Tuesday, June 23, 2015

New Product Scorecard For Effective Development And Launch

Friday, March 20, 2015

FAA Clears Amazon To Start Testing Delivery Drone Flights

amazonprimeair2 Amazon is getting one step closer to the company’s dream of delivering packages by air, as the Federal Aviation Administration has given the company the go-ahead to start testing drones outside.


The FAA issued an experimental airworthiness certificate to Amazon Logistics, Inc., for what it calls an “unmanned aircraft design” that the company will use for research and development of its proposed Amazon Prime Air service, as well as crew training, the FAA says.


Lest anyone thinks drones will just start whizzing through the sky willynilly, there are some restrictions and conditions set in the certificate that Amazon must abide by in testing its fliers: All flights must stay below 400 feet and happen during the daylight, in clear skies.


The drone has to stay within the pilot’s line of sight at all times, as well as an observer. And whoever is flying the aircraft has to have at least a private pilot’s certificate and current medical certification.


From here, Amazon will have to provide monthly data about its test to the FAA, reporting the number of flights conducted, pilot duty time per flight, unusual hardware or software malfunctions, any deviations from air traffic controllers’ instructions, and any unintended loss of communication links.




by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Friday, February 27, 2015

Amazon Imagines A Future Where Delivery Trucks Print 3D Products At The Curb

One of Amazon's patent applications.

One of Amazon’s patent applications.



There can be a lot of worry over getting a package from Amazon delivered successfully — but what if your item never had to travel farther than the distance between the curb and your door? Amazon has filed a few patent applications in an effort to perhaps make curbside 3D printing a reality for the future.

These “mobile manufacturing hubs” would allow drivers to pop out products right outside the customer’s home, reports the Wall Street Journal, all from the delivery truck that’s already driving around dropping off other products.


The explanation for the patents says that using such a system would cut down on the time it takes to deliver a package, and also cut down on how much warehouse space Amazon needs to hold all its products.


“Time delays between receiving an order and shipping the item to the customer may reduce customer satisfaction and affect revenues generated,” Amazon wrote in the applications. “Accordingly, an electronic marketplace may find it desirable to decrease the amount of warehouse or inventory storage space needed, to reduce the amount of time consumed between receiving an order and delivering the item to the customer, or both.”


This kind of thing could be good if you needed replacement car parts or other 3D printed items on the day you’re set to go on a road trip, posits the WSJ, but find something is missing. It could also mean that some products would never be out of stock, meaning less frustration on the customer end once you find that perfect item you absolutely must have.


When Drones Aren’t Enough, Amazon Envisions Trucks with 3D Printers [Wall Street Journal]




by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Friday, January 30, 2015

Are Cable Companies Lowering HBO Rates In Advance Of Standalone HBO Go?


Though we still don’t know a specific launch date, name, or monthly cost of HBO’s upcoming standalone streaming service, it looks like some pay-TV providers are cutting their rates for the premium service or offering discounted promotions in advance of its debut.

This is according to TVpredictions.com, which reports that Comcast recently dropped its standard HBO subscription rate from $18.95 to $15, which just happens to be the number that most — including Consumerist readers — are predicting for the HBO streaming service.


What’s more, Comcast is apparently offering a promotion that cuts the monthly rate to $10 for people who order online.


Comcast’s proposed merger partner is also offering that same discounted rate for online orderers of HBO.


That’s the same introductory price that Verizon FiOS is now offering customers for 12 months, doubling its previous promotional offer of six months at $10. Though it still looks like the price will jump to $20/month after that year passes.


TVpredictions notes that Comcast also dropped its standard monthly price on Showtime and Starz from $17 to $12, which may or may not have anything to do with the fact that both of these premium networks have said they plan to get into the standalone streaming business.


Several signs point to cable companies selling access to the HBO streaming service, which would allow them to continue making money off these premium channels.


That might explain why the satellite providers, Dish and DirecTV, have not dropped their HBO rates, as they don’t currently offer an all-in-one TV and broadband service like the terrestrial cable operators. They do stand to lose some business from subscribers who no longer have a reason to pay for live TV, but at the same time many of their customers — especially those in rural areas — may not have broadband access that would be fast enough to handle HD video streaming.


Again, until HBO finally pulls the curtain off its service, much of this is speculation.


[via DSLreports.com]




by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Addicted To Tanning? Study Says It Might Be In Your Genes


While there are those of us who shun the sun and it’s potential to tan skin into a hue other than scariest white, some people find themselves craving the sun’s rays or seeking to get their Vitamin D fix in tanning beds. Those addicts seeking a fix every day could be driven by genetics, a new study says.

Being “addicted” to tanning means getting a feel good sensation in the brain, or as it’s known, a high. The study by a senior research scientist at the Yale Cancer Center (via USA Today’s college portal) whose those high and lows that come with tanning dependence is more about the genes than the person lying in the UV bed every day.


“We were interested in tanning, particularly indoor tanning, because of the increase of young people who were getting skin cancer at least in part because of it,” says Brenda Cartmel. “Dermatologists for years have never seen this type of cancer and now they do quite a lot.”


