Best Buy Orders Stores To Stop Saying They Don't Price-Match To BestBuy.com

Best Buy Orders Stores To Stop Saying They Don't Price-Match To BestBuy.com: "

Last week, we showed you the sign at one Best Buy store that openly stated it would not match prices found on BestBuy.com, flying in the face of the company's stated policy. We subsequently received numerous e-mails from Best Buy staffers saying they had been ordered to not price match, but to tell customers to order on the website and arrange for in-store pickup. After that story was posted, BB HQ sent out a directive to staffers, laying down the law on this topic.

In what the company called a 'friendly reminder to everyone' sent out late last week, Best Buy restates it's price-matching policy of 'If you find a lower price on BestBuy.com or in a Best Buy Retail Store for the same brand and model during the exchange and return period, we will match that price.'

BB HQ explains that 'Actively matching BestBuy.com pricing should be viewed as an investment the Company is making to improve price impression and traffic (similar to buying advertising during the holiday season).'

The note goes on to expressly forbid stores from doing the following:

* Create/post their own customer-facing signage at POS registers or at the customer point of entry into the building that actively contradicts the stated policy.

* Ask the customer to use the kiosk/ExpressLane as a way to avoid price match margin erosion.

* Not honor a price match to BestBuy.com once a customer indicates awareness.

Thanks to everyone who wrote to us about this story!

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The Sad Facts about Doctors and Pharmaceutical Companies

The Sad Facts about Doctors and Pharmaceutical Companies: "

Have you ever wondered why doctors seem to push one particular medication over any others, regardless of price or effectiveness? It’s simple, big pharmaceutical companies are paying them handsomely to do it. Our friends at Medical Billing and Coding put together this fascinating infographic with all the sad information about this disturbing trend.

(Source: Medical Billing and Coding)

TransUnion Wants You To Share Your Credit Score On Facebook

TransUnion Wants You To Share Your Credit Score On Facebook: "

Social media may have created a culture of over-sharing, but what's too personal to share with your Facebook friends? Michael was checking his credit report, and was surprised to see a 'Share on Facebook' button directly below his credit score.

He writes:

Since I'm one of the fortunate individuals to have a Sony PSN account I decided to once again check up on my credit report. My credit report has been locked since well before the hack but I still get paranoid and don't rely on e-mail alerts. I've had an account with TransUnion for several years and aside from the annoying offers when I log in, I've been very happy with the service.

I logged in today and realized that beneath the large numbers representing my latest credit score was a 'Share on Facebook' button. I don't know what it would actually share The placement implies it would share my credit score though it may just signal to friends that I use TransUnion. Regardless, I wasn't going to test it and I can't imagine why anyone would link a Facebook account to personal credit information or services.

Would you share your credit score with your friends?

Would you share your credit score with your Facebook friends?online surveys

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Best Buy Store Won't Price-Match Website, Still Does In-Store Pickup

Best Buy Store Won't Price-Match Website, Still Does In-Store Pickup: "

Reader B. is a Best Buy employee, and has a moral problem with a new policy. This policy may just be at B.'s store or in that district, but it's still annoying. Employees have been told that they can no longer price-match BestBuy.com. They can, however, help the customer place an order online for in-store pickup from inside the store, then wait around for up to half an hour. This seems inefficient at best to B, but sounds familiar to us.

I am a full time Best Buy employee of almost a year, and it was brought to my attention today during a shift that we (Best Buy as a company) are being strongly encouraged to not price match our own website anymore. I double checked BestBuy.com to make sure that it was still written there, and as of 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday May 24th, it still clearly states that stores have the ability to price match the website.

When I questioned my manager as to why we no longer would be price matching Best Buy's website, she rationed it with the overhead cost of stores vs. shipping directly from the warehouse, which I understand, but given Best Buy's less than stellar reputation, I feel as though this only hurts the company more.
However, my manager did instruct me that if the customer points out the price is cheaper online, we as employees are to assist the customer in ordering the item from BestBuy.com IN THE STORE, choosing in store pick-up, and forcing them to wait 15-30 minutes until the order comes through and is placed at customer service. As a Best Buy employee who still clings to his morals, I find this entirely unacceptable. Why should I force a

customer I've been working with to wait 30 minutes for a product they literally can hold in their hands right now?
Anyways, I figured as defenders of all things good for consumers, you all would find this bit of information interesting. While I'm not entirely sure if this is indeed a company wide policy, it's definitely happening in my store. Best wishes, and keep up the amazing work!

