जनता का आदमी

For more than a year now, Costco has been preparing to take its store-branded credit card business in a new direction. Specifically, it’s transferring its credit card network from long-time partner American Express to Citigroup and Visa. After hitting a few snags in the road, the shopping club now plans to make things official in June. 

USA Today reports that that’s when the retailer will officially transfer its Costco-branded credit portfolio to Citibank and cardholders will receive their new plastic.

Under the deal, which was supposed to close in April but was delayed, Visa will become the exclusive credit-card network for Costco stores, and Citi will be able to issue the retailer-branded cards.

Once the transition is official — a specific date is still to be determined — current American Express cards will no longer work at the retailer.

Current Costco/American Express cardholders will continue to earn rewards on their cards until the deal goes through, USA Today reports, and rewards accrued before the deal is finalized will be paid out.

Of course, customers can still use debit cards from either Visa or MasterCard, as well as Costco cash cards, which can be purchased online.

Costco cardholders will transfer from Amex to Citi in June [USA Today]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

Our national nightmare is nearly over: the so-called “footlong” sandwich from Subway will finally have to measure up to a full 12 inches in length.

A judge last week gave final approval to a settlement resolving a class-action lawsuit customers filed in 2013. An Australian teenager shared a photo of his sandwich on Facebook that was only 11 inches, kicking off an international media blitz.

Further investigations by customers and media outlets found that many sandwiches measured only 11 or 11.5 inches.

According to the settlement — which received preliminary approval in October — Subway agrees to institute practices for at least the next four years to ensure that sandwich bread measures at least 12 inches long, reports The Associated Press.

The judge approved $520,000 in attorney fees and $500 for each of the 10 individuals who were representatives of the class, but no monetary claims were awarded to potential members of the class.

“It was difficult to prove monetary damages, because everybody ate the evidence,” said Thomas Zimmerman, who was co-lead attorney for the class.

Lynn Adelman, a judge for the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin, wrote in the final approval that attorneys for the plaintiffs realized their claims may not hold up after a mediation session. So the plaintiffs decided to focus on just making sure Subway that the chain makes sure its sandwiches measure up.

The bread is made with frozen dough sticks that weigh the same when they arrive at stores frozen, plaintiffs’ attorneys discovered, than is then thawed and stretched for baking. That process can lead to different sizes and shapes of bread.

Though the dough might look different from sandwich to sandwich, the amount of ingredients remains the same. Meat and cheese portions are standardized, but it is possible that a shorter sandwich “might be missing a few shreds of lettuce or a gram or two of mayonnaise,” the judge wrote.

Adelman added, however, that customers can ask for more toppings.

“Thus, the plaintiffs learned that, as a practical matter, the length of the bread does not affect the quantity of food the customer receives,” she wrote.

Subway said in a statement that it’s pleased the judge didn’t find any wrongdoing on it apart.

“This allows us to move forward, without distractions, on our goal to provide great tasting sandwiches and salads, made exactly as each guest likes. We have already taken steps to ensure each guest receives the Footlong or six-inch sandwich they order,” the statement said.

Going forward, Subway says it’ll take steps to make sure bread is 12 inches long regardless, including having franchisees “use a tool for measuring bread.”

Subway to ensure ‘Footlongs’ measure up after lawsuit [The Associated Press]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

The bright pink mustaches and the “U” decals used to designate ride-sharing vehicles for Uber and Lyft have found a second purpose: making their owners quick cash on sites like eBay. While selling the insignias might be a good way for former drivers to pad their wallets — sometimes by thousands of dollars, it means the decals might be used for other purposes. For that reason, always be sure to double check the license plate, and driver’s name before getting in a hailed vehicle. [Business Insider]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

Royal Caribbean cruise ship Anthem of the Seas is not having a good year so far: after getting smacked around by a major storm in February, the vessel had to turn around on another journey due to more bad weather, and, to add to the fun for passengers this time, a norovirus outbreak.

