Author: Phil Villarreal

Ghost of This justifies the practices of fast food condiment packet collectors everywhere by dipping into his Popeyes archives and catching the best restaurant in the world red-handed, having replaced real honey with something called “honey sauce.”

He writes:

I like Popeyes chicken and biscuits. I don’t eat there too frequently, but when I do I like putting honey on their biscuits which I have done for many years. One of the recent times I went I asked for honey which I always do and when I got home the small packet said “Honey sauce.” Now I might not have noticed that a couple of times, but I’m pretty sure it hasn’t been “sauce” forever. Well just today I was cleaning out a junk drawer and came across an “old” honey packet from popeys with real honey…I knew I wasn’t crazy. For this to have been in that drawer this change would have had to been made at some point over the last 2 years or so…too bad.

Snapped a picture because this screamed to be posted on consumerist a la cracker barrel maple syrup.

This reminds me of Dave Chappelle’s famed, not-quite safe for work “grape drink” monologue.

Has anyone tried this honey drink and judged its effectiveness on saucing up Popeyes’ sumptuous biscuits?

Justin was thankful for helpful, on-the-spot service from American Express when his card was declined while traveling. The replacement card AmEx sent him was less than helpful, however, given its less than adequate limit.

He writes:

We checked into a hotel on a business trip with an Amex Open card that we hadn’t used for a few months. It was declined, and a call to Amex got the response that there was plenty of credit available but the card had been reported stolen a few months ago. Odd, we hadn’t done that, and so we checked to make sure there was no fraudulent activity (none). And being a top-service company, Amex overnighted a replacement card to our hotel so that we could pay our hotel bill. So far, so good.

Imagine our surprise when we were packing our suitcases the next day to get an automated call from Amex letting us know they had slashed our credit limit to the current card balance, leaving us no available credit to pay for our hotel stay. Sure, they sent us a new card, but it was now useless. Amex insists that the account review was not triggered by our request for a replacement, but with only a handful of recurring charges on the account over the past few months, it would be a nearly impossible coincidence. In fact, it would have been better if they had simply not sent us a new card, as we would have had another business card overnighted from our office.

I’ve been a happy Amex card member for more than 20 years, but this one has enraged me. Everyone should take note – do not rely solely on American Express when traveling. They just may leave you stranded.

Poor guy may as well have left home without it.

If you have a tale about a credit card being declined at an inopportune time, please share.

Joanne is awesome because she has no problem admitting her mail thievery. Nothing serious, but if she gets a couple different sets of coupons, one addressed to her apartment’s former resident, she keeps them rather than give them back.

Her practice has caught Target in a game of targeted marketing favoritism, because the coupons it sent to the guy who lived there before her were far better than her own, and both packets are pictured. She writes:

Here’s a conundrum for you I’m hoping you and the readers can solve. We sometimes get the spam of former tenants in the apartment building in which we live. Sometimes it’s not so bad because I usually get two of every Bed, Bath & Beyond coupon that gets sent to me, plus I get two packets of all the coupons Target sends me.

When I opened my mailbox last week, there were two packs of Target coupons. I opened one of them to flip through the coupons. It was mostly name brand stuff, the majority of which didn’t interest me since I tend to buy store brand items. I put both packs on the dining table and ignored them until the weekend. I picked up both packs on my way out, intending to do some grocery shopping and pick up some cleaning supplies, and I notice that the packets have different coupons in them. One of them promises “over $43 in savings,” and the other one only “$20 in coupons.”

The kicker is that the pack with my name on it is the one with fewer coupons (30 vs. 37 in the other pack), fewer savings ($20), and all the name brand coupons. I rarely shop for name brand stuff, and I’ve only ever bought generic cleaning products, toilet paper, etc. from Target.

The other pack (and the address does have my apartment number on it, so it’s not as if the mail delivery person mistakenly put the pack in my box) has coupons that say stuff like “75 cents off any brand cleaning product” and “50 cents off any brand cereal.” Not only is this guy who lived here before me getting better coupons because you can use them on any brand, even the Target store ones, there are more of them!

What kind of marketing shenanigans is this? One packet has $43 in savings, but you can buy whatever brand you want? Whereas the packet that has just my name on it is only $20 and I have to buy Hefty brand trash bags?

Please help me understand this! I appreciate getting two packs of coupons, though. I just think it’s weird.

I’ve attached photos. Sorry, they’re not the best quality since I took them with my Macbook camera.

I await your response. In the meantime, I’m going to my happy place, called Target.

The tip here is to follow brand-obsessed over-spenders when apartment hunting.

Jen and her coworkers say Pizza Hut charged them $11 for its $10 any pizza, any toppings deal.