The 292 participants in the study included 79 who showed signs of being addicted to tanning, while others tanned but weren’t showing signs of addiction. After analyzing everyone’s DNA, one variation of a certeain gene stood out in the first group over the second. The gene’s function isn’t known yet, but researchers know that the proteins it codes for are found mainly in the brain.


“We were a little surprised because it was not a gene we had hypothesized that might be affiliated with a tanning dependence,” Cartmel says, while admitting that the limited participant group isn’t broad enough to make a conclusion about tanning and genetics. Further studies could use her work as a starting place, however, and eventually lead to methods of treatment for any addiction.


Almost 30 million people tan indoors every year, says the Skin Cancer Foundation, with teens making up two to three million of those people. Some states are moving to prevent teenagers from tanning inside, however, with nine states and D.C. having bans in place to keep minors from using UV beds. Other states require parental consent.


But don’t go around bragging that you can’t help getting bronze day after day, as it’s unlikely most people are actually addicted.


“There is a small percentage of the population that gets addicted [to tanning],” says Cartmel. “Ultimately, we hope that we might be able to develop new interventions that would help those people.”


“Our ultimate goal is to encourage people not to use indoor tanning, and use protective measures when they’re outside,” she adds.




by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Jones New York Will Close Stores, End Wholesale Business

jones ny This week hasn’t exactly brought good news for women’s fashion. Kate Spade announced yesterday that it would shutter its Kate Spade Saturday and Jack Spade stores, and today, Jones New York announced it would close stores and discontinue its wholesale business.


Bloomberg reports that the multichannel women’s sportswear brand will close 127 outlet stores and terminate its wholesale business throughout the year.


The company sold apparel in a number of department stores, such as Macy’s, at Jones New York Outlet stores and through its own website.


Officials with the company say the move was made after a review of its recent performance and outlook.


“We recognize that the Jones New York brand is important to many loyal customers, and we are pursuing strategic alternatives for the brand,” Interim Chief Executive Officer Andrew Hede said in the statement. “We will work with our wholesale customers and vendors to ensure an orderly transition over the course of this year.”


Jones Group Inc., which owns the brand as well as Nine West, was acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners in December 2013 as part of a $1.2 billion deal.


Jones New York to Close Stores and Seek Strategic Alternatives [Bloomberg]




by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Exec Formerly Known As “Comcast Frank” Has Some Tough-Love Advice For Company


Once upon a time, Frank Eliason was better known Comcast Frank, heading up the cable company’s Digital Care team during a time when people began to realize that complaining on the Internet could get results. He left Comcast in 2010 to take his social media and customer service skills to Citigroup, but his legacy of giving a damn about customers remains. So after months of seeing Comcast make one huge goof after another, Frank apparently felt compelled to pen an open letter to his former employer with some good advice.

“I have had the privilege of working for the company,” Eliason writes in a lengthy post on LinkedIn, “and I consider many who work there to truly be family, but today I have to say I am disappointed.”


Though we take issue with his assertion that Comcast customer service complaints had quieted in recent years — we can testify that they have not — we agree that the last year has been one disaster after another for the company.


There was the Aug. 2014 incident in which a desperate Comcast retention specialist desperately demanded that writer Ryan Block provide a reason for canceling his service.


Comcast apologized profusely for that incident an insisted that this wasn’t how employees were trained, though employees told us differently, and an in-house Comcast memo acknowledged that the employee was doing “what we trained him to do.”


“I have no doubt that the corporate office did not realize that employees were trained this way,” writes Eliason, “but I am confident that the customer service representative was doing what he was taught — up-selling, or retaining, rather than risking the loss of a subscriber. In any job we strive to perform according to how we’re measured. And for most companies, employees in a retention department are measured on the number of customers they save from closing an account.”


The Ryan Block call was followed by other high-profile customer service disasters like this one, and this one, and this one — and let’s not forget about the customer who was fired from his job at a Comcast vendor after complaining about thousands of dollars in overcharges for service and equipment.


And 2015 has not gotten off to a great start, with the most recent cock-up — the customer whose name was changed to “A**hole Brown” by someone at Comcast.


“From what I have seen, Comcast has been handling this in the best manner you can expect,” writes Eliason. “They have offered the Customer credits for multiple years of service and they have privately and publicly apologized.”


He says he agrees with Comcast Senior VP Charlie Herrin, who wrote in response to the incident that “we need to show them respect, patience, and enthusiasm to provide them with an excellent experience.”


But Eliason questions what it is about the employee culture at Comcast that is still allowing for these sorts of gaffes to occur.


“How can this happen today?” he asks. “Why do we not hear many incidents like these from other companies? Companies do implement technology solutions to prevent these type of things, which Comcast has stated they are working on, but often other companies do not have the same issue because they hire people to fit within their company culture.”


Because human customer service is a huge expense for businesses and doesn’t directly generate revenue, companies have both been trying to automate the process, removing humans from the equation whenever possible. And for those times when you must use actual people, businesses are more frequently going the cheapest possible route while also turning frontline customer service reps into de facto salespeople, argues Eliason.