The ship headed back to its home port in New Jersey on Sunday after running into another storm, Royal Caribbean Tweeted over the weekend “to avoid a severe storm and provide guests with a comfortable journey back home.”

#AnthemoftheSeas will head back to Cape Liberty immediately to avoid a severe storm & provide guests with a comfortable journey back home.

— RCLcorp (@RCLcorp) February 27, 2016

“On a recent sailing, Anthem of the Seas experienced bad weather that was much worse than forecast; therefore, we want to be extra cautious about our (guests’) safety and comfort when it comes to weather in the area,” a spokeswoman for the cruise line told WNBC-TV (warning: link has video that will autoplay) in New York City. “That is why we have decided to head back to Cape Liberty immediately so that we can stay a safe distance from the storm.”

John Turell, an executive with The Associated Press who happened to be on the ship said that the ship’s captain and its cruise director have made announcements about the norovirus, CBS News reports. There aren’t any numbers yet on how many people were affected by the illness.

“Sanitation levels on the ship have been boosted,” said Turell. “(Ship) workers are scurrying around like ants, scrubbing down handrails, tables and any other surfaces that can be washed.”

The ship skipped planned stops in Barbados and St. Kitts, Turell said, due to a storm developing off Cape Hatteras. The cruise should return to port by Wednesday.

Anthem of the Seas was on its way to Port Canaveral, FL in February when it experienced “extreme wind and sea conditions, with wind speeds higher than what was forecasted,” the cruise line said at the time. The rough seas prompted the captain to ask guests to stay in their rooms until the weather improved, “in an abundance of caution.”

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

Savvy observers probably knew when Amazon created its Dash system of buttons that let consumers re-order single items that they use often that the buttons themselves were never the point. The real point of Amazon Dash was to create smart home goods that replenish themselves, like printers that order their own ink and dishwashers that prompt you to order more soap after a certain number of wash cycles. Now that technology will be applied to… water filters.

Water filters? Yes, Brita has created a smart pitcher that’s part of Amazon Dash, connecting to your home WiFi and keeping track of how many gallons of water you’ve filtered. You connect the pitcher to your home Internet connection, then register for a Brita Infinity account and link that to your Amazon account. Remember, this is all supposed to simplify your life.

Once the pitcher hits its limit, it sends an order to your Amazon account, which you confirm or cancel. “By integrating Wi-Fi connectivity into this pitcher so it can connect with Amazon Dash Replenishment,” Brita general manager Ed Huber said in a statement, “we’ve created an elegant, simple solution to eliminate that moment when you realize you didn’t re-order your filter.”

While this does give users unprecedented convenience in their water filter replenishment, it has a nice advantage for Brita: automatic re-ordering based on how much water customers filter is a great way to keep customers from stretching their current filter for just a few more weeks.

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

If you own an older Nokia or Blackberry smartphone and are an avid user of WhatsApp, you might want to think about your phone’s future: the messaging service plans to end support for several operating systems by the end of the year. 

WhatsApp announced the upcoming change on its blog as part of the future outlook for the company following its seventh anniversary last week.

By the end of 2016, WhatsApp will no longer be supported on BlackBerry – including BlackBerry 10; Nokia S40; Nokia Symbian S60; Android 2.1 and Android 2.2; and Windows Phone 7.1.

The company says it came to the decision to drop support for the systems in order to focus its efforts on the platforms that the majority of consumers use, such those offered by Microsoft, Apple, and Google.

“When we started WhatsApp in 2009, people’s use of mobile devices looked very different from today,” WhatsApp said in its blog post. “About 70% of smartphones sold at the time had operating systems offered by BlackBerry and Nokia.”

The landscape is vastly different in 2016, with operating systems offered by Google, Apple and Microsoft now accounting for 99.5% of sales today, according to WhatsApp.

While the company says the older mobile devices will always be a part of its history, “they don’t offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app’s features in the future.”

“This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp,” the company says.

[via VentureBeat]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

If today is the first birthday you’ve had since 2012, happy birthday! Today is your day, Leap Day babies, and because you only get to celebrate every four years, you might as well get some extra perks and freebies to mark the occasion.

