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Leaks: Skorts Are Never Appropriate At Comcast
This is the dress code policy for Comcast call centers. It strictly forbids the use of skorts.PREVIOUSLY:Comcast's Official Make A New Pot Of Coffee PolicyComcast's Official Water Jug Changing Policy

Leaks: At Comcast, Skorts Are Never Appropriate
This is the dress code policy for Comcast call centers. It strictly forbids the use of skorts.PREVIOUSLY:Comcast's Official Make A New Pot Of Coffee PolicyComcast's Official Water Jug Changing Policy

Privacy: How To Disappear From The Transaction Grid
The complete essay, "Vanishing Point: How to disappear in America without a trace." is some of the most paranoid crap we've ever read, some of it criminal in nature, but it speaks to =lengths one might have to go to "live off the grid" as it were, in modern America.There is the possibility that in the future people may be identifiable by their purchasing habits. Granted the point-of-sale data collected by computers would need to be immense yet eventually pattern-recognition software may some day be able to provide authorities with perhaps 100 of the best possible "hits" on people matching your known buying habits. When -- if ever -- that becomes a reality, you can be sure you won't know about it until it's shown on cable television. By that time the technology will have been in use for years and you may end up on a list of possible matching a purchase profile.It used to be that living as part of civilization was sort of a nebulous social contract. Now, for better or for worse,...

Customer Service: Sang Froid Goes Far With Executive Customer Service
Commenter Stinkycat pointed out a very useful tactic for when you are dealing with executive customer service. As in, when you call the office of CEO or VP so and so and are trying to massage a solution out of the company.b. speak to the assistant as if you were representing yourself in a third party business transaction not as if you are the one who was actually slighted.Yes! Exactly. Nothing throws them off more than being completely polite and dispassionate. For more good tips, check out Stinkycat's comment in full.

Survey Says: Best Buy Says You Don't Know What You're Doing With HD
Best Buy hired a firm to take a survey of the state of the American public's knowledge of HDTV, and sad results are in. You don't know what the hell is going on with your television. Half of HDTV owners who responded to Best Buy's survey "admit they are either not watching HD programming, or they aren't sure if they are. Of these respondents, 35% didn't realize they needed to subscribe to HD programming to watch HDTV." Ok, this is sad. Just... sad.The survey also suggested that ignorance about how to set up the HDTV was a source of embarrassment:While 41% of HDTV owners admit to knowing little to nothing at all about HD, they would not want to admit that to friends and family; Half (52%) of HDTV owners agree it would be difficult to admit their HDTV wasn't set up right after showing off to friends and family. The unsurprising news is that this survey is essentially a sales pitch for Best Buy's overpriced cables and installation packages—both of which you can skip,...

IPhone: AT&T Stores Try To Promote iPhone Price Cut As "Manager's Special"
A reader reports that a Bellevue, WA AT&T store is trying to play it like the company-wide iPhone price drop is a "manager's special." When he called the regional manager, our reader was told the signs were the brainchild of the regional marketing department.Does Steve Jobs manage this store? As if. Disingenuous, to say the least.

Vacuums: Kenmore Beats Dyson In Consumer Reports Upright Vacuum Test
Dyson is not the Excalibur of upright vacuums, it's the Kenmore Progressive with Direct Drive 35922, according to survey and test results released in the latest issue of Consumer Reports.The white wizards of product testing rated the Kenmore at 74, soundly trouncing the Dyson's 64.The Kenmore "Progressive with Direct Drive 35922" garnered "excellent" ratings for cleaning carpet, emissions, pet hair, and cleaning bare floors.The Dyson "DC17 Absolute Animal" only got got "excellent" for emissions and cleaning bare floors.We wonder, however, if Consumer Reports neglected form factor, the glory of bagless, and swivel appeal (With a Dyson, you don't need to retract the vacuum to your body and then pivot to change directions). One doesn't go to Consumer Reports looking for soul, but effectiveness.The Dyson being $250 more expensive, in-store. But you can get both for over $100 cheaper by searching on Amazon for slightly used or refurbished versions.