“Call centers tried to shift to become sales centers,” he explains. “This is why any time a customer calls, they’re pitched everything under the sun instead of actually helping you with the reason why you called in the first place. We have been in a age of outsourcing, and finding the cheapest means possible to provide customer service. Comcast has become the poster child for this shift in company thinking.”


Eliason believes there is something wrong with the inside culture at Comcast that allows bad behavior to persist.


“The reason you tend not to hear about incidents like this from other companies is because people within the company would be horrified if they heard of such a thing, and they can easily escalate the situation to higher levels,” he writes. “How would you react if you worked for a company and a customer pointed out that the company changed a customer’s name to a–hole? I personally would hit the roof.”


But as happened in the A**hole Brown story, the customer claims she appealed to both the local Comcast office and the regional office to no avail. It wasn’t until she reached out to journalist Christopher Elliott that she finally got anyone to care.


“In my view it should have been able to be handled by those in the store,” contends Eliason. “They should have had the ability to escalate the situation to the senior leaders who could find a reasonable solution to a very unreasonable situation.


“I am sure Comcast will be reviewing the entire situation,” he continues, “and I hope they not only look into why the first person thought this was okay to do, or that they could get away with it (although they may have intended to go out in style too), but why others were not completely horrified by it and yelling from the rooftops for all leaders to hear? This is where culture comes into play and it should not have taken public shame to do the right thing.”


Eliason concludes his post with some actionable advice on what Comcast could do to improve its customer service and minimize the likelihood of high-profile errors:



1) Hire a Chief Customer Officer to represent the views of the Customer in everything the company does…


2) Simplify pricing strategies instead of forcing people to threaten to cancel service just to get a better rate. Stop creating situations where customers have to fight with you.


3) Review current customer service staffing and consider moving roles back to the US (please note, in my view and experience this incident was most likely done by someone in the US), where at least the service personnel can relate to what it is like to being a Comcast Customer.


4) Actions speak louder than words, so no more apologizing, but instead doing.


5) Live up to being the Philadelphian that you already are. We will support you, but you need to support us too. Treat us in the same manner you would want to be treated.



While these are all valid points, what Eliason — who supports Comcast’s pending acquisition of Time Warner Cable — glosses over is one of the main reasons that people hate their cable and broadband providers so much: lack of choice.


It’s one thing to get bad service from a company. It’s another when you have no other option for that service. Even those who get their pay-TV service from satellite or who don’t watch TV at all still rely on cable companies for broadband.


Imagine being publicly an “A**hole” by your supermarket and then having to go back to that same supermarket because you’re simply not allowed to shop elsewhere. Then you’ll understand why consumers hate Comcast and the few remaining cable companies out there.




by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Adobe Accuses Forever 21 Of Pirating Design Software

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Wait a minute…Forever 21 is in legal trouble over an intellectual property issue that doesn’t involve accusations that it ripped off another fashion company’s design? Yes, the fast-fashion superstore is being sued by three software companies that accuse it of pirating their expensive software. The lead plaintiff is Adobe, maker of professional software and a company that would definitely notice if an entire company were using unlicensed versions.

It used to be that a use could purchase a copy of a pricey program once, install it from a disc of some kind, and then use it into perpetuity as long as they held on to the disc and a compatible computer. (For example, I’ve been using Adobe CS3 since 2010 and regret nothing.) The rise of cloud computing and software as a service is better for software companies since they an depend on regular income between major releases. Consumers, however, have to pay monthly for programs per user, and we can see how a penny-pinching boss might not appreciate that.


The other software makers involved are AutoDesk, a maker of computer-aided design software, and Corel, maker of Paint Shop Pro and WinZip, among other programs. These companies also allege that Forever 21 was using pirated versions of their programs. “Plaintiffs are informed and believe and thereon allege that Defendants continued

their infringing activities even after being contacted by Adobe regarding the infringement,” the companies’ lawyers write in the initial complaint.


They ask that Forever 21 stop using the alleged stolen software, that they destroy ill-gotten copies floating around on office computers, and the companies also ask that their damages be calculated based on the profits that Forever 21 earned using the allegedly ill-gotten software.


Adobe is suing Forever 21 for pirating Photoshop [The Verge]




by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

ESPN Selling U.S. Fans Live-Streaming Access To Cricket World Cup For $99.99


While cricket doesn’t enjoy the immense popularity it inspires in other countries, fans of the sport who’ve been going without their fixes here in the United States will have a way to watch the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup: In a first for ESPN, the network is selling live-streaming access to the cup’s 49 matches in February and March for $99.99.

ESPN is calling it a one-time deal, notes CNNMoney, but if it’s a success, it’s likely that it could happen again in the future.


It’s the first time ESPN has sold programming directly to consumers, a trend that’s gaining steam lately. Just yesterday, Nickelodeon announced its own direct-to-consumer subscription, which will start this year. Others like HBO and Showtime have also said they’re planning similar services for customers who don’t want to get cable or satellite services.


ESPN is keeping those providers in the loop with this deal, however, teaming up with Dish Network, Time Warner Cable and Mediacom so that customers can buy the cricket package through those providers as well. Prices will vary on those packages, as each provider will get to set the cost.