While today is mostly about honoring 200,000 or so Americans out there, as the chances of having Feb. 29 as a birthday are one in 1,461, there are a few places offering deals to everyone else as well.

Deals for Leaplings and Leapers

1. Pizza Hut: Anyone who visits a participating Pizza Hut restaurant on Feb. 29 and shows a government-issued photo ID to prove they were born on Leap Day will receive a free, one-topping Personal Pan Pizza for carryout.

2. Hard Rock Cafe: Celebrate being a quarter of your actual age with a free entree from the Hard Rock Cafe’s “Leaplings Eat Free” menu today, by showing a valid photo ID at participating locations.

3. McAlister’s Deli: Guests with a Feb. 29 birthday will get a free cookie at all restaurants nationwide, no purchase necessary.

4. Olive Garden: Free dessert for Leap Day babies is on the menu, by way of the chain’s Dolcini menu item.

5. Great American Cookies: All locations will give Leaplings a free cookie cake to help them celebrate if you’ve got a valid photo ID to prove your specialness.

6. Houlihan’s: All Leapers get a free entree today, as well as 28 additional free entrees — one per visit — over the next 30 days. Yes, that’s 29 free meals. Photo ID required.

Deals for everyone

1. Caribou Coffee: All customers can get in on the Leap Day discount action with a buy one beverage, get one beverage for $0.29 deal at Caribou. The offer is good for any drink on the menu, and only valid today.

2. Krispy Kreme: If you need doughnuts to go with that coffee, Krispy Kreme is selling a dozen signature Original Glazed doughnuts for $2.29 with the purchase of another dozen at regular price.

3. Hungry Howie’s Pizza: The chain is offering a large round, one-topping pizza for $0.29 when you buy a large round one or more topping pizza. The deal will be available from 2/29/16 to 3/1/16 at participating locations, excluding Alabama and Florida.

4. Tropical Smoothie Café: Loyalty members can get any 24 oz. Classic Smoothie for $2.29.

5. Dog Haus: Get a free patty upgrade from a single to a double on all burgers on Feb. 29.

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

Last week, we warned readers that the so-called “CEO email scam” was back (did it ever really go away?) with a tax season twist: asking employees to hand over files of employee information, such as a W-2 form. The folks at Snapchat apparently didn’t get the memo, as the photo sharing company announced that it was the victim of a phishing scam that led to ne’er-do-wells getting their hands on the personal information of some employees. 

Snapchat announced the hack on Sunday, noting that the issue only affected employees, that the company’s servers were not breached, and no user data was at risk.

According to Snapchat, the scam took place when a payroll department employee was “targeted by an isolated email phasing scam in which a scammer impersonated our Chief Executive Officer and asked for employee payroll information.”

The email wasn’t recognized as a scam, either by the employee or by email spam filters, and payroll information — including social security numbers, bank details, and salaries — for some current and former employees was disclosed externally.

“Needless to say, we responded swiftly and aggressively,” the company said. “Within four hours of this incident, we confirmed that the phishing attack was an isolated incident and reported it to the FBI. We began sorting through which employees–current and past–may have been affected. And we have since contacted the affected employees and have offered them two years of free identity-theft insurance and monitoring.”

In an effort to ensure another phishing scam doesn’t best employees in the future, the company says it will “redouble our already rigorous training programs around privacy and security in the coming weeks.”

[via NBC News]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

We first heard Disney was considering a new surge pricing model back in October, and thus, it has come to pass: the next time you plan a trip to the mouse’s house, you’re likely going to be paying more, depending when you visit.

The new surge pricing system is in place as of yesterday at U.S parks including Disneyland and Disney World, reports the Los Angeles Times, in a change from the current one-day ticket price of $99. If you decide to hang out at the park on a slow day, like a Wednesday in the middle of September, you’ll pay $95.

But most days of the year will be more expensive, with prices for a “regular” day or “peak” day hiking to $105 and $119, respectively. About 30% of the year will be designated as “value days,” 44% will be “regular” and 26% will be “peak,” which means you’ve got a 70% of paying more than you do now.

