http://consumerist.com/2009/11/prepare-your-delta-air-lines-eecb-for-takeoff.html

After reading Martin's unaccompanied minor air travel horror story yesterday, Aaron sent us this updated list of Delta Air Lines executive contact information.

Remember: exhaust all normal customer service channels first, and follow our EECB manual.

Beth Reed
Director, customer care
(404) 715-1402
beth.reed@delta.com

Tim Mapes
Vice president, marketing
(404) 715-2600
tim.mapes@delta.com

Perry Cantarutti
Vice president, sales and customer care
(404) 715-2600
perry.cantarutti@delta.com

Richard Anderson
Chief executive officer
(404) 715-2600
richard.anderson@delta.com

(Photo: randomduck)

http://consumerist.com/2009/11/free-shipping-from-qpb-just-pay-shipping-and-handling.html

Jon received this e-mail from the book club QPB. It promises free shipping, and a free travel set, if he pays shipping and handling. That shipping is on the travel set, we presume, but no one can really be sure.

"Mind you, this is the corrected version of the e-mail, the one they really scrutinized...." Jon wrote.

These are my tweets from the last 24 hours. You can safely sail right past them if you don't like 'em.

• 18:32 I subscribed to soapqueentv's channel on YouTube www.youtube.com/user/soapqueentv?feature=autoshare_twitter #
• 22:53 watching Tuesday's ep of NCIS. I'm finally caught up! w00t! #

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If you were to open up a puppy's head - and I am not for a moment suggesting that you should - you would find nothing but an enormous drool gland.

Thank God that's over.

I speak of course of the Lobos' horrific football season. After many years of them at least breaking even (and actually one season where they got nine wins), these last two years have been awful for us as fans. Particularly this one.

When they lost to Texas A&M in the first game, that didn't bother me. When they flopped against Tulsa, I was concerned, but not too much. When Air Force beat them, I started to get worried, but was like, "Well, at least they have New Mexico State next week."

And then they lost that. And I knew it was over.

I've had to watch these guys bungle chances all fall, thanks to this society of football being the most important sport. (Besides, what else am I gonna watch in October? The Yankers?) Living in Las Cruces, I haven't been so exposed to the ongoing saga of "coach who punches his assistant and athletic director who bungles the discipline," but that's not really the sign of a winner either. Then today, in their last chance to redeem themselves, in the single minute of the game I watched, they got scored on, fumbled a kickoff ON THE RECEPTION, and got scored on AGAIN.

The one blemish on their almost-completely-imperfect record? The win over Colorado State. What's up with that? If you're gonna go down, might as well go down in flames and spewing chunks of wreckage left and right. To the Lobos' credit, they did try really hard to lose that one, but ended up with the victory despite all efforts to the contrary.

Oh well. Now we can focus on what's really important. Six and oh!

I was in the car when I took this,it came out pretty good.


Two Words: Diversity & Equality

http://consumerist.com/2009/11/bluehippo-files-chapter-11-after-bank-accounts-frozen.html

It appears that when the FTC filed a contempt charge against scamtastic consumer electronics purveyor Bluehippo, the company's bank took notice and froze their accounts. Now Bluehippo has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, claiming that they can't repay their creditors, what with the frozen bank accounts and all. This will not end well.

If you're not familiar with Bluehippo, they're essentially a computer layaway service. Or what rent-to-own would be like if, after paying high weekly fees for a lengthy period, there were a chance that you might eventually receive an obsolete computer to use. Thousands of customers allegedly never received their computers.

According to the Baltimore Sun:

"First Region's Bank explained in an e-mail that it was freezing BlueHippo's accounts solely as a result of a recent press release issued by the FTC - a press release that is replete with factual inaccuracies," BlueHippo said in a statement. The company said it believes the bank's actions were unlawful and left BlueHippo unable to pay its creditors. BlueHippo added that it has demanded that its funds be immediately restored.

Shoe's on the other foot now, eh? Incidentally, Bluehippo no longer does business at all in the state of Maryland.

BlueHippo files for bankruptcy [Baltimore Sun] (Thanks, Joe!)

