EBay has discouraged sellers from inflating their shipping prices for a long time, citing that it avoids final value fees. Until recently, though, eBay sellers could still benefit from inflating their shipping charges a little bit at least, because (1) it could trap buyers who don’t see, or ask, how much the shipping charges are, … Read more
A big hat-tip to Consumerist.com for linking to my Chuck E. Cheese article! The point in that article that got their attention was how it’s possible to get tokens at a discount on eBay. They even linked to a few current auctions for arcade tokens. The first comment on that post set the tone for … Read more
Steve Jobs decided to iPologize to hordes of tinkled iPhone buyers after Apple announced that the price of the must-have telephony appliance was slashed by a third just a couple of months after the initial release. The apology did come with a consolation prize: a $100 Apple Store credit for each iPhone trailblazer who paid … Read more
Our dear 1997 Chrysler Town and Country, Kate, is headed to the glue factory. Or at least to someone else’s care. She needs a new transmission, which would cost $3,500, and a new computer. Then the electrical problems can be diagnosed. This is way more than we want to put into a ten-year-old minivan with … Read more
Nothing kills the value of something quite like the smell of cigarette smoke. Here’s how to remove smoke odor to an acceptable level … If you’re not a smoker, then you probably can detect even very low levels of cigarette smoke pretty quickly. It can be pretty nasty. I grew up with family members who … Read more
Silly customer! Tips are for gas station employees, too! Or so we’d think: What’s up with all those tip jars? I agree with the author of this article. Tipping someone who hardly does anything except punch a bunch of keys on a cash register doesn’t even enter my mind. Waitresses, yes. Cabbies, yes. I’ll even … Read more
I read the title of this article incorrectly. I thought 1,000 customers fired Sprint, but it’s the other way around! Sprint to 1,000 customers: You’re fired Sprint Nextel showed 1,000 “needy” customers the door and gave them until the end of July to find another wireless provider. The letter was reproduced over at Gizmodo and … Read more
A colleague at work has recently taken it upon himself to be proactive in voicing his dissatisfaction about customer service to the store manager. By most accounts, he appears to be a tough customer to please. He likes answers to his questions right away, he likes problems to be fixed immediately. Here’s an example. He … Read more