This is going to be a good thing for crowd management, says Disney, instead of being all about the almighty dollar.

“The demand for our theme parks continues to grow, particularly during peak periods,” a Disneyland spokeswoman told the Los Angeles Times. “In addition to expanding our parks, we are adopting seasonal pricing on our one-day ticket to help better spread visitation throughout the year.”

And besides, other companies are already doing the same thing, Disney says.

“It’s an approach that you are probably familiar with from many other areas, including sports, entertainment and travel,” Disney’s Thomas Smith wrote on the official Disney Parks blog.

In an effort to sooth customers who might be ruffled that they’re probably going to pay more than they used to, Disney is touting new attractions, including a “Star Wars” land that’s in the works, and a new stage show based on Frozen.

Disneyland ‘demand pricing’ will cost you $5 less on slow days and $20 more when it’s busy [Los Angles Times]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

It seems as if each year airlines shrink the sizes of their seat in the name of fitting more people into their flying metal tubes. One lawmaker wants to put an end to that trend by creating a seat-size standard for commercial airlines. 

The Federal Aviation Administration should establish unspecified seat-size requirements in an effort to prevent airlines from continually cutting seat size and leg room in order to pad their bottom line, New York Senator Chuck Schumer told the Associated Press Sunday.

Schumer plans to get the ball rolling on the requirement by creating an amendment to the currently pending FAA Reauthorization bill.

“One of the most vexing things when you travel on an airplane is there’s almost no legroom on your standard flight,” Schumer said. “There’s been constant shrinkage by the airlines.”

In fact, the senator says that the average distance between rows of seats — known as the seat pitch — has decreased from 35 inches in the 1970s to 16.5 inches today.

“They’re like sardines,” Schumer said of airplane passengers. “It’s no secret that airlines are looking for more ways to cut costs, but they shouldn’t be cutting inches of legroom and seat width in the process. … It’s time for the FAA to step up and stop this deep-seated problem from continuing.”

While some airlines offer passengers the option of purchasing a seat with more room, Schumer says that tactic simply “exemplifies” the problem, the AP reports.

“It’s just plain unfair that a person gets charged for extra inches that were once standard,” he said.

Schumer’s push for seat-size standards comes less than a month after Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen proposed a bill that would also require the Federal Aviation Administration to set in stone how far airlines can shrink down seats, citing the “health and safety” of passengers.

Charles Schumer condemns ‘shrinkage’ of airline seats, proposes standard size [The Associated Press]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

The Coolest hit Kickstarter in 2014, raising over $13 million and promising backers “a party disguised as a cooler.” That party may be winding down or at least significantly delayed, as the project’s creator says that he is now out of money and looking for an investor to help keep cranking out coolers.

It turns out that Team Coolest had always planned on having a budget shortfall, but expected to make it up in sales. We don’t have the e-mail sent to backers, but Crowdfund Insider does, and it read in part:

We are in the process of identifying the right partner who can provide the capital and strategic resources to fund the remaining production of backer rewards and help grow the company to the next level. We’re not quite there yet, but it is moving forward.

Translation: if you have millions of dollars and also think that smart coolers are the future, drop them a line. Either way, the coolers will be delayed even more… unless you’re an Amazon customer.

Yes, the controversial Amazon listing is back, where the Coolest sells for its full retail price of $499, compared with the price as low as $165 that some early Kickstarter backers paid. The idea behind the Amazon listing was apparently to raise more money to keep making coolers for those early backers, who remain outraged that there are finished coolers for Amazon customers, but not for them. Remember, the campaign concluded in August 2014.

Unlike some other spectacular crowdfunding failures, at least the Coolest ended with a product that actually works, as backers who have received their coolers report.

Yet stories like this are a cautionary tale for aspiring creators of products: it’s possible to be too successful and promise too much to customers after a successful crowdfunding campaign, which is a dangerous position to be in when creating an entirely new product.