It’s worth pointing out that Re/code first reported that this would happen last November, so it’s not a total surprise that it’s come to fruition.


Russell Wolf, an ESPN executive vice president calls the “digital subscription service” as a “complement to our core networks and the value of the multichannel environment.”


You see, ESPN isn’t trying to overthrow The Man, just exist alongside him, with him, if you will. Everyone makes money, everyone wins, as it’s a chance for ESPN to “develop new expertise and agility in a dynamic media environment.”


ESPN selling Cricket World Cup on the Web [CNNMoney]




by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Yelp Goes To Court To Protect Identity Of Anonymous Review-Writer


Once again, a business who is displeased with an anonymous review on Yelp is trying to sue that reviewer and attempting to compel Yelp to reveal that user’s actual identity. But this morning, lawyers for Yelp and consumer advocates were in court to argue that there is no justification for unmasking the writer of this review.

In June 2013, a Yelp user with the screen name “Lin L.” wrote a Yelp review for a real estate firm in Texas.


The review stated that the agent she worked with was “by far the worst deceitful and money greedy sales agent you would ever deal with,” who “failed to represent us as clients, never explained our contracts to us and not once did he ever ask us what we wanted to keep or take in our home,” along with other claims that she was rushed into selling the house so that the agent could make his commission.


Then in May 2014, the firm contacted Yelp to request the removal of the review. After looking into Lin L.’s comments, Yelp decided in June 2014 to allow the review to stand “because it appeared to reflect the user’s personal experience and opinions, consistent with Yelp’s Terms of Service and Content Guidelines.”


When Aug. 2014 rolled around, the firm’s lawyer contacted Yelp, claiming that Lin L. was never a client and that what she describes in the review never occurred. The lawyer warned that if Yelp did not “immediately remove this review and disclose the full identity of this individual,” the firm would file a lawsuit seeking damages and attorney fees.


Yelp’s response defended its decision to keep the review online saying it still believed the write-up reflected the user’s opinions and experiences. However, if the real estate firm were able to prove in court that the review is defamatory, Yelp would reconsider. The site also said it would not reveal Lin L.’s identity without a valid subpoena.


Keep in mind that Yelp may not even have Lin L.’s real identity. Yes, you need to provide a first/last name, e-mail address and ZIP code when registering for Yelp, but there are no assurances that the name or location info provided to Yelp is accurate. I could go in and create an account using the name Steve Sanders and giving a 90210 ZIP code, but that doesn’t make me this guy.


Back to the case at hand…


In Nov. 2014, more than a year after the original review was posted, the real estate firm filed suit in a county court in Texas, alleging claims for defamation, civil conspiracy, and exemplary damages against defendant Lin L., but did not name Yelp as a defendant. The firm did, however, issue a subpoena to Yelp’s registered agent in Delaware, demanding identifying information and “all records and documents in your possession pertaining to LIN L.”


Yelp objected to the subpoena as it was served in Delaware, seeking documents stored in California, for a case in a Texas court.


Eventually, the firm’s lawyer filed a motion to compel with the court, asking it to require that Yelp provide the information sought by the subpoena.


Last week, Yelp and Paul Alan Levy, attorney for consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, filed an opposition [PDF] to the motion to compel, and then appeared before the court this morning to make their case.


The first issue involves the validity of the subpoena. Yelp maintains that a court in Texas, where Yelp has no offices, lacks subpoena jurisdiction over the California-headquartered company. This could have been avoided, argues Yelp, if the firm’s attorney had presented the Texas subpoena to the clerk’s office of a California circuit court, along with the proper application and fee. The clerk would then be obligated to issue a California subpoena.


But even if the subpoena had been served properly, or if the court rules that a local Texas court does indeed have subpoena jurisdiction, Yelp contends that the real estate firm has not yet met the constitutional requirements for compelling Yelp to identify Lin L.


“Because compelled identification trenches on the First Amendment right of anonymous speakers to remain anonymous, justification for infringing that right requires proof of a compelling interest, and beyond that, the restriction must be narrowly tailored to serve that interest,” reads Yelp’s opposition to the motion.


Yelp also points out that the mere unmasking of an anonymous reviewer may have a chilling effect on others’ decisions to exercise their First Amendment right to anonymous speech.


“Indeed, in a number of cases, plaintiffs have succeeded in identifying their critics and then sought no further relief from the court,” argues Yelp and Levy. “The federal Fifth Circuit has sanctioned a Texas lawyer who used subpoenas to identify anonymous defendants, not with any intention of litigating against them but in the hope of extorting quick settlements through the threat of public shaming.”


Yelp also asks the court to rule that the subpoena and the motion to compel is frivolous. The lawsuit was filed more than a year after the original review was posted, which is beyond the 12-month statute of limitations for libel claims in Texas.




by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Delta Air Lines Flight Makes Emergency Landing After Pilot Gets Locked Out Of Cockpit


In what can only be akin to walking out the front door and realizing you locked your keys and the baby inside, the pilot of a Delta Air Lines flight found himself in a spot of trouble after the cockpit door locked behind him, forcing the first officer to make an emergency landing.

