I only have a couple of credit cards, but I’m trying to use each one somewhat regularly to avoid getting the accounts cancelled for non-use. After I made a purchase on one card that I hadn’t used in a long time, I signed up for online statements and bill payment. But when the first bill […]

A few days ago, I called a store to check if they carried a certain product. Their phone system picked up immediately, and proceeded to play a fairly upbeat but rather lengthy greeting. 75 seconds later, I had heard about every one of their special offers. Was this useful to me? Not a bit: I […]

When I sign into a secure website to manage a bank or credit card account, I expect a clean and straightforward interface that makes it easy to accomplish tasks like viewing a statement, paying a bill, etc. I also understand that those companies need to make money, so I don’t mind if they use the […]

We replaced our shower heads recently, and the new ones came with a “Lifetime warranty”. What does that mean, exactly? Is the warranty good for my whole life, or just as long as I live in the same residence? Is it transferable to a new owner? What about normal wear and tear? I’m sure all […]

New restrictions on credit card issuers are scheduled to take effect in early 2010, and many people expect the credit card companies to stick it to consumers with new fees and reduced services. For instance, some companies have already begun to charge annual fees on accounts that never had such a fee before. With this […]

Lately, I’ve been getting tons of emails from companies that I haven’t heard from in years. I suppose this is a result of the recession, as companies try to get more value from their existing opt-in lists. But as a recipient, it’s a little weird to be ignored by the marketing team for five years […]

Whenever I’m waiting in line at CVS, I always marvel at the large number of customers who never signed up for the store’s loyalty card. If you’ve shopped in CVS at all, you probably know that virtually every sale price or offer requires the card, and buying stuff without it can be a very pricey […]

When I walked into Trader Joe’s last weekend, something was different. Actually, everything is more like it: they had moved virtually every section somewhere else — only the checkout lanes and a few other areas remained intact. There was no signage explaining the change, so I finally asked a staff member about it. According to […]

Here’s a story about the US Postal Service (USPS) that, sadly, will come as no surprise to anyone who has dealt with them. A few weeks ago, a man needed to mail a 20-page document. So he bought a padded envelope that had a letter-size inside area, affixed the right number of stamps, and went […]

I know of at least one really bad restaurant that has a long line every weekend morning. The food is mediocre, the service is nonexistant, and the people at the cash register can’t even be bothered to say hello when you pay. And I’m not the only one who feels this way: the reviews on […]