Coolest Cooler Not So Cool as Project Runs Short of Cash [Crowdfund Insider]
COOLEST COOLER: 21st Century Cooler that's Actually Cooler [Kickstarter]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

The closure of hundreds of Walmart stores earlier this year wasn’t good news for anyone, except for perhaps some small-town storeowners and well organized resellers. One group that’s really benefiting, even though they’d probably rather not, is OUR Walmart, a group that is not a union, but works to share information between employees and organizes protests and strikes. As store closings continued, OUR Walmart noticed their Internet traffic is up.

It’s one thing to have a lot of Online visitors, but one leader explained to Buzzfeed that the increase in traffic also means that more people are reaching out and interested in talking. He also notes that increases in traffic tend to happen when there are stories in the news stories about the stores and their plight, and with key dates affecting employees’ status under the federal WARN law. That requires 60 days’ notice before a layoff, and some workers are still waiting to either find a job at a different store, or receive severance payments.

A spokesperson for Walmart points out that the group is claiming huge membership growth after breaking off from the United Food and Commercial Workers, the union that originally supported them as they started. Now the group runs on $5/month dues payments from members and grant money, and the company is skeptical that workers are clamoring to join now that the groups are no longer affiliated.

As Walmart Closes Stores, Facebook Group For Workers Gets Spike In Visits [Buzzfeed]

PREVIOUSLY:
Labor Board Orders Walmart To Rehire 16 Employees Fired For Striking
Walmart Raises Suspicions After Closing 5 Stores In Same Day For “Plumbing” Problems
Here’s A Look Inside The Last Days Of Some Closing Walmarts

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

The problem isn’t necessarily that a man in Massachusetts went out and patched some holes in his street himself, at his own expense. The town prefers to use hot asphalt instead of the patching material he used. The core problem is that he happens be the sales manager for the company that sells that patching material.

Other nearby towns do use the material, and town officials suspect that his ultimate goal isn’t to prevent pothole-related accidents and damage to cars. They think that he wants to his company’s product and demonstrate that it holds up better.

Making his own street––where he’s patched two potholes recently––safer was a nice bonus. One neighbor noted how deep the hole was on camera with TV station WGZ, but the town would still prefer if he hadn’t used the street as a sales demonstration.

“Instead of filling it, tell us where it is and we’ll do it,” the town manager told the TV crew.

The resident isn’t in trouble or anything, but the town is in the strange position where all they can do is ask residents to please not perform DIY road repairs.

Millbury Man Takes Heat From Town For Fixing Pothole [WGZ]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

Two years ago we profiled Ellia Kassoff, the mad genius who seems intent on bringing back every brand that you ever said “remember when…” about. He has already resurrected Hydrox, the original sandwich cookie, but he’s also been battling Macy’s for several years over a slew of trademarks for stores Macy’s acquired and shut down. Today, Kassoff says he’s reached a deal with the department store giant that will allow him to try to breathe new life into several long-dead retail brands.

Kassoff has a knack for researching defunct brands and taking a risk on claiming trademarks that he believes are up for grabs because the most recent owners of those marks have not used them.

Given the sheer number of stores that Macy’s has acquired directly or inherited through mergers with Federated Department Stores in 1994 and May Department Stores in 2005, there was a trove of once-popular store brands that had gone unexploited and whose trademark went undefended.

Among the many Macy’s-related brands that Strategic attempted to claim trademark on were Marshall Field’s, Burdines, Filene’s, Jordan Marsh, Strawbridges, and Abraham and Straus.

In response to Kassoff’s efforts to resurrect these trademarks independently of Macy’s, the retail giant filed two separate lawsuits against him, most recently in Feb. 2015.

Earlier this month, Macy’s scored a victory, with a court ruling that Kassoff could not use the Marshall Field’s brand, and a handful of others, on T-shirts.

A trial on the bigger issue of trademark ownership was slated to begin in early May, but Kassoff tells Consumerist that he’s reached a deal with Macy’s that gives him control over some, but not all, of the disputed marks.