Few pictures taken this autumn.


( forest )

Hi, I am Snailman!

http://consumerist.com/2009/11/a-story-about-a-great.html

A story about a great customer service experience at Best Buy? On Black Friday? It doesn't seem possible. And yet, it happened to Brian and Briana when they shopped the early sale for Silver Reward Zone members.

Brian tells us:

It started when Best Buy announced "early" access to Black Friday prices for all Silver Reward Zone members. Since my wife and I just purchased new appliances for our house, we were recently upgraded to Silver status and decided we'd take advantage of a budget netbook sale price without having to face the crowds. We go into our store, ad in hand, which does clearly state that we must call a phone number to receive the special price. We only went in to view the product and make sure it was something we could live with as a secondary computer. While they didn't have the actual computer on display, they had a similar model that we tested and liked. We ask politely if they can just sell us one of their Black Friday inventory at the price advertised to silver members so we don't have to through the hassle of calling and waiting for our order to be shipped. The manager says that he can't do that, so we go ahead and call in the store while shopping. We get through and are informed that they no longer have any available for this special advertised sale and we are instead offered a higher priced laptop. It felt a little suspect (bait and switch?), but I asked if a Best Buy store was allowed to sell me the same laptop in-store at the advertised pre-sale price. The associate said it was the general manager's discretion, but that there were no specific rules against it.

I spoke with the general manager and as professional as could be, you could tell he really did sympathize with our situation and did not brush it off with a simple no. He wanted to help and was trying to think of ways to make it right, and although I didn't really feel we were wronged in any way, he truly cared about our satisfaction since we took the time to come into his store. He said he couldn't simply override the price that day because the laptop rung up as $999.99 and any sales prior to Black Friday would not go through. I told him that we simply could not come in Friday morning with the crowds and he understood. He said he valued our business as silver members and didn't want this pre-sale gone wrong to leave a bad taste in our mouths about Best Buy, offering to hold one of the units WITHOUT any type of payment received, and to simply show up on Black Friday in the afternoon after things calmed down to pay and pick it up. He said he'd be there all day and just to see him if we had any trouble and he'd make sure we were taken care of.

Sure enough, we showed up [on Friday] at 2:30pm. The crowds were still around of course, but there he was and without hesitation, he remembered and greeted us, told us to look around for 5-10 minutes while he went to the back and got our laptop. He met us at customer service, helped process the sale, and even jokingly laughed at the insane service plan price of $60 on a $170 item. Upon ringing it up, we realized this was actually the more expensive model with WIndows 7 and that he held the wrong one for us, but he still honored the lower price, so we ended up getting an even better deal than we expected without any hassle.

Was this a small gesture for an inexpensive sale that likely didn't earn them any profit? Yes. But it was something he didn't need to do and the whole experience left me feeling a lot better about shopping at Best Buy (at least this particular store) because clearly the manager cares about his customers.

What a great story. We hope that Best Buy finds--and keeps--more managers like this one.

(Photo: Vincent J. Brown)

Добрый милиционер стоял на посту №1 рядом с Красной площадью...что каснись, от него помощи наверное не получить, а вот ему точно надо будет помогать.

Taken this past summer, a pitcher's glove and rosin bag in the Seattle Mariners bullpen:



Canon Powershot S5 iS
Click to enlarge.

http://consumerist.com/2009/11/delta-airlines-you-need-to-pay-a-fee-to-pay-this-fee.html

Martin's 5-year-old stepdaughter has had a very eventful holiday week. So has her family. Flying as an unaccompanied minor, she had to miss her original flight on AirTran and her family booked another at the last minute. The first reasonably priced flight available was on NWA/Delta, but her parents tell us that communication between different departments seems to have shut down--resulting in fees, hours of delays, and the child ultimately missing her flight because the airline didn't mark down that the unaccompanied minor fee had already been paid.

Due to an unfortunate series of events [two major accidents on the way to the airport], my five-year-old step-daughter missed her AirTran flight to Michigan last night and ended up sleeping on a good family friend's couch.

