PlanetFeedback's ShopperCast

All We Want For Christmas

So what is on your ultimate wish list for the holidays this year?

With the sagging economy and the hit taken to our retirement accounts, like most of Americans, we're looking at scaling back this Christmas.  But what would you buy for someone if you had a bottomless checkbook?

Yep.. it's time for the annual Neiman Marcus holiday catalog!  While filled with haute couture fashion items, it also boasts some flights of fancy ~ on the premise that dreams and fantasies are free.  Example:  you could own 35 years of the Top 100 songs on the Rock and Pop charts - all on vinyl 45s.  Wow.  Do you have room for 18,500 records (and know what a 'record' is)?  And $275,000 just sittin' around?    Or how about your very own Guinness pub ~ in Ireland no less.  For the cut rate cost of $250,000, that one's a steal. 

Our tastes, comparatively speaking of course, are much more frugal.  (And considering we've spent the last 30 minutes drooling over some of the items in the Needless Markup Neiman Marcus catalog, that's saying something!)  So if you happen to draw our names from the hat for Christmas this year and you have an unlimited budget ~ this is what we'd like!  And at only $2,200, we think we're worth it.

Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

--Contributed by Deb

Credit Cards: There Really Is No Living--Or Vacationing--Without 'Em

So you decide to not have a credit card or you're unable to get one.  You get a debit card that you can use *like* a credit card, only there's no chance of going hog wild on a spending spree.  You go on a trip and use your debit card to check into the hotel.  Then this happens.  (Short story:  A hotel guest used her debit card to pay for her hotel room, and the hotel put a no-show's room charges on this woman's debit card, causing $700 in overdraft fees.)

The letter writer seems to have little recourse:  She has complained to her bank, but it doesn't sound like she's gotten any relief.  But while debit cards are marketed like credit cards (many come complete with a VISA Logo), they're not the same.  Debit cards don't necessarily have the same consumer protection features that credit cards provide.

If the letter writer had used a credit card, she could easily dispute the charges, and given the story she tells, it seems like she'd have a pretty easy case on her hands.  And even with a worst-case scenario in this situation, she'd be stuck with a $95 hotel room charge, and not have $700 in overdraft charges on her checking account.

Some debit cards DO have protections similar or even identical to that offered by credit cards, but we're stuck on the $700 fees aspect.  That just wouldn't happen with a credit card.

We're not putting any blame on the letter writer:  What happened to her could happen to anyone.  But it's making ONE ShopperCast Roving Reporter more willing to get a credit card.  Not many people can afford such a huge hit to their checking account, so a credit card sounds like the best solution when it comes to traveling or making a large purchase.

~Contributed by Angela~

Doing The Right Thing

Recently our family traveled to visit family on the West Coast.  Traveling now a days is hard enough especially traveling with children.  Many parents try to find ways to keep their children happy and entertained while traveling, to make the trip less stressful for all involved.  Our family was traveling and we could not go, so we made arrangements for our spouse to travel with two wonderful children (well usually). 

We have traveled JetBlue before and had wonderful experiences each time, because of this we decided to travel with them again.  The two best things about JetBlue are, they are reasonable with their airfare and they have DirecTV!  Bonus!  The kids can watch all of their favorite shows and we can watch what we want in real time.  This is a great sanity saver and makes the trip a little easier to bare for those of us that do not like to fly.

It turns out that as soon as they boarded the plane they were told that the DirecTV was not working and would not be available for the trip.  UGH!  Prepare for a bumpy ride.  As soon as we found out we were ready to go to PlanetFeedBack and fire off a letter of irritation about how one of the main reasons our family flies JetBLue is for the DirecTV and while it is not a deal breaker it is a disappointment.  Before we had a chance to fire up our computer and type that letter, we checked our email and there it was....a totally unsolicited, sincere apology for the malfunction, and a voucher for each ticketed passenger, for $15.  That is not alot of money, but the gesture of goodwill made us smile, and the fact that we did not have to ask or demand made it even sweeter!