According to Kassoff, Strategic Marks now owns all goodwill associated with the trademarks for historic Boston retail brand Jordan Marsh, defunct West Coast chain I. Magnin, New Jersey legend Bamberger’s, Houston-based Foley’s, longtime California retailer Robinson’s, Midwestern mainstay May Company, and one-time L.A. luxury brand Bullock’s.

The remaining marks that were part of the dispute will remain under Macy’s control. So don’t get your hopes up about seeing another Marshall Field’s or Filene’s anytime soon.

Kassoff says he was prepared to go to trial, but agreed to attend a settlement conference with Macy’s.

“After over five hours of negotiating with Macy’s, we finally hammered out a deal that we’re really happy with,” says Kassoff, who hopes to bring these stores back to the markets where they are remembered fondly.

“Consumers noted the current shopping experience is quite drab, as there is no localized marketing or buying for the regional stores anymore,” he says of his research into retail habits. “People want to go back to the days when shopping was a real experience at their local department store. They really miss that.”

Today’s settlement will give him the authority to meet in earnest with retail investor, but Kassoff also notes that there are ways to capitalize on these once-famous brands, giving the example of selling Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins online and in regions where people grew up with the brand.

Macy’s has not yet responded to our request for comment on this story.

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

If anyone ever tries to convince you that life isn’t constantly getting better, remember this: only an average of three people each year since 2012 have stuck contact lenses soaked in hydrogen peroxide in their eyes and caused injuries bad enough to report to the Food and Drug Administration. 61 people did from 2010 to 2011. The reason for this medical miracle? Red plastic.

Specifically, red plastic tips on bottles of contact lens solution that contains peroxide. Broadly speaking, there are two types of contact lens solution that disinfect your lenses: multi-purpose solution disinfects and dissolves protein and fat deposits on your lenses, and does not scorch your corneas. You do, however, have to rub the lenses to clean them.

Hydrogen peroxide disinfecting solution performs the same functions but doesn’t contain preservatives, and users do not need to rub the lenses to clean them, but if used to store lenses in a case not designed for use with peroxide solution, they can cause terrible pain and even serious injuries. .

Before 2012, manufacturers didn’t do much to differentiate the bottles, and this caused serious and painful problems. Back in 2010, we suggested putting a giant label on the bottles that says “DON’T PUT THIS IN YOUR EYES, DUMBASS,” but the eye care industry is smarter and added red warning labels and a red tip on all bottles that contain hydrogen peroxide solutions.

See? Progress. Thanks to some basic safety measures, contact lens wearers are significantly less likely to mix up bottles and cause injuries.

Contact Lens Solutions With Hydrogen Peroxide: To Avoid Injury, Follow All Instructions [FDA]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

Two years ago, regional airlines warned that new regulations, higher costs of school, and lower salaries had led to a shortage of pilots for the companies that typically handle the smaller, regional routes for larger airlines. Now, one short-haul carrier says that lack of pilots is the reason it’s filed for bankruptcy. 

Labor disputes and the loss of up to 40 pilots a month during contract negotiations led Republic Airways — which provides flights for American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Continental — to file for bankruptcy Thursday, Forbes reports.

The Indianapolis-based airline, which operates a fleet of 240 small planes, was able to negotiate a new labor contract with employees in October, but that simply wasn’t enough.

“Our filing today is a result of our loss of revenue during the past several quarters associated with grounding aircraft due to a lack of pilot resources, combined with the reality that our negotiating effort with key stakeholders shows no apparent prospect of a near term resolution,” Bryan Bamford, CEO for Republic, said in a statement.

Bloomberg reports that the airline flew just 41 of its 45-seat jets at the end of 2015, parking as many as 80 of its other planes.

In 2015, Republic accounted for 16% of the 3,400 daily regional flights for American Airlines, while its Shuttle America service few about 15% of all Delta Connections.

“We filed with a strong core business and the liquidity resources necessary to carry out our restructuring plan,” Bedford said. “We believe this action will allow us to restore our airline and take it to new heights,” Bamford said in the statement.