My wife and I scrambled all night to find a halfway reasonable deal and ended up booking at 1:20AM a 6AM flight for our child. We first tried to book through NWA.com, but the website would not let us book a child alone and customer service wanted an extra $20 to book the flight. They told us, however, to book the same flight through delta.com and call back to pay the $100 unaccompanied minor fee and provide guardian information.

So we booked our flight via delta.com and called customer service back. Since I'm e-mailing you right now, you know that there has got to be a twist. Upon calling back I was told that the person dropping off our child would have to pay the fee at the airport. Mind you, my friend had spent the entire day heroically taking care of our child through the worst possible set of airline/airport screw-ups ever, and was gracious enough to feed her and entertain her for an entire unbelievably hectic day, and we did not want him to have to spend the additional money when he dropped off our daughter.

I explained that to the rep, and she said with a straight face, "well, you can pay the fee over the phone, but there is a fee to pay the fee."

With barely suppressed disgust I asked her to repeat herself slowly. "There will be a fee to pay the fee." (Ok, I thought to myself, they're going to screw me out of a few bucks any way they can)

I asked how much it was and she calmly replied that there would be a $100 fee to pay the $100 fee. $200 total. When I asked what the fee was for, she said it was a "transfer fee" to another department that could take the payment. At that point I broke the Cardinal Rule of Dealing with Customer Service Reps and I asked her if we were going to have phone sex for the $100. My wife sensed the hopes of any solution plummet to the floor and she angrily ripped the phone out of my hand and began to apologize for my comment and asking to speak with the supervisor. The agent insisted that there was nothing a supervisor could do, and she was right. However, we did find out after some prolonged discussion that we could go to the Delta ticket counter at our local airport and pay the fee -- something the rep should have suggested first before having us pay a $100 "transfer fee."

My wife and I went to the destination airport to pay the unaccompanied minor fee in person, we got a receipt, and we had a notation added to the reservation. Our weary friend got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, and he was told that he had to pay $100 to get a boarding pass. Immediately we told him that the payment was made and noted on the reservation. The ticket agents could not seem to find it. I frantically called our local airport but I was not allowed to speak with any Delta ticket agents. I called the toll-free number and I was quickly told that the notation is indeed in there.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they seemed to finally find the information they needed, and they had my friend fill out a form. Midway through the form, they stopped him and told him that it was too late to board the plane and they couldn't do anything. I spoke with a manager who claimed that the reason my child couldn't board the plane was because my friend had to call me to complete a part of the form; a call, mind you, that took less than a minute. I retorted that the reason he had no time to fill out a form was because the ticket agent refused to check him in for 45 minutes while he attempted to collect $100 and/or locate a receipt. There was nothing we could do except rebook the flight for 6 hours later. In the meantime, my 5-year-old had nowhere to go and nothing to do while her entire family assembled at our house for the holiday.

I called the 800 number and explained (as I had to the manager) that my 5-year old had spent the last two days at airports dealing with issues and incompetence; I asked for a voucher or a discount for what was clearly the Delta's fault. One agent told me that re-booking the flight was the most compensation they could give us. I said that I was glad my step-daughter could still get here, but having to wait 6 hours through a ticket agent's fault was a long time and a huge disappointment to a girl who had a rough previous day dealing with another airline, and should come with an apology or restitution.

A supervisor told me that because the ticket agent or manager did not document anything, the supervisor would not be able to make a decision on this. He recommended that I instead get in touch with the ticket counter and have them document everything; I told him that I doubt they would write a self-incriminating report.

The entire time, every Delta employee that my friend, my wife, or I spoke with told us that this wasn't their problem and we should just deal with it.

I told the supervisor that I did not wish to call the ticket counter people and raise hell because I was aware that they could boot my child off the plane. He told me that I should instead contact corporate customer relations through their website.

I've never had a problem with Delta. In fact, I have always praised them. I still think they are fairly good compared to the others, but I am disappointed in the way certain people mishandled their jobs. I guess I will write Corporate Customer Relations and hope someone there will have a heart.