Sustainability: How Many Earths Would It Take To Sustain Your Lifestyle?
"Consumer Consequences" is an online "game" where you enter data about your living, work, travel, energy, and eating patterns, then see how many earths would be needed to sustain your lifestyle if every single person on the planet did the same thing. It's a relatively fun way to graphically tally up your environmental footprint, and helps you highlight where you use the most resources (and, ideally, where you can therefore cut costs). What we found most interesting was the comparison section at the end, where you can see how your score stacks up against other people according to a wide variety of criteria, including gender, age, location, income, political affiliation, and education.We scored a 3.3, mainly because of the amount of take-out food we order every month. Funny, we've been testing Mint lately and it's pointed out the same wasteful behavior. Might be time to change habits?Consumer Consequences game [PublicRadio.org via Consumerism Commentary]

Marketing: "Green" Credit Cards Are Silly
Bankrate has an article about co-called "green" credit cards that donate a portion of your purchase to environmentally friendly causes. Why are we saying they're silly? From Bankrate:If you want to save the whales, offset CO2 emissions or contribute to another "green" cause, it is now as simple as swipe and sign.Environmentally friendly credit cards are affinity cards issued by a credit card company. The card issuer donates a portion of your purchases (typically 1 percent through a rewards program) to a green cause. Sometimes the consumer gets to choose the specific cause, but most often the funds go to a general fund from which contributions are made to a variety of causes of the affiliate company's choosing. We tend to disagree. Saving the whales isn't as easy as "swipe and sign." If you want to give money to environmental causes, sign up for a cash back card and cut the charity a check from the proceeds. It's tax deductible, and you get to decide where your money goes. The...

Your Health: Do You Really Need A Check-Up? Maybe Not.
We're always hearing about how important it is to see your doctor for a check-up, but is it? The WSJ Health Blog noticed a study that says "no." A lot of healthy Americans are going to the doctor for annual, preventive health visits, but there's scant evidence that these pilgrimages provide much benefit, concludes a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Annual physicals and gynecological exams account for about 1 in 12 visits by adults to their doctors. And the tab for all those checkups is pretty hefty at nearly $8 billion per year, based on an analysis of nearly 180,000 visits from two national databases. The authors, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School, say that this is the first time that the number and costs of these preventive health visits have been crunched. So can we skip the check-up? The jury is out. It may not be worth what it costs, but it's certainly not harming anyone's health. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:...

Stats Feed: Today's most popular headlines are Halo 3 ...
Today's most popular headlines are Halo 3 Discs Arrive Pre-Scratched (4,053 views today), McDonald's Delivers Via New York City Subway (3,854) and How Tonya Should Go About Appealing Her "Elective" Miscarriage (3,416).

Food: Product expiration codes decoded [Gary] ...
Product expiration codes decoded [Gary]

Lawsuits: Customer Sues Home Depot After Being Glued To Toilet Seat, Says Incident Gave Him Diabetes
Bob Dougherty went to Home Depot. He wasn't feeling very well in a "Jo-Ann Fabrics" sort of way, so he used Home Depot's bathroom. Unbeknownst to Bob, some hilarious individual had doused the toilet seat with superglue, instantly joining Bob's ass and the toilet seat in an unholy union that was to be the subject of a 4-year-long legal battle. Bob says no one at the Home Depot would help him. He says they thought it was a hoax and ignored his pleas for help. Bob says he became frighted and sat there swallowing nitroglycerin pills for his severe heart condition while waiting for someone to rescue him. Eventually, after another customer called 911, paramedics had to unbolt the toilet seat and take both Bob and it to the emergency room. The operation proved unwieldy and the seat was torn from Bob's butt in transit, resulting in a very unappetizing photograph of Bob's angry, red bare ass that you can view at The Smoking Gun. This was 2003. Now Bob says the incident gave him post-traumat...

Anti-bargains: LetsTalk Triples Price Of Phone, Won't Refund Difference
Reader Brandon writes in to share a painful story of shoddy customer service and questionable pricing policies with LetsTalk, an online mobile phone and plan retailer. After ordering a $99 phone with a $100 mail in rebate, the order was delayed, then changed to add a free car charger to apologize for the delay (so far so good), then changed again without notice to $299 with a $200 mail in rebate. After calling to dispute the charges, he was promised the price would be changed back to its original amount—but the next day it was shipped out and his account was charged for $299.This is where it gets fun, because at this point LetsTalk entered into a creative game of empty promises and excuses (for a while it was a "computer glitch"). Then, in a particularly ballsy move, they told Brandon that they reserved the right to change their prices at any time as per their fine print.He found the fine print:Despite our best efforts to keep pricing information accurate, there...