Republic says it will continue flight operations during its bankruptcy and restricting plan.

The airline hopes to become “a single fleet, a single operating certificate carrier and one airline with a bright future,” Bamford says.

Republic Airways CEO Says Bankruptcy Filing Will Take Airline To New Heights [Forbes]
Republic Airways Files for Bankruptcy After Pilot Shortage [Bloomberg]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

Amazon’s streaming video programming is just another way for the company to entice customers to sign up for Prime memberships, right? Who can resist free 2-day shipping and Alpha House? Yet the company’s new reality show, a fashion design competition called The Fashion Fund, is available to stream for free with ads as long as you have an Amazon account. Oh, and by the way, you can buy the finalists’ collections on Amazon.

The Fashion Fund already gave out awards to fresh and talented new designers before it had a reality show, and the show started out on the cable network Ovation. What’s new is that they can potentially reach everyone with an Amazon account, and the intense cross-promotion happening.

Amazon gets to attract people who are at least a bit interested in fashion to visit their site––where they have coincidentally just started to carry their own in-house fashion brands.

The Fashion Fund and the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, meanwhile, get to put the contestants’ products on display on a special site on Amazon––what they refer to as a “a content-rich, dedicated retail experience” on the Amazon Fashion site. As far as we can tell, that means it has some big pictures. They are very nice pictures. You can click over to the clothes from the page where you stream the show, if you want to.

New episodes of the show will drop on Thursdays.

(via GeekWire)

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

Eight months after a Department of Transportation audit criticized the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for failing to hold automakers responsible for defects, a second audit is raising additional concerns about NHTSA’s ability to sniff out problem automobiles. 
The latest audit [PDF] from the DOT’s Office of Inspector General acknowledges that NHTSA has made strides over the last five years, but also points out that some necessary programs have not yet been implemented.

This includes a training program for investigators that would help them better spot safety risks in automobiles.

NHTSA investigators “may not be sufficiently trained to identify and investigate potential vehicle defects, or ensure that vehicle manufacturers take prompt and effective action to remediate issues,” the report found.

ODI also hasn’t conducted any post-training audits, despite committing to these audits in response to the recommendation, including evaluations of employee knowledge of course objectives, evaluations of training materials, and annual reviews of ODI’s training.

Additionally, the inspector general established that ODI investigators fail to properly document evidence such as consumer complaints and meetings with automakers that could better protect consumers for defects.

“Although ODI implemented the new procedure, it has not enforced the procedure or established mechanisms to promote compliance,” the report found. “For example, ODI has not required supervisors to review the case management system to verify that pre-investigative work is documented as required.”

As a result of these failures, the inspector general found roughly 42% issue evaluations filed in 2013 contained no document ion of pre-investigative work.

“ODI’s inconsistent application of this new procedure could result in relevant data being omitted from NHTSA’s preliminary evaluations of potential vehicle safety issues,” the report states.

A spokesperson for NHTSA tells the Wall Street Journal that the agency is working to implement the inspector general’s recommendations from 2011 and last year’s audit by June 30.

Those initiatives include a training program and better assessing compliance with internal policies

The agency has come under fire several times in recent years for inadequate policies and process when it comes to identifying defects.

In fact, both the 2011 audit and the June 2014 audit were instigated following major safety issues; unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles and General Motors’ ignition switch defect, respectively.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

We learned about Kmart Dental in Florida from reader Jason, who sent us a link and noted that it “has got to be the oddest thing inside of a Kmart anywhere.” We don’t know whether it holds any strangeness records, but a dentist’s office inside a discount store is pretty unusual. We wondered how they ended up there, and whether Kmart dental offices were a common thing that we had just never heard of, so we called them up and asked.

The office is quite large, now employing six dentists, and the practice actually predates the Kmart itself. The founder and owner, Dr. Steven Aaron, opened the practice inside a Jefferson Ward store in 1982. Jefferson Ward was a discount chain owned by Montgomery Ward and based in Miami, and its stores were all either closed or were purchased by Bradlees in 1985.