Interestingly, I asked the supervisor at the (800) number to tell me what time the reservation was first accessed by the airport personnel and he replied that it was 3 minutes prior to the scheduled flight time. What gives? Does the system not log everything? Was this some sort of game?

Dear readers, when someone messes up, bad things happen; this 5-year old has spent the last two days at airports dealing with issues and incompetence. She should be in her mother's arms right now. Or at least have an apology.

We're waiting to hear what Martin and family hear back from Delta. No one envies airline personnel during major holidays, and many of them deserve some sort of medals. But this complete breakdown of communication at Delta was unnecessary and inexcusable, especially with a small child away from home in the middle of it.

Incidentally, Martin notes that dealing with AirTran after the original missed flight was wonderful. He wrote:

Kudos to AirTran Customer Relations agent Charity for staying on the phone with me for over an hour providing advice, understanding, patience, and kindness, as well as involving everyone from the ticket agent to the supervisor, then the AirTran operations manager, then the airport director in an attempt to fix the problem. It was, by far, the best airline customer service I've ever received.

(If you're curious about the circumstances surrounding why the child was flying unaccompanied and staying with a family friend, please read this comment from Martin.)

RELATED:
Continental Puts 10-Year-Old Child On The Wrong Plane
Delta Wants $300 In Fees On A $306 Ticket
Chase Charges You Fees For The Privilege Of Being Charged Fees

(Photo: Pylon757)

A cat and two shadows

A cat and too much of a blue colour

Лидер украинских коммунистов Петр Симоненко открывает после реставрации памятки В.Ленину на Бессарабке, Киев, 27 ноября 2009, фоторепортаж
( 36 фото>>> )

( 3 more under the cut )

(Hi everyone, newb here. I'll be posting pics of the UK (don't worry, I won't be spamming) over the next few weeks.)

I've found it myself!)))

http://consumerist.com/2009/11/buy-a-mattress-get-a-free-video-camera.html

A few weeks ago, Macy's ran this somewhat mystifying promotion. Simple enough: Buy a mattress, get a free video camera via mail-in rebate.

It's interesting to see a department store modern enough to openly market to aspiring amateur porn stars.

You know it's an authentic Macy's promotion because the fine print is much longer than the ad itself.

Get a bonus Sony Webbie HD camera! [Macy's] (Thanks, Walter!)

(Photo: Duchamp)

It was a very nice day in october. It was cold, but sunny.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Livesciencecom/~3/vZewlQkhZpw/091128-chimps-music.html

http://www.livescience.com/animals/091128-chimps-music.html

An experiment finds that chimps may have a sense of musical rhythm.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Livesciencecom/~3/zr2lJlzQELc/091128-healthy-geezer-cataracts.html

http://www.livescience.com/health/091128-healthy-geezer-cataracts.html

Cataract removal is one of the safest and most effective types of surgery. It’s also one of the most common operations performed in the United States.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Livesciencecom/~3/cieO20lOn_c/091128-youtube-thoughts.html

http://www.livescience.com/technology/091128-youtube-thoughts.html

A researcher develops software that can translate your thoughts onto a video screen.

http://consumerist.com/2009/11/duck-tape-determined-to-make-up-for-defective-roll.html

"Above and Beyond" stories can come from the most mundane sources. Such as this e-mail that reader MJ sent in praise of the customer service for Duck Tape brand duct tape.

I recently had an issue with a roll of Duck Tape that ended up being bad. I bought a 2 pack of the better grade and it just wouldn't stick like I think it should. I looked up the number and called their customer service line, they agreed that it must be bad, took some info and shipped me out 2 new rolls for free. Once I received this, I noticed that the shipping alone was more then I paid for the tape. Alas, they had sent me a double roll back, but of the wrong grade, and about half the yardage.

I called them up to let them know that they were different, and the representative pulled up my previous info, apologized several times, and had another double roll on its way. Again, another package arrived, higher shipping then my product, and 2 more rolls. Was about 20 yards shy of what I had gotten, but I am willing to accept this as more then equal trade. I am really surprised as well, as they spent almost 3 times the cost for shipping alone to make me, the customer, make sure I got my money's worth.