Wonder Bread: Why Generic Is Just As Good: Sometimes It's Just A Different Wrapper?
This random, unverified comment scavenged from Metafilter archives syncs in with our preconceived notions and suspicions just enough that we're going to publish it and wonder aloud if it is true.When I was a kid I remember taking a tour of the big Wonder Bread factory in our town. I was scarred for life when I realized that one of the production lines for loaves of bread that I was following split into two packaging lanes just before the plastic went over the loaf. One lane was for Wonder, the other was for the local supermarket brand.Is it really all just packaging? Bring on the blind taste tests.Experts say Brand X is now significantly less distinguishable from name brands! [Metafilter]

Energy: Heating Costs Will Break New Records This Winter
If you're poor, maybe you just shouldn't have a winter this year. Government energy officials have announced that prices this winter for heating oil, electricity, propane and natural gas will all be at record highs: 28% more for heating oil, 30% more for propane, 7% for electricity, and 5% for natural gas.In actual dollars, this translates to a hit of around $400 more for average families using heating oil or propane, and around $50 more for those using electricity or natural gas.The National Energy Assistance Director's Association, which released the figures, have called on the Bush administration to "immediately release money from the government's Low Income Home Energy Program, commonly known as LIHEAP, to help poor families pay their heating bills as well as cover past-due high cooling bills from the summer."We grew up in a poor household, and trust us, one cold winter can wipe out an already tight budget for half the year. As the article states, "During 2005, energy expenses...

Xbox: Halo 3 Discs Arrive Pre-Scratched
Eager fans today cracked open the hot new video game Halo 3, only to discover that their game discs were already scratched. It seems in their midst of preparing for a global launch with mondo cross-promotion, Microsoft forgot to check they didn't use the the DVD holders with the defective nubs.The weak nubs allowed the DVDs to float around and get all scraped.Reader Mr. Chip Livejournals that 3 out the 4 he opened in Walmart, which were of the fancy metal tin "collector's edition" variety, were scratched upon opening. That's $70 for a game that's already scratched. PC World says the scratches are cosmetic and you can still play the game just fine, but wants to buy a "new" scratched video game?If your Halo 3 is scratched, you can get it swapped out for a shiny new one under the Xbox disc replacement program.Wal-Mart Manager Admits He'd Rather Sell Defective Copies of Halo 3 Than Let Me Find Undamaged One [Mr. Chip]

Customer Service: When Asking Nicely Fails
When a company refuses to unscrew you, usually as a matter of "policy," it sometimes takes a little extra to get them to see why they're wrong. If saying please and escalating up the customer service lines fail, a few tactics can help bend their steely resolve in your favor.How To Launch An Executive Email Carpet BombCompany Ignoring You? Fax 'Em To DeathGet Your Complaint Resolved By Posting It To The Company's Stock ForumsHow To Reach Executive Customer ServiceThreaten To Perform Your Civic Duty By Warning Other Customers About Their BusinessA relevant appendix to these posts is our growing library of company contact info is listed under the "phone numbers" tag.(Photo: Getty)

Green Watch: Walmart Tries To Make DVDs, Toothpaste, Soap, Milk, Beer, Vacuum Cleaners, and Soda Eco-Friendly
According to BusinessWeek, Walmart is using its considerable power to pressure its suppliers to reduce manufacturing energy consumption, and in doing so, cut costs. Seven categories will be the focus of Walmart's attention: "DVDs, toothpaste, soap, milk, beer, vacuum cleaners, and soda." From BusinessWeek:The retailing giant announced the initiative Sept. 24 in partnership with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a nonprofit group supported by institutional shareholders that focuses on climate change and carbon emissions. Wal-Mart says it plans to use the Carbon Disclosure Project's expertise to help set up the new program with its suppliers."We are working together to measure our global supply chain footprint and to encourage our suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said John Fleming, executive vice-president and chief merchandising officer at Wal-Mart. The article spends some time pondering Walmart's motivation for participating in the program. We don't think its...

Recalls: BCI Single Post Swing Sets (falling), Baby's ...
BCI Single Post Swing Sets (falling), Baby's Bliss Gripe Water (cryptosporidium), Organic Pastures Raw Cream (Listeria monocytogenes), Private Selection Classic Churned Light Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream (unidentified eggs).

Supply And Demand: Kraft Introduces New Butter Flavor Containing Diacetyl, The "Popcorn Lung" Ingredient
Recently, after numerous complaints of serious illness from popcorn workers and one complaint of illness from a consumer, ConAgra and Pop Weaver removed diacetyl from its microwave popcorn and now proudly announce to their customers that their product is diacetyl free. Kraft, on the other hand, decided that now would be a good time to introduce a brand new diacetyl-based butter flavor into the market. Kraft says the flavor "can help improve the nutritional profile of products by reducing their calorie content." Sadly, fake butter doesn't taste the same, so manufacturers will have to "adjust their formulations - perhaps through the addition of functional starches or shortenings - in order to build back the texture and mouthfeel normally achieved by butter." The flavor isn't limited to popcorn, it can be used for any product where one would need a "toasted butter flavor," including crackers, soups, and prepared meats. Doesn't Kraft worry about diacetyl's health effects when...

