Generally, the attendance of a father at his child’s birth is not optional. This potentially put Chicago Bears superfan Mark Pavelka in a bind. Pavelka had scored much coveted tickets to Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against eh New Orleans Saints, but with his wife pregnant and due on Monday, the prospect of birth and sport…
We bring you another part of the Consumerist’s series on tips on exercising your rights as a consumer, with our comments Use a speaker phone – recording helps too Set aside at least 30 minutes – On hold time alone can take that away Get a human – Gethuman is very useful. And you can’t…
You go on vacation with your family to Disney World…one of the ‘Most Wonderful Places on Earth’, and a costumed man dressed as Tigger sucker punches your fourteen year old son. But at least you capture it on video. Tigger claims it was “self-defense”…and exactly what led up to the event in front of his…
As proof the Internet is a dangerous place…someone harvested a woman’s blog to produce pictures and details about her apartment and used them to post an ad on Craiglist advertising an apartment for rent. The blogger, Beth, found out about it when a stranger called about the apartment. Beth contacted ‘Beth’, the one who wanted…
WFTV Florida reports that an angry woman is accused of setting a Walgreens on fire. One moment…she was angry about receiving incorrect change, and the next, she was going up and down the aisles lighting things on fire with a lit cigarette. In the Walgreens TV commercials, they recount the story of the town of…
Another bit of advice from the Consumerist, on how to get satisfaction. Ask for what you want really nicely. Hone in on solutions, not on how bad it makes you feel. Cut to the Chase…expect solutions now…not at some indefinite time in the future. Volunteer Mediators are your friend. Complain to the relevant organizations…consumer advocacy,…
We understand that it’s not unusual for passionate people to argue. However, a recent fight between Dan Gulley Jr. and David James Brooks Jr. reminds us of Henry Kissenger’s oft-quoted dictum “University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small.” The men, who were friends, were at another friend’s house recently when they…
We recently decided here at Giving up The Ship to add to the focus of this blog with stories of consumers fighting against corporate illogic and insanity. In that vein, we refer you to this post from the Consumerist…their guide to fighting companies and winning. Get Screwed by a Company – It happens all the…
The title just says it all. Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, offers how-to articles on their website. Clicking through one day in search of an article on replacing a rusty fixture…there it was. Feng Shui in the Bathroom, a handy guide to those who want to increase their chi while sitting on the toilet. A few…
A Customer Service Representative at Best Buy suggested to Charles Yu that he change his name in order to join the Best Buy Reward Zone program. Reward Zone is one of those free programs that allows people to accumulate points through purchases towards rewards. However, the online sign up form would not allow him to…