Entries Tagged 'Awful Concepts' ↓

Don’t have a credit card or a debit card?  Well then, you can forget about purchasing Apple’s shiny new iPad tablet computer.

The high-and-mighty technology company has decreed that it will only accept plastic as payment, cash is not acceptable, nor are Apple Gift Cards, which previously could be used to buy an iPhone.

Diane Campbell, a disabled woman on a fixed income, learned this the hard way when she walked into the Palo Alto, Calif. Apple store with $600 in cash, yet was turned away from the sales counter.

An Apple store clerk told Campbell that Apple’s policy is aimed at preventing people from buying iPads and reselling them in foreign markets.

When Steve Valdez walked into the Bank of America branch in Tampa Florida to cash a check from his wife this week, he was astounded when bank staffers refused to let him cash the check without a thumbprint. Valdez, you see, was born without arms, and relies on prosthetic limbs - he has no way to provide a thumbprint.

When the teller realized his situation, she talked with her manager, but the manager refused to make an exception for Valdez’s disability, even though the check was written from his wife’s account at that very Bank of America branch.

The bank offered Valdez two choices - either bring in his wife or open an account at the bank. Valdez told the bank manager that those choices were not in keeping with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) because the ADA states that businesses must comply with nondiscrimination requirements that prohibit exclusion, segregation, and unequal treatment.

What do you think, should Bank of America found a way to let Valdez cash his check? Let them know:

Call Bank of America at 800-432-1000, and say “Talk to an associate” when prompted.

If you visit Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts’ Web site, you’re given a choice to fit into one of two audience categories - either “Kids” or “Moms.”  There is no choice for “Dads.”

What in the world is Kellogg’s thinking with this?  Why would they alienate fathers like this, not to mention family units without a mother?

Now we know that Moms do the lion’s share of the grocery shopping in most households, but according to an article published earlier this month in AdWeek,  times are changing.

The article, written by the Vice President of Multimedia Sales Research at ESPN shows that more men are now shopping for their families, especially in the supermarket, where Pop-Tarts are sold:

Overall, men are substantially increasing their average dollar basket size across all channels – especially in grocery where they have increased spending by 56 percent over a five-year span. Additionally, while their share of spending is growing across all retail outlets, women’s share of spending has declined. In the grocery channel, men’s share of dollars increased from 30-38 percent  — a 27 percent increase versus women’s decline of 11 percent.

With trends like this starting to take hold, we can only wonder why Pop-Tarts is leaving out a critical and growing audience from their Web site.

Do you think Pop-Tarts and Kellogs should include Dads?  Let them know!

If you have a Panasonic digital still camera, you may want to think twice before applying any new firmware updates to it.

The company has included a new “feature” in its latest firmware release that renders 3rd-party batteries inoperable in your camera.

The company claims they are doing this to prevent overcharging, internal heating and short circuits, but the bottom line is, of course, that they want to lock you into purchasing only genuine Panasonic batteries.

If you have a Panasonic camera that uses the following battery pack models, then be very careful when downloading and installing firmware from their Web site.

Battery packs affected:

DMW-BCF10, DMW-BCG10, DMW-BLB13

Okay, we’re kidding about the cabin pressurization (at least for now), but the rest is true - Jet Blue is the latest airline to start charging a fee for accouterments that used to be free on domestic flights - this time, it’s the pillow and blankie.

The discount carrier is planning to do away with the standard recycled blankets and pillows used on its flights, and will now offer a travel blanket and pillow for purchase at $7.00 on all flights two hours or longer.

To soften the blow, the pillow and blanket will come in a packet that also contains a $5 off coupon to Bed Bath & Beyond.

JetBlue’s communications office has declined to predict to the media how much the sale of these kits will raise, saying that the company only offers such details on its quarterly earnings conference calls.