The flight from Minneapolis to Las Vegas landed safely after calling to report there’d been a bit of a snafu with a malfunctioning cockpit door, reports ABC News.


“About half way through [the 2.5-hour flight] there seemed to be some talking at the front of the plane. You could see the captain out there,” a passenger told ABC News. “There wasn’t a huge panic but some confusion.”


He explained that the door was jammed and he was stuck on the wrong side, the passenger said, calling it “very, very bizarre.”


But when the first officer was able to land at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas without a hitch, managing it “perfectly,” everyone broke out into spontaneous applause, he said.


Having the first officer on the other side of the plane meant he had access to the right controls to make the landing, but the plane needed to be towed in instead of taxiing to the gate.


“There was a door malfunctioned that locked the captain out so the first officer had to do an unassisted landing,” an airport spokesman said. “We take everything very seriously. This was an unusual landing. He called the airport so that we would have ground response available.”


Delta Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Pilot Locked Out of Cockpit [ABC News]




by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Intuit Caves To Pressure: Offers Free TurboTax Upgrades, Will Undo Changes To Software For Next Year

Intuit CEO Brad Smith is sorry.

Intuit CEO Brad Smith is sorry.



Ask, and ye shall receive. Or rather, create a fuss big enough to let a company know people aren’t okay with changes made to a popular product, and force that company to back down and do the right thing. After TurboTax customers heartily voiced their disapproval over Intuit tweaking its software and charging more for features that used to be included in certain versions of the software, Intuit has reversed course, saying it’ll undo the hell it wrought.


Intuit changed which services come with each tier of desktop software — Basic, Deluxe, Premier, and Home and Business — shifting some forms to more expensive versions. One big bone of contention was that the new version of TurboTax Deluxe no longer included four forms that are an essential part of some customers’ tax returns, forcing them to upgrade to the Premier software to gain access to those forms.


At first, Intuit tried to make good by offering a $25 rebate to those forced to upgrade, but first they had to finish and e-file their taxes and then apply for the rebate, and it only worked if they filed by April 15.


That wasn’t good enough, and now Intuit is saying it’s sorry and wants customers to come back into the fold. The company announced yesterday that it will roll back the changes it made to TurboTax software this year, and will cancel those changes for next year as well.


“These past couple of weeks have not been our finest hour,” Intuit CEO Brad Smith says in a new video posted by the company. In a blog post on LinkedIn accompanying the video, he adds that the company’s initial response and apology were off.


“Our apology and the way we handled the situation significantly missed the mark. Comments on my post as well as emails, calls and online reviews clearly stated we needed to do more to rectify the situation,” he writes.


Those customers forced to upgrade to complete their taxes can now upgrade from within the program for free, instead of waiting to complete their taxes and getting that $25 rebate. If you’ve already upgraded, you still have until April 20 to apply for the $25 rebate.


It will take until early February for necessary program changes to take effect, Smith notes, so if you don’t see the free upgrade right away, be patient.



Sorry Wasn’t Enough. Here’s What We’re Doing Now. [LinkedIn]




by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Feds Take Action Against Pair Of Deceptive Auto Title Lenders


When it comes to short-term, high-interest loans, payday lenders may get most of the headlines, but auto title loans can be just as perilous for borrowers, especially when the lenders use deceptive marketing. This morning, the Federal Trade Commission announced its first ever legal actions involving title loan operations that misled borrowers.


The FTC announced Friday that First American Title Lending of Georgia, LLC and Finance Select, Inc. have agreed to settle charges they advertised, both online and in print, 0% interest rates for a 30-day car title loan without disclosing important loan conditions or the increased finance charge imposed after the introductory period ended.


While advertised as short-term loans, title loans can become longer-term, high cost installment loans with payments due over several months. The annual percentage rate of a car title loan can be over 300 percent. If a consumer does not repay the loan within 30 days, high finance charges can add up quickly, with a consumer paying hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees or forfeiting the vehicle.


According to the FTC complaint [PDF], First American Title Lending, which operates 30 locations in Georgia, advertised a zero percent offer and failed to disclose that the borrower had to meet specific conditions to actually receive that rate.


The borrower had to be a new customer, repay the loan within 30 days, and pay with a money order or certified funds, not cash or a personal check. If a borrower failed to meet those conditions, the offer did not apply, and he or she would be required to pay a finance charge from the start of the loan.


Additionally, the company’s ads failed to disclose the amount of the finance charge after the introductory period.


According to the FTC’s complaint [PDF] against Finance Select, which does business as Fast Cash Title Pawn, the company failed to disclose that unless a loan was paid in full in 30 days, the zero percent offer did not apply, and the borrower would have to pay a finance charge for the initial 30 days of the loan in addition to any finance charges incurred going forward.


Fast Cash, which has five locations across Georgia and two in Alabama, also failed to disclose how much the finance charge would cost a borrower after the 30-day introductory period was over.


Under the proposed settlement, the two companies are prohibited from failing to disclose all qualifying terms associated with obtaining a loan at its advertised rate; failing to disclose what the finance charge would be after an introductory period ends; and misrepresenting any material terms of any loan agreements.


