you see something marked as one price, and it scans or rings up wrong, you can tell someone and have the price corrected. It’s best to find someone on the sales floor to clear it up instead of waiting until the cash register (because the cashier is going to call the sales floor anyway), but we’re all trained to take reasonable offers. Or we should be. A lot of the bad service complaints come from encounters with new employees who don’t know any better and don’t want to get in trouble for changing things.

Although, I’ll be honest, what I just told you isn’t NEARLY as fun as making fun of what looks like a bunch of idiots running a store. However, if you’re trying to get the most bang for your buck, I think every consumer should know they have this kind of power in the store and how to get around insanity.

Thank you for the clarification, mysterious Target employee. It’s true that knowing how things work is a lot less funny than an entire major retail chain descending into madness, but we’ll happily trade humor for actual knowledge.

Did you think that perhaps Barnes & Noble’s epic problems getting the Nook e-reader in the hands of customers by Christmas would be over after Christmas? Not quite. Jesse Vincent blogged about his experience of broken promises, mysteriously canceled orders, and how Barnes & Noble still hasn’t even sent the famous $100 gift card that Nook customers were promised.

Here is the “short version” of the situation:

Barnes & Noble have, without a doubt, the worst customer service of any company I have dealt with in the past decade.

They’ve made repeated promises to me that they’ve failed to keep and told me that it’s my fault. They’ve put out _press releases_ about how generously they were taking care of the customers whose nooks failed to arrive for Christmas and then turned around and flatly refused to honor that promise.

Jesse notes that everyone he has dealt with at Barnes and Noble has been sympathetic and polite, but does it help to be sympathetic and polite while repeatedly breaking promises to customers?

Learn from my misery: Don’t buy a nook. [Massively Parallel Procrastination]

PREVIOUSLY:
Barnes & Noble Will Send You $100 If Nook Doesn’t Show Up By Christmas
Barnes & Noble Promises Nook Arrival By Christmas, Unless You’re In Alaska

Either this man was not in his right mind, or this was the stupidest animal-rights protest ever. The police in Canton, Ohio report that a man was arrested and jailed for urinating on a Walmart meat counter, ruining $600 worth of steak.

Police say Jenkins was arrested after they responded to a call from an employee at the Wal-Mart store on Atlantic Blvd. NE, claiming a man walked up to the meat counter and began urinating on the steaks, destroying more than $600 dollars in meat.

According to Lt. Brown, it is not yet known if alcohol or drugs played a role in Brown’s actions.

Police are ignoring the possibility that the man was a chef testing the world’s grossest marinade.

Man Arrested for Urinating on Steaks [WJW] (Thanks, David!)