RELATED:

Best Buy Employee: Pressure To Cram Credit Cards Down Customers' Throats Now Intensifying

Best Buy Will Price Match Washer Only If You Buy It Elsewhere

Best Buy Accused Of Paying Bonuses To Managers Who Don't Price Match

Best Buy Confirms The Existence Of Its Secret Website

Price Match Fraud Lawsuit Filed Against Best Buy

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Drinking Booze Could Help Guard Against Dementia

Drinking Booze Could Help Guard Against Dementia: "

Pour grandma a pint and give Uncle Teddy his martini back! A new study says moderate drinking of alcohol over the age of 75 could help prevent the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

The Telegraph cites the scientists bearing the good (for those who like to imbibe, of course) news that a glass of wine or a pint a day is a health benefit for seniors. Those who toss a few back are 30% less likely to develop dementia and 40% less likely to suffer from Alzheimer's disease than those who abstain, says the research.

The study, published in the journal Age and Aging, was conducted among over 3,200 Germans aged 75+ who had no preexisting dementia conditions. They were tracked over three years.
While there were no significant differences noted between types of booze, this doesn't mean you should hitch up your grandpa into position for a keg stand or line up a row of shots for your elderly neighbor, however.

'People should be aware that we are talking about mild/moderate consumption of alcohol,' said Professor Siegfried Weyerer from the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany. 'There is no doubt that long-term alcohol abuse is detrimental to memory function and can cause neurodegenerative disease.'

Moderate drinking in old protects against dementia [Telegraph]
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Use Too Much Hand Sanitizer, Fail An Alcohol Test

Use Too Much Hand Sanitizer, Fail An Alcohol Test: "

Not only is hand sanitizer not so effective in preventing the cold and flu, it also could give you false positives if you're tested for alcohol consumption.

CBS Los Angeles reports a University of Florida study found that excessive hand sanitizer use could potentially absorb enough alcohol into bodies to fool tests.

The study, which had subjects sanitize their hands 120 times a day for three straight days to receive false positives, says health professionals who sanitize their hands several times a day could be most at risk of tests falsely identifying their alcohol use.

How often do you use hand sanitizer, and do you think it helps you stave off sickness?

Study: Excessive Hand Sanitizer Users May Fail Alcohol Test [CBS Los Angeles]

(Thanks, Stephen!)

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Comcast Pulls $18,000 Donation Over Tweet About FCC Commissioner Turned Kabletown Flunky

Comcast Pulls $18,000 Donation Over Tweet About FCC Commissioner Turned Kabletown Flunky: "

Comcast is apparently very unhappy with the fact that it was eliminated in the Final Four of this year's Worst Company in America contest. First, it goes and makes the ethically questionable move of hiring a still-active FCC commissioner, and now comes a report that the Kabletown Krew have pulled $18,000 in funding to a non-profit organization all because of a Tweet about that commissioner's hiring.

Seattle-based Reel Grrls is a nonprofit education program that introduces young women to the world of media production. Its summer camp program is funded with the help of an $18,000 donation from the folks at Comcast.

After the news broke the Meredith Atwell Baker would be jumping ship from her regulatory role to go lobby Capitol Hill about the merits of pay-per-view, a Reel Grrls employee Tweeted, "OMG! @FCC Commissioner Baker voted 2 approve Comcast/NBC merger & is now lving FCC for A JOB AT COMCAST?!?"

That was just too much for the thin-skinned types at Comcast. According to the Washington Post, a Kabletown VP wrote the following note to Reel Grrls:

I am frankly shocked that your organization is slamming us on Twitter... [the Tweet] has put me in an indefensible position with my bosses. I cannot continue to ask them to approve funding for Reel Grrls, knowing that the digital footprint your organization has created about Comcast is a negative one.

Of course, after the media got wind of this, Comcast changed its tune and decided that Reel Grrls deserves funding after all.