To see an American made product to hold itself in such high standards and to go out of the way to make sure the customer is happy, really impressed me. As a consumer, I feel that Duck Tape and the Sure Tech brands truly need a gold star for this action.

Indeed, we will award them a silver star. Silver because it is made out of Duck Tape.

(Photo: striatic)

These are my tweets from the last 24 hours. You can safely sail right past them if you don't like 'em.

• 13:27 The beauty of Black Friday is that clients et al. don't realize that I'm working. The only phone call I got so far was for food delivery. #
• 16:00 Still finding it funny that the Black middle-aged Deputy told me about the Who playing @ Super Bowl #
• 19:37 OMG, thanks to @brambleberry, I found out how to put the @peaceheartchoir logo on soaps! #
• 19:58 I favorited a YouTube video -- Soap Queen TV Episode 9: Water Soluble Paper bit.ly/8aVZqh #
• 20:40 I have 2 ideas for TV shows: 1) Law & Order: The Hague 2)Interpol: Forensics. #
• 23:30 OK, so if Season 6 of NCIS is to be trusted, LA has cooler toys. But LL sux. #

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Camera: Sony Ericsson C905 mobile phone
Location: A sunny spot in Tasmania

I haven't contributed anything for a while, and I don't feel like rummaging for pictures right now. So, in lieu of a fancy photograph, here's my cat. :D

My cat is awesome.

Everyone loves cat pics, right? >_>

http://missionsunknown.com/2009/11/the-overtime-theater-wishes-you-a-happy-thankskilling/

http://missionsunknown.com/?p=2833

This bird may come back at you

Surely you haven’t had your fill of turkey yet? You already consumed your bird, now it’s the turkey’s turn for revenge…courtesy of the Overtime Theater’s Midnight Movie Madness.

Tonight, Saturday November 28th, you can catch THANKSKILLING – A gory parody of holiday slasher films. Here’s a description from [Read it all...] Related posts:

1. Made in SA: The Brain That Wouldn’t Die at the Overtime Theater
2. Free “Turkish Star Wars” & JLA at The Overtime
3. Overtime Updates

We've lived in this state for five months and already Avery's been to more basketball games than she had two years in Florida. It just goes to show where our loyalties lie.

Tonight we saw the Lobo women play the deadly powerhouse North Carolina A&T. I kid, but apparently the Aggies (yes, more stupid Aggies) have won their conference the last two years, and they actually came out hot and effectively broke the Lobos' zone for the first fifteen minutes, taking advantage of poor UNM shooting to hold the lead. When UNM finally found its stroke, the score was like 14 to 8 in favor of A&T. But the tide turned. The Lobos tied it at 24 with about six minutes left, took the lead on a free throw a little bit later, and never trailed again, ultimately winning by 22.

It was strange to watch a game in the Pit while it's in the middle of being renovated. If you hadn't been to the Pit before, you'd probably drive by it underwhelmed, going, "Huh, it's some kind of shipping warehouse." But they've built up the outside with lots of windows and architectural details, so it actually looks like an arena now. The concourse inside is gutted -- you have to go outside to buy concessions or go to the bathroom -- but they're supposed to improve the flow a lot by pointing concession stands away from the seats rather than letting lines trail into the main traffic area. The weirdest thing is they've taken out all the mezzanine seating and replaced it with luxury boxes. It actually looks bigger, but that's probably because I'm comparing it to Pan Am or UCF, both of which hold about 10K.

The best part was probably Avery cheering for the Lobos. She actually got to meet Louie and give him a hug. That's my girl.

These are a couple of pictures I took last June. I was actually running "around" a decently big park. Very luck I asked someone about the around bit because I can't run around Fairmount Park.

I like the second one more. :O/ :O| :O)

http://consumerist.com/2009/11/macys-cheerfully-helps-customers-get-parking-tickets.html

The employees at the Macy's in Washington, DC, sure were helpful earlier today! They showed customers where they could park for up to two hours while they shopped. Unfortunately, it turns out Macy's employees are not well-versed on parking rules in DC, and the manager there doesn't really think it's Macy's problem.