Subprime Meltdown: Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas ...
Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell the most on record in July, indicating the threat to consumer spending was rising even before credit markets seized up in August. [Bloomberg]

Insiders: How Tonya Should Go About Appealing Her "Elective" Miscarriage
I just read the story 'Blue Cross Blue Shield Calls Miscarriage "Elective Abortion," Denies Claim', and I work for BCBS in NY. From what I've learned (and this is just from my experience working for a year there). The best thing for Tonya to do is appeal. She should write a letter explaining what happened that night. Go to the hospital get medical records/Doctor reports/emergency reports anything that shows 1) the medical necessity of the services and 2) what exactly happened. In NY there is a 180 day time limit from the last time the claim was adjusted (but that may be different in her state). Also, in NY, there are at least 2 appeal levels (three technically, and sometimes 4) Here's how it works for the account I work for...(again, definitely different for different plans, if you call the customer service number, they'll be able to advise you on exactly how this works) A customer calls up, says they disagree with how a claim is processed. If there's something I can do, I do...

Subprime Meltdown: Proposed Law Would Let Bankruptcy Courts Rewrite Predatory Mortgages
Several Democrats proposed a bill last week in the House of Representatives that would allow bankruptcy courts to alter mortgages written by so-called "predatory lenders." The bill would save around 600,000 Americans from foreclosure, says its author, Representative Brad Miller from North Carolina.Some 5 million adjustable-rate mortgages are slated to reset over the next 18 months, and loan modifications are still "few and far between," Miller said in an interview. "Everyone will know what will happen in bankruptcy, so the fact that bankruptcy is an option would lead to negotations" between the borrower and lender ahead of that event, he said.Countrywide Financial Corp says it has modified terms on 17,000 mortgages this year. But throughout the industry, a Moody's Investors Services "found that lenders eased borrowing terms on just 1 percent of subprime mortgages with interest rates that reset in January, April and July.""House bill would let courts alter mortgages" [Reuters](Photo...

Shady: FCC Proposes $4,000 Fine On Comcast For Broadcasting "Fake News"
The FCC, always a source of amusement for this website, has decided to crack down on Comcast for broadcasting VNRs or "Video News Releases." VNRs are produced by PR firms for use as filler by lazy TV news producers. It's a great deal for TV: They get free content and don't have to deal with the pressure of doing their jobs properly, and the company gets product placement. Consumers are the only losers.The FCC filing says that a complaint was filed by the Center for Media and Democracy alleging that on September 21, 2006, Comcast broadcast a VNR for Nelson's Rescue Sleep without providing the sponsorship identification required by law. Comcast argues that they're not covered under that law because they didn't receive any compensation for showing the VNR. The VNR in question was shoehorned into a daily "consumer issues" segment on the CN8 show "Art Fennel Reports." From the FCC: CN8's cablecast featuring "Nelson's Rescue Sleep" was part of a daily segment on "Art Fennell Reports"...

Insiders: How Tonya Should Go About Appealing Her "Electiive" Miscarriage
I just read the story 'Blue Cross Blue Shield Calls Miscarriage "Elective Abortion," Denies Claim', and I work for BCBS in NY. From what I've learned (and this is just from my experience working for a year there). The best thing for Tonya to do is appeal. She should write a letter explaining what happened that night. Go to the hospital get medical records/Doctor reports/emergency reports anything that shows 1) the medical necessity of the services and 2) what exactly happened. In NY there is a 180 day time limit from the last time the claim was adjusted (but that may be different in her state). Also, in NY, there are at least 2 appeal levels (three technically, and sometimes 4) Here's how it works for the account I work for...(again, definitely different for different plans, if you call the customer service number, they'll be able to advise you on exactly how this works) A customer calls up, says they disagree with how a claim is processed. If there's something I can do, I do...

Happy Birthday: This month marks the 50th year of Which?, ...
This month marks the 50th year of Which?, a British magazine that conducts Consumer Reports-style independent product tests and campaigns on behalf of consumer rights in the UK. [Easier Finance]

Odd: McDonald's Delivers Via New York City Subway
Reader Christopher snapped this photo of some McDonald's employees making a delivery, via the New York City subway. Christopher is worried that the boxes contained what they say they contained—raw eggs and chicken fillet. We hope that someone just ordered a ton of McDonald's food for their office, because the idea that McDonald's thinks the subway is as good as a refrigerated truck is a little too hard to believe. In any case, that's a lot of McDonald's.(Photo:Thanks, Christopher!)