--Contributed by Renee

And You Thought The King Was Creepy

This particular gem leaves us a speechless ~ and just a little nauseous.

This guy is a Burger King employee - or should we say was - and he decided to celebrate his birthday by taking a bath in the BK utility sink.  You know... the sink where Burger King washes large pieces of equipment - the kind that cook the food we eat.  The ones that, if they if they are contaminated with (ugh) bacteria - and we're specifically thinking of this guy's human borne bacteria - can make any of us ill.

Is it any wonder that he calls himself Mr. Unstable?

In what lifetime does this sound like a good idea to either the guy in the tub or his friend operating the video camera?  The rumor mill has it that all the employees involved in this prank have either quit or been fired. 

Good.  Because we think we just threw up in our mouths a little.

--Contributed by Deb

Sometimes, Words Fail Us

Or almost fail us....

Just when we thought we'd heard it all, the writer of this recent letter on PlanetFeedback has a heck of a story about horrible customer service.  In a nutshell, he shipped a valuable ($10,000) piece of jewelry, with great sentimental value, to a jewelry store for resizing.  He paid for insurance and followed UPS protocol to ensure safety.  When the package arrived at the jewelry store, it was damaged and the ring was not in the box.

Adding insult to injury, the letter writer can't get UPS to perform their due diligence.

Out of curiosity, we performed searches for UPS and insurance, both at the UPS website and via Google, and surprisingly found no information at all regarding insuring shipments.

We are appalled by UPS's lack of response and explanation, and UPS's seeming lack of interest or care. 

And we're keeping our fingers crossed.

~Contributed by Angela~

The Next Big Thing In Pedicures?

They are called Doctor Fish and they are all the rage in the Washington, DC area, and will soon be sweeping the nation.  We must admit when we first heard about this on a local news radio station we were intrigued.  We had to check it out and this is what we found. 

These are carp fish (also called doctor fish), they do not have any teeth (whew!  That is what we were worried about!).  Basically they thrive in the hot water that is used for pedicures and since not much else lives at that temperature (plant life, etc), they feed on the dead skin on your body.  Right now there is only the feet option available in the United States, but the full body pedicure seed has been planted and we are sure that these will be popping up soon.  We were driving around yesterday and noticed that there is one of these Doctor Fish Pedicures available at a spa up the street from one of our roving reporters house, so we will have to try it out and report back!

--Contributed by Renee (Doctor Fish here I come)

Checked-Baggage Fees: The Airlines Have it All Wrong

As if the increased costs of traveling by air weren't bad enough, now most American airlines (US Airways, American, United, Spirit, Northwest, to name a few) charge travelers for their checked baggage (with some exceptions for first-class travelers and high-tier frequent fliers).  One of the reasons cited is that people who bring more added weight onto the plane should pay for that (due to increased fuel costs).

We think the airlines have it backward:  Instead of charging for checked baggage, there should be a fee for carry-on luggage instead.  Make people pay for the luxury of not having to wait at the baggage carousel.  When everyone crams as much as they can into the largest carry-on piece they can buy, overhead bin space is going to be at a premium.  Everyone would be allowed one carry-on in the form of a briefcase, bookbag, purse, etc.  Women would not get to carry a purse and another piece and have it count as just one as they do now.

Charging for carry-on luggage also could force encourage enough people to check their baggage that disembarking the plane could go faster.  There also is the issue of safety; when the overhead compartments are stuffed as tightly as possible, the locks could give way and falling contents could injure people.

By the time the airlines realize their folly, millions of Americans' flying experience will have degraded even further, making for even-crankier travelers.  And it's the airline airport employees and flight crews who will pay the price, along with the traveling public.

In the meantime, try these tips for avoiding baggage fees.

~Contributed by Angela~

Now Coming To A Bank Near You: Assault and Battery

In a recent letter sent via PlanetFeedback, Karin M. describes how her husband (ill and receiving chemotherapy treatment) was assaulted by a lawns crew worker when he stopped to visit his local bank.  When he went into the bank to complain to the manager, his complaint fell on deaf ears. 