First American Title Lending is also prohibited from stating the amount of any down payment, number of payments or periods of repayment or the amount of any payment or finance charge without clearly and conspicuously stating all the terms required by the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z.


The FTC reports that the latest action is part of an ongoing effort to protect consumers in the short-term lending and auto marketplaces.


In First FTC Cases Against Car Title Lenders, Companies Settle Charges They Deceptively Advertised the Cost of Their Loans [Federal Trade Commission]




by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Police: Telemarketer’s Phone Call Saved Woman 900 Miles Away From Violent Attack


Usually a telemarketer’s call is greeted with annoyance, disdain or even outright anger. But in one recent case, that unsolicited phone call has been credited with saving a woman’s life, from 900 miles away.

Workers at a call center in Las Vegas found themselves listening to what sounded like a horrible, violent scene, reports KLAS-TV, after a phone call to a woman in Oregon was picked up, but no one answered.


The worker called over her supervisor and had her listen in.


“She said, ‘Tina, you need to hear this. I don’t think this is a joke. Something’s happening. I think this lady is getting hit,’” the supervisor said. “The young lady on the other end of the phone never said hello. There was just a horrible whimper.”


Her boss also stepped in, saying the phone call was getting “progressively worse.”


The workers didn’t hang up the phone, convinced that the “as far as the people in that room were concerned, we were the only lifeline she had.”


The workers alerted the sheriff’s office in Oregon where the woman lived, and officers were sent to the home. Once there, they said they heard a woman calling for help and a man telling her to be quiet.


Upon entering the home, deputies report that a man was holding a woman from behind, and let her go when he saw the police. She was reportedly crying and gasping for air, running past the police out the door. Officers said it appeared she had been physically assaulted and smothered with blankets and pillows during the attack.


Police say she also claimed the man had shoved a gun into her chest and put the barrel near her face, and that she was in fear for her life, thinking he wanted to either kill himself or both of them.


Her phone had apparently been in her back pocket during the entire ordeal, and she said she had no idea how someone had called the police. Deputies say the telemarketers 900 miles away are likely responsible for saving her life.


The man was arrested and booked on charges of fourth degree assault, menacing and strangulation.


Local call center hears attack, saves Oregon woman [KLAS-TV]




by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds

Here are ten of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.











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Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr Pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.




by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Sweet Bread with Macadamia Honey Butter

A sweet bread with a creamy nut butter to top it off. If you've ever eaten at Disney's Polynesian Kona Cafe restaurant, you would have fallen in love with this bread. Now you can make it yourself.

Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake

Have you ever had those molten lava cakes for dessert at a restaurant? They are amazing! And this recipe tastes just as good but all the work is done by the slow cooker.

Oven Roasted Balsamic Green Beans

These green beans will become a favorite. They are loaded with flavor and so easy to make. The roasting brings out the flavor from the beans and the vineagar.

Smoked Soy-Honey-Rum Cornish Game Hens

Brined to flavor the meat and then smoked to bring out all that flavor, these tasty little hens will impress everyone. Enjoy this any time of year.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

How The New McDonald’s CEO Could Improve Restaurants Worldwide

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For years now, we’ve referred to Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed as “curiously Australian,” since it’s unexpected and exotic for a Tex-Mex fast-food joint to be run by someone from the other side of the planet. Now another fast-food company has a chief executive from elsewhere in the Anglophone world: the incoming CEO of McDonald’s, Steve Easterbrook, is British.

Don Thompson, who will step down on March 1st, started with the company as an electrical engineer and worked his way up to the top job. Easterbrook started as an accountant, and served as CEO of McDonald’s UK. Changes made in restaurants in that country under Easterbrook’s leadership are things that American consumers have found lacking at McDonald’s.


Fruit: Well, no one goes to McDonald’s because they’re in the mood for health food, but McDonald’s in the United States has been experimenting with feeding more fruit to their youngest customers. Instead of a confusing array of Happy Meal options that include apples or tangerines, McDonald’s UK started a simple enough promotions: free bags of fruit with every Happy Meal on the first Friday of every month.


Environmental responsibility: Okay, “McDonald’s” and “environmental responsibility” might sound like they contradict each other, but they don’t. McDonald’s UK started a composting program, returning food scraps to the earth.


Food sourcing: This is important, since food sourcing is part of why Chipotle has become so popular with young adults in the US. McDonald’s UK sells beef, pork, and organic milk that has been sourced from inside the country, and coffee that’s Rainforest Alliance-certified. They’ve only used sustainably caught fish since 2001.


Fish sticks: We’re not sure whether this is a good or bad thing, but McDonald’s UK sells fish sticks that are similar to the Filet-O-Fish patty, or “fish fingers” as they’re called over there. That’s not necessarily something that American consumers are clamoring for, but it’s an interesting difference.


McDonald’s in US vs. UK: How New British CEO May Transform the Burger Chain [ABC News]




by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Cablevision Sues Verizon, Claims “Fastest WiFi” Ads Are Misleading


Competing companies often call each other out for exaggerations in ads and other marketing sleight of hand, but Cablevision has decided to let the legal system settle its dispute with Verizon over claims of who has the “fastest WiFi available.” Meanwhile, Verizon says the lawsuit is a marketing ploy to sell Cablevision’s WiFi phone service.