'We are pleased that the public debate on this issue has caused Comcast to reconsider this decision and hope to continue the discussion about how we can best ensure that corporations do not play a role in stifling free expression or limiting Americans' access to information,' says the executive director of Reel Grrls.

Tweet about FCC member's new job at Comcast sets off firestorm [Washington Post]

Thanks to Max for the tip!

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TV's "Tax Lady" Roni Deutch Closes Firm, Surrenders Law License

TV's "Tax Lady" Roni Deutch Closes Firm, Surrenders Law License: "

If you've ever watched daytime -- or really late night -- TV, you're probably quite familiar with Roni 'Tax Lady' Deutch, the tax attorney being sued for $34 million by the California attorney general over allegations she defrauded thousands of customers. Well, our TV speakers have gotten a brief reprieve as Deutch announced last week that she has closed her firm and surrendered her law license to the California State Bar.

'It's a sad, miserable day at my law firm,' boo-hooed Deutch, who says her firm has $10 million in debt, at a press conference. 'I've represented 20,000 taxpayers; 4,000 existing clients will soon be without legal representation.... I am totally, completely broke.'

She added, 'I am not the monster the attorney general has made me out to be.'

The State Bar's Chief Trial Counsel got in a dig at Deutch with this statement to the press: 'If, in fact, [Deutch] stops being a licensed lawyer in California, we believe this will help protect the public.'

The Sacramento Bee spoke to one former Deutch client who isn't exactly shedding tears about Deutch's woes. 'I had just lost my home, my business, everything,' she told the Bee. 'She took my money and didn't do nothing. My satisfaction would be if they paid my money back... I hope to God they pay my money back - $2,000 is a lot of money.'

Deutch's announcement comes only weeks after the AG asked a judge to have her thrown in jail for allegedly destroying documents.

'I wish I had shut the office doors the day after the attorney general sued me,' Deutch told the Bee. 'There is a receiver running my law firm right now. When a receiver takes over your business, the writing's on the wall.'

'Tax Lady' Roni Lynn Deutch closes law firm, says she's 'completely broke' [SacBee.com]

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T-Mobile Adds Free WiFi Calling

T-Mobile Adds Free WiFi Calling: "

T-Mobile just announced that WiFi calling is now gratis, reports GigaOm. That means that when T-Mobile customers make calls over WiFi networks and don't use the cellular network, they are completely free. It's a pretty nifty way to save money on your cellphone bill, so expect it to be yet another feature that gets dropped if AT&T gobbles up Big Magenta.

MobileBeat says, "AT&T has made it clear that it will consolidate its network with T-Mobile's over time, which means Wi-Fi calling and other cool aspects of T-Mobile's network -- including its cheap $15 tethering and plans for ultra-fast HSPA+ speeds -- will get killed off."

Consolidation ain't innovation.

On T-Mobile, All Wi-Fi Calls Are Free [GigaOm] (Thanks to Grant!)

RELATED

Report: Feds Don't Plan On Rubber-Stamping AT&T Purchase Of T-Mobile

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Walmart Caught Shortchanging Customers With Gift Receipts

Walmart Caught Shortchanging Customers With Gift Receipts: "

Next time you return an item to Walmart using a gift receipt, make sure to check your change. You could be getting less than you deserve and not even know it, reports CBS Sacramento. The problem is if the item goes on sale after it was bought. Poorly trained cashiers will refund the sale price instead of the original price. And because gift receipts are generally set up so that they don't list the price the item was bought for, the person making the return isn't even aware that they should be getting more back.

I can see how the problem could also show up at other stores too besides Walmart. So whenever you make a return using a gift receipt, be sure to ask the cashier to check if the number showing up on their screen is the sale price or the original price, and then make sure they're giving you the full amount back as a refund or credit.

Reached for comment, Walmart told CBS 13 in a statement, 'It is our practice to refund the original price paid to the customer when returning an item with a gift receipt. We will be communicating with our store associates to reinforce our practice.'

Call Kurtis Investigation: Walmart Shortchanging Customers Using Gift Receipts [CBS Sacramento]

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Analysis: Most Of The Worst Cars On The Road Are Made By U.S. Companies

Analysis: Most Of The Worst Cars On The Road Are Made By U.S. Companies: "

Although American car manufacturers have taken strides to improve the quality of their products, they still produce their share of clunkers.