She writes:

I saw that you have an article on your website about someone who tried to order a stuffed crust pizza for Pizza Hut’s $10 Pizza Days and there was an additional charge. I had a similar experience.

Two weeks ago (Jan 6th or 7th), our department at work decided that we wanted to order pizza from Pizza Hut because their website states “Any Pizza, Any Toppings, Just $10!” We decided to order 2 large Taco pizzas and a regular hand tossed with 3 toppings. When my coworker called, the Pizza Hut on S. Fish Hatchery Road in Madison, WI said that the Taco pizzas were actually $11.00 each, not $10.00. She questioned it, and was told that the Taco pizzas were not part of the deal. Huh?

I went to their website to see if there was anything that indicated certain pizzas do not qualify for the price. It states “Additional charge for Stuffed Crust Pizza. No Double Toppings.” However, it does not state that certain pizzas are not included. In fact, it clearly states “Any Pizza, Any Size, Any Crust, Any Toppings – Just $10 !”

Silly me, I must have somehow misunderstood. Oh wait, here’s the disclaimer: “Crust availability, prices, participation, delivery areas and charges may vary.” So… If any pizza is $10, how can crust availability and prices vary? In particular, how can the price vary? Aren’t they advertising $10? To me, this makes no sense. And at this point, I was confused, and a bit ticked off.

I then proceeded to their “Contact Us” section of the website. I told them of our experience and asked for them to explain the Any Pizza $10 deal when crust availability and prices vary. You don’t have a lot of room to explain things, but I did the best I could. I checked the “Type of Feedback?” as Website (since I was questioning the ad) and the “Would you like to be contacted by a Pizza Hut Representative?” with Yes.

As of today, I have not heard anything from Pizza Hut. Granted, it’s for two bucks. But come on, be honest about what you’re offering.

If you’ve ordered the $10 deal and been stuck with extra charges, please let us know.

The thing about breast pumps is when they break, you can’t exactly sit around for several weeks waiting for a kindly CSR to get you a replacement. Kids need bottles and moms need to relieve the pressure so they can get work.

Charles says Toys R Us wouldn’t let he and his wife exchange a busted Playtex breast pump, but luckily Playtex came through and overnighted the grateful couple the replacement parts they needed.

Charles writes:

My wife and I just had our first son a week ago and have been very busy juggling our new baby, school and work. To help I bought a Playtex breast pump so I would be able to feed our baby when my wife is away. While looking at the pumps I realized how very expensive they are. I am a 22 y/o student working part time paying my own way through college and supporting a child, so I don’t think I need to tell you how little money I have. Playtex was the only company that sold pumps for less than $300. After researching the pumps I found that the reviews for the $90 model and the $200 model of the Playtex were very similar. Most of the complaints about the product was directed toward Playtex customer support. I decided to roll the dice with the cheaper model.

I brought it home and it worked great. I was able to feed my baby while my wife was away and I was very happy. This was until two days later when the plastic tube connecters started to crack making the device malfunction. At this point I panic remembering the horror stories on the product reviews. I called Toys-r-us and they said I had to call Playtex because they do not accept returns on personal hygiene items. At this point I sit down on my bed and get prepared for a long call with Playtex. I assumed it would be harder than getting out of a phone contract without a ETF, but to my complete shock it was one of the best customer service calls I’ve had in a long time.

I spoke to a woman named Carolyne who apologized and asked me for a serial number of my product. She then took my information for the warranty and said she would ship me out the replacement parts. I got off the phone very satisfied until I got my package today (the next day). Carolyne shipped it next day air with Saturday delivery. Not only did she send me the little plastic pieces but she sent me three complete sets of all the tubing along with a personalized letter! I am no fool and I know this could not have cost Playtex much more than $10 but this was so helpful for me and my wife. We really needed that pump for next week and I am glad I purchased mine from Playtex.

Parents, what’s the most difficult baby product failure you’ve overcome?

A stinging analysis on WalletPop makes the obvious but poignant argument that too-big-for-their-britches corporations such as Apple and Best Buy have let hubris cloud their customer service vision.

Here’s an excerpt from the piece, by Laura Heller:

Has Best Buy attained that too big to be good, status once held by Circuit City? Sure looks like it. It’s hard to remember that just 10 years ago or so, customers found the stores energetic and the non-commissioned sales approach refreshing.

Apple too, is starting to show signs of hubris. The company has been long admired, revered even, by legions of users — and rightly so. The products were elegant computing solutions that worked well, were reliable, and had a support staff that made technological failures as painless as possible.

But as a recent visit to the Apple flagship store in Chicago revealed, the computer company is taking leave of some of its most valued points of differentiation. Namely, pleasant, quick and high-quality service.

What do you think the companies can do to shed their arrogant images?

Apple and Best Buy: When good retailers go bad [WalletPop]