The suit [PDF], filed today in a U.S. District Court in New York, accuses Verizon of making misleading statements that not are not only false advertising about its own products but which also mislead consumers with regard to Cablevision.


“Verizon’s false claim of WiFi speed superiority is deliberately designed to undercut Cablevision’s competitive WiFi advantage in the marketplace,” reads the complaint, which adds that the Verizon claims are “likely to interfere” with Cablevision’s recently announced WiFi-only voice, text, and data service.


“The false ads in Verizon’s campaign are designed to undermine the competitive threat Cablevision’s WiFi services pose to multiple facets — both internet and cellular service — of Verizon’s business,” continues the suit.


Cablevision contends that Verizon is basing its speediest WiFi boast on the new AC1750, 802.11ac routers that its customers are gaining access to. The problem is, according to the complaint, that Cablevision already offers AC1750, 802.11ac routers to its customers, and has for about a year.


Since both companies are offering effectively the same WiFi routers to customers in the same general area, Cablevision doesn’t see how Verizon could claims its service is the fastest, especially when customers have to pay up to $199.99 (or $9.99/month) for Verizon’s while Cablevision’s is included with service.


The suit also points out that Cablevision has rolled out more than 1 million WiFi hotspots for customer use in the New York City tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT), meaning subscribers have wider access to WiFi out of home, as Verizon’s hotspots in the area are actually licensed through third parties.


It’s worth noting that Cablevision has introduced a large number of its hotspots in a similar and controversial fashion to Comcast, by using using each company-supplied wireless router for both the at-home subscriber and WiFi users on the go. Companies that do this claim that users of the public WiFi will not be able to access the home network and that the public use does not affect service to the paying subscriber, though many people are skeptical about both of these claims.


Back to the complaint… It takes particular issue with the fine print in Verizon ads that support the “fastest WiFi” claim by citing a study that Cablevision believes was privately commissioned and is not available to public.


Cablevision says it sent a letter to Verizon on Jan. 23 demanding the withdraw of the ads in question and explaining that the routers being offered by both companies are identical. The company also requested a copy of the study Verizon cites in its ads.


According to the complaint, when legal reps for both companies spoke, Verizon again pointed to this study but as of today had not made it available.


“Verizon’s false advertising campaign is especially damaging to Cablevision because Cablevision’s superior WiFi capabilities have long been a market differentiator for Cablevision,” reads the suit, which alleges violations of federal false advertising prohibitions and New York state laws regarding deceptive business practices.


When reached for comment a rep for Verizon said the company had not yet seen the lawsuit, which was filed at the end of business today. However, Verizon believes the suit is a “boldface ploy to promote Cablevision’s latest wireless gambit.”


“A third party has tested and validated the FiOS Quantum Gateway Router,” continues the statement. “It offers the fastest in-home Wi-Fi available from any provider. As usual, Cablevision is confusing consumers by using an apples to oranges comparison of in-home and public Wi-Fi.”


What may be confusing to many consumers is the discussion of “fastest WiFi” at all, as many casual viewers might assume this means fastest broadband access when in fact one has little to do with the other.


You can have the fastest in-home WiFi on Earth but if your Internet connection is slow as mud — or if your ISP is deliberately allowing your Netflix stream to bottleneck — that world’s fastest router can’t speed up data it’s not receiving.




by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Campbell Soup Reorganizes, Focuses On Non-Soup Food


People aren’t buying as much canned soup as they used to. Whether it’s because meals with a cream of mushroom base have gone out of style or people have left for other brands, Campbell’s canned soups aren’t selling like they used to. That’s why Campbell Soup Company is reorganizing its business to focus on lines of food other than soup.

Instead of organizing itself by geographic regions or by brand, the company will organize itself according to food type. Campbell owns some brands that you might not have associated with the company, like Bolthouse Farm vegetables, Pepperidge Farm, Plum Organics baby food, Prego pasta sauce, Spaghetti-Os, and V8. The company will now organize itself into divisions in charge of packaged meals and beverages, cookies and snacks, and fresh packaged produce.


It’s not that people aren’t eating soup, but Americans are switching to store brands or to smaller gourmet or organic brands of packaged soup. Campbell’s has tried to compete with other brands, but an attempt to reach young foodies with $3 plastic pouches of soup that isn’t organic, gluten-free, or vegan didn’t really succeed.


Campbell Soup to reorganize, shift focus from soup business [Reuters]




by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Chipotle’s Non-Burrito Pizzeria Concept Expands Eastward

pizzerialocale For the last couple of years, Chipotle has been playing around with pizza at the few Pizzeria Locale eateries it has in Colorado. But now the eatery is looking to the east and seeing there are hungry mouths to feed in the Kansas City area, where another Locale is set to open this summer.


The Kansas City Star reports that a Pizzeria Locale restaurant will open up next door to an existing Chipotle in the Waldo neighborhood of Kansas City, MO, and will employ between 15-20 people.