As readers can tell from the comments, not everyone automatically sided with the husband.  We were surprised by this reaction and hope it doesn't foretell a disturbing trend:  That we must run our errands in full body armor. 

We don't know which behavior most disturbs and disgusts us:  That of the lawn crew worker, who hit the husband in the stomach with a leaf blower, or that of the bank manager, who failed to treat his customer like a human being and contact the police and make sure that the husband didn't need medical care.

It seems almost remedial to point out how the manager could/should have handled this situation better. 

But what do we take away from this... what lesson do we learn?  That when something serious happens, if the business we're frequenting doesn't take our complaint seriously, it's time to take care of it ourselves:  The husband could have called the police himself to report the assault.  (Perhaps this would have gotten the attention of higher-ups at the bank.)  The husband can go to the media so the whole community finds out how he was allowed to be treated.  That the manager didn't step up to the plate and take responsibility for another human being who was threatened and harmed on his business's property is shameful.

Perhaps when we make our reasonable demands of the businesses that receive our money and our loyalty, and when we are vocal about the mistreatment we have received from a business, then the message will get through that allowing customers to be injured and then insulted on top of it will not be tolerated.  We will yank our business, spread the word to others (if this can happen to Karin's husband, it can happen to any of us), and give our money and our loyalty to businesses that deserve it and treat us with respect and care.

~Contributed by Angela~

Lonely No More

With a nod to the Beatles, money may not buy you love, but  pretty soon it can purchase you a reasonable facsimile thereof (and no, we're not talking about the kind of "love" you can rent by the hour).

Her name is EMA, which stands for Eternal Maiden Actualization and she's going to be hitting the shelves soon for about $175.  Simply put, she's a robot ~ but she is not without her wiles.  She sings, she dances, she kisses.  She's petite AND busty.  How about that, fellas, she's all (well, most) you need in a girlfriend and she comes with batteries. You can ignore her when you feel like it and she'll never nag you about staying out too late with the guys.

This has started us thinking ~ since Sega Toys is replacing us females with robots, shouldn't we, as women, have a robotic boyfriend?  He doesn't need sing, dance or kiss.  He does, however, need to open pickle jars, squash spiders and pick up his own dirty clothes off the floor. 

Or perhaps they could design a robotic parent.  We'd never need baby sitters again.  Just put the robot in "Mom" or "Dad" mode and go out for the evening.  RoboMom can make kids eat their vegetables and go to bed on time.  RoboDad can read bedtime stories.  How very familial.

The best possible use for this type of robot technology would be in the workplace.  If we don't feel like going to work, send the robot.  We're sure they can type and take dictation as well as any of us.  Plus you don't have to worry about them telling off your boss.  Go fishing, go to the beach, or just sleep in ~ you can do it all with a robotic version of yourself.

The possibilities are endless.  Ain't technology great?

--Contributed by Deb

What Can Brown Do For You?

This is a new one. 

We've heard of advertising on different out-of-the-box media ~ like that internet gambling enterprise that pays money to advertise on people's foreheads or pregnant bellies.  But with the world watching on Saturday as Big Brown pursues the history books in his quest to win the Belmont, and hence the Triple Crown, his jockey is going to have a new advertiser.

Hooters.

Strange bedfellows indeed.  But for all you equestrian purists who cringe at the thought of tacky scantily clad ladies in the winner's circle if Big Brown does make history, you can breathe a sigh of relief.  Big Brown's jockey will be wearing the Hooter's logo on his pants.  The girls will not be in the winner's circle.

The jockey of Big Brown has a son who has Usher's Syndrome, which is a rare genetic disease that causes deafness and blindness and for which there is no cure.  Hooters will be celebrating Big Brown at its restaurants on Saturday as well as contributing to a foundation to benefit those with Usher's Syndrome.

Suddenly we have a hankering for chicken wings.  Go Brown!

--Contributed by Deb