Using information gleaned from Consumer Reports reliability and performance studies, Forbes made a list of the worst cars on the road, and all but three of the models on the list are made by American companies. The Dodge Dakota and Chevy Tahoe Hybrid made the list, which include representatives from every American manufacturer but Ford. The only foreign cars that made the list were the Mercedes-Benz S550, Smart Fortwo and Nissan Titan.

Factors that qualified cars for the list included cost, fuel efficiency, value, safety, performance and reliability.

What do you think about the quality of American-made cars in general? What's the worst car you've ever owned?

The worst cars on the road -- be wary of domestic rides [Forbes via MSNBC]

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California AG Asks Judge To Throw Tax Lady Roni Deutch In Jail

California AG Asks Judge To Throw Tax Lady Roni Deutch In Jail: "

Last summer, the California Attorney General filed a $34 million lawsuit against daytime TV mainstay 'Tax Lady' Roni Deutch, alleging that her firm defrauded customers out of millions each year. Now, the AG's office has asked that Deutch be thrown in jail for allegedly destroying important documents and for not refunding money to customers.

The Attorney General has accused Deutch of destroying upward of 2.7 million pages of records pertaining to the current lawsuit. Additionally, she was ordered to pay $435,000 in customer refunds by January, but chose to pay to other creditors, including family, friends, a NASCAR racing team and a casino.

'Deutch showed herself to be a predator for profit, preying on innocent, hard-working people who were simply hoping to settle their accounts with the IRS,' Said AG Kamala Harris. 'By defrauding these victims, and then pleading poverty, she created a real danger that her clients will never receive their advance fees back.'

The Tax Lady is being charged with defrauding customers by demanding large upfront fees to help people with huge tax debts and then not making good on her advertised promises.

'Tax Lady' Roni Deutch has problems of her own [Reuters]

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FCC Commissioner Approves Comcast/NBC Deal, Leaves FCC To Go Work For Comcast

FCC Commissioner Approves Comcast/NBC Deal, Leaves FCC To Go Work For Comcast: "

A few months ago, the Federal Communications Commission approved Comcast's purchase of NBC by a vote of 4-1. At the time, many people joked that the commissioners were all just securing themselves a gig at Comcast for their post-FCC careers. Today, that joke became less funny after Comcast confirmed it has indeed hired one of the four commissioners who approved the controversial deal.

After FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker's FCC term expires at the end of June, she will move over to Kabletown as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, NBCUniversal.

'Commissioner Baker is one of the nation's leading authorities on communications policy and we're thrilled she's agreed to head the government relations operations for NBCUniversal,' the President Comcast/NBCUniversal for Washington, DC, says. 'Meredith's executive branch and business experience along with her exceptional relationships in Washington bring Comcast and NBCUniversal the perfect combination of skills.'

Here's what the commish had to say: 'I've been privileged to serve in government for the past seven years under President Obama at the FCC and President Bush at NTIA, I'm excited to embark on a new phase of my career with Comcast and NBCUniversal.'

(Note: The press release for this announcement did not include a photo of the dump truck of money being back up to Atwell's front door.)

Consumer advocates are not too thrilled about this. Craig Aaron of the Free Press writes:

Less than four months after Commissioner Baker voted to approve Comcast's takeover of NBC Universal, she's reportedly departing the FCC to lobby for Comcast-NBC. This is just the latest -- though perhaps most blatant -- example of a so-called public servant cashing in at a company she is supposed to be regulating.

As recently as March, Commissioner Baker gave a speech lamenting that review of the Comcast-NBC deal 'took too long.' What we didn't know then was that she was in such a rush to start picking out the drapes in her new corner office.

No wonder the public is so nauseated by business as usual in Washington -- where the complete capture of government by industry barely raises any eyebrows. The continuously revolving door at the FCC continues to erode any prospects for good public policy. We hope -- but won't hold our breath -- that her replacement will be someone who is not just greasing the way for their next industry job.

The only commissioner to vote against the Comcast deal was Michael Copps, who recently talked at length to Consumerist about that deal and the pending AT&T/T-Mobile merger.