Here's what happened to Paul:

We went to the Macy's at 12th & G in Washington, DC, this morning for the Black Friday morning specials. There was a short, dark-haired woman out front with a Macy's nametag instructing people pulling up the curb to park there. "Oh, yeah, no problem." So we parked and went shopping.

An hour later, we come out the G Street doors. Now, there is a tall, dark-haired man out front with a Macy's nametag telling people there is "Two hour parking" along 12th Street.

We get to our car and there is a ticket on the windshield for over $100 for parking during the rush hour. In fact, the whole row of cars (parked exactly where the Macy's employees were telling people to park) along 12th Street has been ticketed!

I complained to the manager "Samuel" over the phone, he tells me it's not Macy's responsibility and they will not pay the ticket. He says that those employees were "not authorized" to be directing traffic, but if I can identify "by name" the employees who were directing people to park there, he will "do something" for me in the way of "a purchase", whatever that means.

And you just know that the money for whatever that "deal" is is coming out of the pocket of the employee I identify and not Macy's themselves.

All kinds of other problems, as well, concerning the useless coupons they printed in the paper the last couple of days and minutes of my life I will never get back spent with semi-English speaking clerks explaining to me why the items I bought just happen to be the exact ones that are specifically banned from being purchased with one of these coupons. Definitely the last time I ever shop at Macy's!

Yeah, that coupon thing is pretty normal for a Macy's shopping experience. A Macy's coupon isn't actually a coupon, but a coupon-shaped practical joke that the retailer plays on customers with some regularity.

But the "just park already and shop!" stunt is a new one. I imagine if you let some higher-ups at Macy's know what happened, they might be willing to address the problem.

Here's some contact info, courtesy of reader DjDynasty on another Macy's post last year:

Executive Customer Service: 800-264-0069
Flagship Store
151 W. 34th Street
New York, NY, 10001
212/695-4400
Has corporate offices in the building; this is the HQ for Macy's east

7 W. 7th St, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: 513-579-7000
Fax: 513-579-7555
Toll Free: 800-261-5385

http://www.witchvox.com/wren/wn_detail.html?id=21516

As I get older, I find that I have less tolerance for the holiday hubbub. (It’s only a matter of time before I am screaming at the neighborhood kids to get off my lawn.) I can totally see why Charlie

http://www.witchvox.com/wren/wn_detail.html?id=21515

Members of one of America's oldest Protestant churches officially apologized Friday , for the first time , for massacring and displacing Native Americans 400 years ago.

"We consumed your resources,

http://www.witchvox.com/wren/wn_detail.html?id=21514

The Archdiocese of Dublin and other Catholic Church authorities in Ireland covered up clerical child abuse until the mid-1990s, according to a government-commissioned report released Thursday.

The

http://www.witchvox.com/wren/wn_detail.html?id=21513

Even after the U.S. and China set targets this week for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the world's combined pledges ahead of next month's climate summit fall far short of what experts say is neede

http://www.witchvox.com/wren/wn_detail.html?id=21512

A plaque honoring victims who were murdered for being transgender was unveiled Nov. 20 at the Matthew Shepard Triangle in conjunction with the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

More than a 100 member

http://consumerist.com/2009/11/frys-sells-magical-disappearing-hdtvs-to-customers.html

The Fry's store in Renton, Washington, just played a mean trick on at least half a dozen customers. This morning, Jeff successfully navigated through the crowd outside, the crowds inside, and no less than five different lines in order to purchase a 52" TV. Everything went remarkably smoothly. Well, until the very end.

This was the first ever Black Friday shopping I have ever attempted (at age 24). I felt a little silly, knowing that I should have arrived earlier if I wanted to have the slightest chance of beating the crowds. Knowing that Fry's is a huge store, I humored myself and stayed in line to at least see if how quickly it would move once doors opened.  To my surprise, from doors opening to me getting inside only took 10 minutes.</b>

I was in, and I was excited.

On the top of my list of purchases, I was hoping to score a very good deal on a Samsung 52" LCD TV that had been part of the Black Friday Ads.