Leaks: Contact Information For Directors Of Time Warner Cable, San Diego Division
Here are the company contacts, phone numbers, and email addresses for the division directors of Time Warner Cable, San Diego division. If you're a TWC subscriber in that area with a problem and not getting any traction through regular customer service, one of these people should be able to help you. From Judy Walsh, division President, and Tad Yo, General Manager, to Marjean Boettcher in Finance, we've got your number, baby.TIME WARNER CABLE - SAN DIEGO DIVISION10450 Pacific Center Court San Diego, CA 92121Business Office (858) 695-3110 Customer Service (858) 695-3220JUDY WALSH - DIVISION PRESIDENTPhone: (858) 635-8297Fax: (858) 566-6248judy.walsh@twcable.comAssistant to PresidentLinda OakleyPhone: (858) 635-8480Fax: (858) 566-6248linda.oakley@twcable.comExecutive AssistantDESERT CITIES SYSTEM41-725 Cook Street Palm Desert, CA 92211Business Office (760) 340-1312 Customer Service (760) 340-2225TAD YO - VP / GENERAL MANAGERPhone: (760) 674-5300Fax: (760) 674-2392tad.yo@twcable.c...

The American Way: A class-action lawsuit was filed yesterday ...
A class-action lawsuit was filed yesterday against Simplicity Inc., Target Corp., and Graco Children's Products Inc. for their roles in the unfolding defective crib recall. The lawyer who filed the suit originally represented the family of a 9-month-old who died in 2005 from one of the badly-designed cribs, which can be dangerous if assembled incorrectly. [Chicago Tribune]

Leaks: Reach The Directors Of Time Warner Cable, San Diego
Here are the company contacts, phone numbers, and email addresses for the division directors of Time Warner Cable, San Diego division. If you're a TWC subscriber in that area with a problem and not getting any traction through regular customer service, one of these people should be able to help you. From Judy Walsh, division President, and Tad Yo, General Manager, to Marjean Boettcher in Finance, we've got your number, baby.TIME WARNER CABLE - SAN DIEGO DIVISION10450 Pacific Center Court San Diego, CA 92121Business Office (858) 695-3110 Customer Service (858) 695-3220JUDY WALSH - DIVISION PRESIDENTPhone: (858) 635-8297Fax: (858) 566-6248judy.walsh@twcable.comAssistant to PresidentLinda OakleyPhone: (858) 635-8480Fax: (858) 566-6248linda.oakley@twcable.comExecutive AssistantDESERT CITIES SYSTEM41-725 Cook Street Palm Desert, CA 92211Business Office (760) 340-1312 Customer Service (760) 340-2225TAD YO - VP / GENERAL MANAGERPhone: (760) 674-5300Fax: (760) 674-2392tad.yo@twcable.c...

Shopping: Morning Deals
Starbucks: Buy One Get One Free Coupon (front, back) Saturday/Sunday until 9/30/07 YMMVWine.woot: Roshambo Trio for $39.99SlickDeals: Many Bluetooth GPS receivers - Starting at $27 + ShippingHighlights From DealhackDr Martens USA: Save Extra 15% off All Shoes Store-WideCircuit City: Zenith DVD Home Theater System $90 ShippedTiVo.com: TiVo Series2 Dual Tuner 80 Hour DVR $50 ShippedHighlights From BargainistHabitat Shoes: Clearance up to 50% offGuessFactory: 30% off purchases couponBackCountry.com: Closeout jackets & pants up to 50% off

Advertising: Thanks to distinctively annoying ad campaign, ...
Thanks to distinctively annoying ad campaign, HeadOn sales are up 234%. [AdAge]

Safeguards: TransUnion Will Let You Freeze Your Credit Report
Beginning October 15th, credit reporting company TransUnion will let consumers freeze their credit reports, which means imposters will not be able to use your credit to do things like open new phone accounts or sign up for credit cards. While this is great news, the other two major credit reporters, Experian and Equifax, are so far not offering a similar feature, although they say they're considering it.Of course, TransUnion isn't simply doing this to be nice. Unless you can prove you're already a victim of identity theft, the freeze will cost you $10. No word on whether that's a one-time or annual fee, but we'll be realists and assume it's annual. You receive a pin code that you can use to unfreeze the report for legitimate uses. A spokesman for Consumers Union points out that the offering is good, but not really effective unless the other big players participate:We think it's a major development... but you really need to be able to freeze all three of your credit files. Otherwise...

Decoded: "They are the secret language of the gadget ...
"They are the secret language of the gadget world: mysterious icons that are printed, stamped, and engraved on every electronic device and the packaging it comes in." Wired explains the meanings behind eight commonly used symbols you find on today's electronics. [Wired]