Free Press Blasts Comcast-FCC Merger [FreePress.net]

Meredith Attwell Baker, FCC Commissioner, to Join Comcast as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, NBCUniversal [Comcast Press Release]

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Sitting Is Killing You [Infographic] "Lay down in bed it keeps you alive longer"

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Bank Of America Adds New Checking Account Fees

Bank Of America Adds New Checking Account Fees: "

Now that the regulatory heat is off on overdrafts, Bank of America is jumping back in with overdraft-related fees. They are also increasing the monthly fee and changing their requirements for avoiding it.

The monthly fee is going up from $8.95 to $12, and to get rid of it, you'll need to direct deposit at least $250 a month.

But my favorite is this part. 'Previously, when your account was overdraft by less than $10 at the end of the day, we didn't charge [overdraft fees].' But, 'Now, if you overdraft your account by any amount, we charge a $35 overdraft item fee for each item (maximum 4 item fees per day).'

It's just like old times. If you end up overdrafting because of four candy bars you bought, that will cost you $140. Hope they were at least 100 Grands.

(Thanks to Jamie!)

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Chinese iPad Workers Forced To Sign "No Suicide" Pledge

Chinese iPad Workers Forced To Sign "No Suicide" Pledge: "

A new investigation by two NGO's into working conditions at two major Chinese factories run by Foxconn responsible for pumping out iPads might make you angrier than a bird trying to destroy a bunch of green pigs, reports The Guardian. Among their findings was that after a rash of suicides at the factories, workers were forced to sign pledges promising not to commit suicide and to instead 'treasure their lives.'

In addition, they had to promise that if they did kill themselves, their families would only seek the minimum in legal damages.

Apple told The Guardian in a statement that they're, 'committed to ensuring the highest standards of social responsibility throughout our supply base. Apple requires suppliers to commit to our comprehensive supplier code of conduct as a condition of their contracts with us. We drive compliance with the code through a rigorous monitoring programme, including factory audits, corrective action plans and verification measures.'

The research by the Center for Research on Multinational Corporations and Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior also found:

• Illegal overtime is common. One payslip stated 98 hours of overtime. The legal limit is 36.


• Workers were pushed to only take one day off out of 13 days in order to meet the demand for iPad orders


• Public humiliation is required in some factories to discipline poorly performing workers

This is the human cost of the race towards the bottom that has become our consumer product cycle. You want fast, cheap, and in massive quantities? Somewhere, someone will bear that cost.

Foxconn says it is on track to making 100 million iPads a year by 2013.

Apple's Chinese workers treated 'inhumanely, like machines' [The Observer]

You are NOT allowed to commit suicide: Workers in Chinese iPad factories forced to sign pledges [Daily Mail]

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47% Of Supermarket Meat Tainted With Staph

47% Of Supermarket Meat Tainted With Staph: "

47% of supermarket meat tested around the country in a recent survey had evidence of being tainted by Staphylococcus aureus, which causes most staph infections in humans, including food poisoning and skin infections.

The research was published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

You can kill most of these little buggers by cooking food thoroughly and at high heat. However if you don't take proper kitchen precautions you risk contamination from handling the meat and there is also the danger of cross-contamination, like if you use the same knife and cutting surface to chop a salad as you did raw meat.

Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in US Meat and Poultry [Clinical Infectious Diseases]

1 In 4 Supermarket Meat Samples Tainted With Drug-Resistant Bacteria [NPR]

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Your Rented Computer Could Be Spying On You

Your Rented Computer Could Be Spying On You: "

According to a recently filed lawsuit, a big rental chain installs physical hardware and software into its rented computers, capturing the keystrokes, screenshots, and even webcam images of unsuspecting customers. The only way to disable it is by waving an electronic 'wand' over the device. The spyware was revealed when a store manager for the chain showed up at renter's house to try to repossess the laptop and showed the renter a picture of him taken by the webcam, unbeknownst to him, by the leased laptop.

The renter who brought the lawsuit says that he had already paid in full on the laptop but the money was accepted by an employee who was later suspected for stealing customer's payments.

According to the suit, inside the laptop were additional pieces of tracking hardware, like components soldered onto the motherboard. There was also software installed on the hard drive that allowed the rental chain complete keylogging, screenshot and webcam access.