The Pizzeria Locale idea, which is a partnership between Chipotle and restaurant founders Bobby Stuckey and Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson, brings Chipotle’s made-to-order practices to the pizza business, using ovens that can blast a custom-made pizza in a matter of a few minutes.


The selection of Kansas City is interesting as it was one of the first (but not the first, as the Star writes) non-Colorado destinations for Chipotle when that chain first began expanding more than 15 years ago.


Stuckey and Mackinnon-Patterson opened their first Pizzeria Locale, a full-service restaurant, in 2011 in Boulder. Then Chipotle became interested and backed the opening of two quick-service locations in 2013 and 2014, both in Denver.


Now it’s a wait-and-see game to find out if Kansas City residents will take to this new pizza or if they’ll stick with the pies they know.


[via Eater]




by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Olive Garden Revamps Menu, Invites Food Snobs To Come Whine About It


Olive Garden has never pretended to be a center of fancy cuisine or healthy eating. Its selling point the quantities of food available, including and especially breadsticks coated with garlic salt. Olive Garden is currently trying to rebrand itself, introducing a new logo and adding new ideas to the menu, like burgers and tapas. Is that enough to impress food snobs? Of course not. It’s Olive Garden.

Investor Starboard Value criticized many things about the O.G., from its failure to boil water with pasta to its over-generous breadstick baskets. The company does need to do better, but can the restaurant succeed? Of course: this is America. All you need to do is deep-fry as many vegetables as possible and slather cheese on every surface.


At least, that’s the impression we get from a review of the new menu preview Either it was a terrible idea for Olive Garden to invite local food bloggers in Detroit to a tasting event for its new menu, or the chain knew exactly what it was doing. Either way, what we’ve learned is that Olive Garden is not holding back on the cream sauces, that they do sad and terrible things to innocent meat and seafood, and that their food has a vague relationship to the true nature of Italian food. This new menu should be a hit.


The invitation to bloggers said that “Olive Garden recently unveiled the most significant menu revolution in the restaurant’s history,” which sounds promising. The problem, of course, is that people who have food blogs tend to be people who sneer at Olive Garden’s entire approach to food. That’s why this Metro Times review of the chain’s tasting menu almost sounds like a commercial, if you are a person who likes Olive Garden’s particular approach to Italian food. Maybe you are not fussy about your risotto, and piling tomato sauce on salmon and calling it “bruschetta” sounds appealing. It might be. However, reviewer Michael Jackman wonders where this idea came from, since it was definitely not Italy.



The menu says the dish was “inspired by journeys through Italy.” If so, the journey must have been at very high speed and on powerful hallucinogens, and does through airspace count as through?



Maybe it was a journey through Italy where the only word that the traveler could say in Italian was “formaggio,” resulting in a very strange reflection of Italian cuisine.


We went and tried Olive Garden’s ‘new’ menu so you don’t have to [Metro Times]




by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

China’s Ministry Of Commerce Pledges To Crack Down On Counterfeit Items Sold Online


After another Chinese government agency scolded e-commerce giant Alibaba and its eBayesque subsidiary Taobao over its mismanagement of its business and for selling or allowing bogus goods to be sold to the public, the country’s Ministry of Commerce has pledged to crack the whip on the online industry and try harder to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods.

Without naming Alibaba or any other specific selling sites, the ministry’s spokesman announced the pledge today.


“The sale of fake goods at some online stores is rampant,” ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said at a press briefing, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, saying the government, companies and consumers should work together to address the problem.


Yesterday the State Administration for Industry and Commerce criticized Alibaba in a white paper, alleging that Alibaba and Taobao allowed for products to be sold that infringe on trademarks, or are of substandard quality. The paper said the company looked the other way when fake cigarettes, alcohol and branded counterfeit bags were sold on its marketplace sites, along with weapon sales and other things the public shouldn’t be able to buy.


According to the WSJ, that paper has now been removed from the SAIC website, with a press rep saying she didn’t know why it was gone.


China to Crack Down on Sale of Fake Goods Online [Wall Street Journal]




by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Video Game Simulates The Singular Thrill Of Assembling IKEA Furniture

Unlike many of my friends, I enjoy assembling IKEA furniture — to a point. I have been known to utter a few Scandinavian profanities after a few days of shredding my fingers with an allen wrench. Now a video game will apparently allow me to enjoy that unique thrill of putting together a nonsense-named end table without enduring any physical or spiritual injuries.


Höme Improvisåtion is a free game for both Windows and Mac that puts you in a living room with some decidedly IKEA-like furniture that is missing one key component — IKEA’s all-but-wordless assembly guides.


And you’re not only stuck having to sort out the pieces sans instructions. Once you’ve put a peg into what you hope is its associated hole, it’s stuck. At least with real IKEA furniture, you can usually work your way backward when you make an assembly error.


All the pegs fit into all the holes, which means you can create whatever furniture Frankenstein you want from the pieces available.


The game also offers a multiplayer experience that is supposed to aid in your faux-IKEA constructions, but which we predict will only end in dissolved friendships.


“Or labor alone and descend into madness,” the above preview video suggests.


[via CNET]




by Chris Morran via Consumerist