As I am a frequent buyer from Fry's, I headed straight back to the TV section, and found the TV.  It was perfect.  I looked around for a sales associate to help me, not realizing another line had formed inside the store for the same purpose.  By the time I figured out what was going on, the line was easily 150 people long. Knowing my chances were slim, I decided to wait in line anyways.  With how crowded the store was, it seemed as though Fry's had done the impossible; kept a fairly good operation to keeping things orderly and organized.  The line was moving fast, and I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

I finally made it to the front, and asked the sales associate if they still had the 52".  He responded with a smile, and a "Yes", and he handed me a ticket!  I felt like I had won the lotto! After I got my ticket, I waited in another line to be checked out, so I could head to the cashier to pay for my new TV.  I was so excited!  Upon arriving to the front of that line, I asked the sales associate if I could pick up my TV later in the day.  Again, he too responded with a smile and a "yes!".  Everything was going my way!

After I checked out with him, I headed to the front of the store, with invoice in hand, to pay for the TV.  I arrived at the cashier's, and told him I would like to pick up the TV later.  He told me he would have to ask his supervisor if that was okay.  The supervisor said that I had to pick it up right now, as they wouldn't be able to hold it for me for the day.  Still somewhat on a high, I said "Not a problem", and called a friend.  After a little  persuasion (As this was 5:30 am, and he was still sleeping), my friend responded he'd be there within the hour.  I told the cashier what I had found out, and told him I would be looking around in the store for some other sales while I waited.

After 20 minutes of looking at more things I could buy, he called me back and said he was in the parking lot.  I was surprised at how quickly he had got there, so I headed back for the cashier's to pay and pick up the TV.  The line had gotten to about 400 people long by now, and I was surprised at how long it took to get through.  Twenty-five minutes later, I purchased the TV and headed to pick it up. I went up to the pickup Sales guy, handing him my receipt.  He looked at the product I had bought and responded "Oh no, not another one". 

To my surprise, about 10 people in front of me were all waiting for the same thing.  The store manager came up and said that they oversold the TV. and that we could get refunds at the refund desk.  One of us asked if they were going to give us rain checks as all of us had already paid for the TV, and he told us with a smirk on his face, "No". He then walked off, not making himself accessible to anyone for questions. We all paid for a TV we were not going to get. 

I have never felt so betrayed by a store.  I walked around with a false sense of security, as giddy as a kid in a candy store, only to be told that I wasn't going to get what I paid for.  I understand mistakes happen, but it would have seemed wise to me to solve the initial problem (call back to the TV department to make sure they weren't handing out more tickets), and then make right with the few of us that waited in multiple lines, over several hours, who PAID for their TVs.

http://consumerist.com/2009/11/consumerist-friday-flickr-finds-30.html

Here are nine wonderful photos readers added to The Consumerist Flickr Pool this week, picked for neatness and usability in a Consumerist post. Also, be sure to check out our new Photo Gallery to see the latest additions all week long!

by frankieleon

by davidcaloren

by Orignaux Moose

by sssteve.o

by jk+too

by Lucas Stanley

by jpmarth

by digitizedchaos

by frankieleon

Our Flickr Pool is the place where Consumerist readers go and 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, and start hitting "send to group" on your individual photos you want to add to the pool.

Note that if you want them to have a shot at ending up on the Consumerist Friday post, you'll need to open up your sharing settings on your Flickr account so we can grab the HTML from the "Share This" tab. Sorry, but that's the only way to get Flickr and Consumerist to play with each other.

Add your shots to The Consumerist Flickr Pool, and perhaps they'll get featured in a future story, or even highlighted in a Friday Consumerist Flickr Pool Finds post. See previous winners of the Friday Consumerist Flickr Pool finds here.

http://www.witchvox.com/wren/wn_detail.html?id=21511

A University of Kansas class is recording the stories of members of the state's lesser-known religions as their numbers dwindle.

' 'I was kind of motivated by this idea that we're going to lose stu

http://www.witchvox.com/wren/wn_detail.html?id=21510

In describing his experience of bombardment in France during the First World War, Australian writer Bill Harney told of the different ways in which soldiers reacted to these intense moments of stress