'Crystal gets online before she gets a shower and checks her grades, Who knows? They could print that stuff off there and take it home with them,' the renter told AJC. 'I've got a 5-year-old boy who runs around all day and sometimes he gets out of the tub running around for 20, 30 seconds while we're on the computer. What if they took a picture of that? I wouldn't want that kind of garbage floating around out there.'

You can see why a rental chain would want to keep track of its laptops, but if the tracking system wasn't disclosed to the renters in advance, that's a big problem, and the potential for abuse is huge.

The renter theorized that the manager had showed him the picture of himself in an attempt to bully him around and get him to hand the laptop back.

AP: Pa. lawsuit: Rental firm spies on users [AJC] (Thanks to Sean!)

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Playing Fun Name Games Could Jeopardize Your Secure Info

Playing Fun Name Games Could Jeopardize Your Secure Info: "

It could be funny and adorable when you join in on the 'What's your royal name?' or 'Your porn star name would be...' shenanigans, adding your pet's name or street name to your real moniker to achieve humorous ends. But by doing so, you could be giving up the goods to thieves.

In honor of Friday's royal wedding (didja hear about that?) many on Facebook and Twitter were posting variations on the always popular name game, where you add in a grandparent's first name, a pet, and your street name. and somehow end up with a name like Lady Buffy St. Roverington Applewood the XII.

But internet security firm Sophos says (via SmartMoney) says posting the results of such a thing is like handing over a key to cyber thieves to get your password and make it past security questions.

Think about it: How often is a past or present pet's name involved in your password? What about security questions which ask you what street you grew up on, or your grandma's first name? Then you go and plaster that info all over social networks, and voila, a thieves' paradise!

Graham Cluley, technology consultant at Sophos advises: 'Don't post this kind of personal information onto the internet. The few seconds worth of amusement you may get by telling people your royal wedding guest name is not worth the potential pain of having your identity stolen.' Also, you can provide false answers to those questions if you'd like to further protect your info.

Your Own Royal Wedding Security Breach? [SmartMoney]

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Twitter Company Reps Who Talk Big But Can't Actually Do Anything

Twitter Company Reps Who Talk Big But Can't Actually Do Anything: "

After a few bad experiences by their writers, TechCrunch is calling out this 'scandal of toothless social media representatives' and demanding that it ends 'now.' Seems some companies have figured out that rather than use Twitter to solve people's customer service complaints, they can just use it to get you to shut up. Here's how it works.

See, what happens is a company sets up a Twitter account with their company name on it. Twitterers can direct their complaints to it with @ replies and/or the people running the account can actively search for folks complaining on Twitter. Then the account says to the complainer, 'oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Please direct message me your contact info and I'll look into it.' So the complainer sends over the info. Then nothing happens.

The rep doesn't actually have any access to the customer's info. They're not actually integrated into the customer service structure. They're just some outside marketing firm with no real power at their client's company.

By asking the user to 'direct message' the information, it takes the conversation out of public view. A decent percentage of those people will stop publicly tweeting. Either they forget/get too lazy to take that extra step, or they want to be honorable and give the company a chance without publicly bashing them, or they otherwise get sucked into dealing with the social media decoy.

Now they can always take their campaign back to Twitter and other medium, but a decent number will give up. Which is exactly what these companies want. Connecting with their customers in a new and immediate way sounds great at conferences, but mostly what they're after is to get customer to stop publicly complaining. Solving their problems is one way to do that. An even cheaper way is to just pretend that you'll solve their problem and whoever doesn't go away, just ignore. Boom, you have the same level of crappy customer service as before, but you have far fewer people complaining about it. Well done.

Companies that actually give a damn can't just outsource these operations to disposable third parties who all they do is just forward the complaint to the usual circular filing system that is the customer service box. Because eventually bad players will be outed, and they will be punished in the marketplace, either by their customers or by their competitors who know how to use actual customer service on Twitter to build and rebuild customer loyalty, spread positive word of mouth, and increase sales over time.

The hard work needs to be done to beef up internal teams who are equipped with customer account access and attached to a triage system for dealing with issues. If you're a corporate bird who wants to change its colors by getting jiggy with Twitter, you won't get there by keeping your head in the sand.

The Scandal Of Toothless Social Media Representatives Ends... Now [Tech Crunch] (Thanks to Alex!)

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