Jefferson Ward was gone, but the dental office stayed. Kmart took over the building, and the dental office stayed where it was. “They built the Kmart around us,” the practice’s longtime receptionist explained to Consumerist.

After Kmart opened, the practice rebranded as Kmart Dental. It has never been owned by Kmart, but has permission to use the brand name and logo. The two businesses operate in symbiosis, though. Early on, Kmart’s customers wandered in to the dental practice. Today, Kmart, um, isn’t as popular as it was in 1985, and new patients come from elsewhere.

“Now more patients come from friends and family of our existing patients,” Dr. Aaron explained to Consumerist. Yet the Kmart store serves as a giant built-in waiting room for the practice, and patients can be paged in the store when it’s their turn or when their child’s appointment is over.

Having a dental practice in a store is rather convenient, as it turns out, which is why it’s surprising that there aren’t more of them. (It also helps that Kmart Dental keeps later hours than most dentists, staying open until 7:30 PM and opening on weekends.) Today, consumers may connect the idea of a dental practice in a discount store with the dental chains that sometimes have questionable patient care practices and that do business in strip malls.

That isn’t the case, though: Kmart Dental is a standard dental and orthodontic practice, and families who might have first visited a generation ago for the first time because they were regular Kmart shoppers have stayed with them, referring new patients.

The first impression that some potential patients get is amusing, though. Last year, a Kmart shopper captured the entrance on Instagram, showing its location next to the toy department and tagging the photo, “#igiveup #onlyinmiami #hoodthings #soflo #dental #wtf #reallife #smile #bluelightspecial.”

If you know of a medical or dental practice inside a store or a different retail oddity in your area, let us know! We’d love to hear about it. We’re sure there must be something out there stranger than a dentist in a Kmart.

Kmart Dental [Official Site]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

Five years ago, the Food and Drug Administration first warned a Florida man to stop peddling a supposed cure for herpes until he proved it worked and was safe. He subsequently tweaked the marketing to make it less cure-like, but federal prosecutors say he still went too far in promising his supplement could treat the sexually transmitted disease.

Back in 2011, the maker of a product called Viruxo was selling it as a “New Herpes Treatment! Cure for Herpes Outbreaks,” telling people that they could “Never Have A Herpes Outbreak Again” if they took “America’s #1 Herpes Outbreak Eliminator!”

Statements like these didn’t go over to well with the FDA, which sent out a warning letter, saying that any product making claims to cure or treat a disease must be considered a “drug” under the letter of the law.

More precisely, because Viruxo is not just a variation on an existing product that is generally recognized as safe, it’s considered a “new drug,” meaning its safety and efficacy must be demonstrated to the FDA before it can be sold for treating anything.

And so Viruxo backed off on the more obvious “cure” claims, and even added some fine print disclaimers to its website about how there is no known cure for herpes.

However, last fall the U.S. Department of Justice sued Viruxo in federal court, alleging that the product was still using drug-like claims to sell what was now labeled an “immune support” supplement instead of an “anti-viral.”

In the complaint [PDF], prosecutors took issue with Viruxo’s continued pronouncements that it could be used to “stop outbreaks” or references to the product as an “Over the Counter Herpes Medicine.”

There was also the statement that appears to start as a disclaimer before transitioning into an unsubstantiated claim that Viruxo could force the herpes virus to remain in a dormant state:

In his response [PDF], the defendant denied maintained he was only selling a supplement made from “all natural ingredients all which available over the counter an in no way controlled.” [Typos in original.]

Regarding the non-disclaimer statement cited by the prosecutors, Viruxo contends that “It is…widely published through university and clinically proven research, that a strong healthy immune system, can keep the herpes virus in a dormant inactive state. Most all of the ingredients are widely recognizes to help boost the immune system.” [Again, typos in original.]

But today, the DOJ announced that it has entered into a consent decree [PDF] permanently barring Viruxo or its owner from selling any food, drug, or supplement without permission from the FDA.

“Unfortunately, many dietary supplements cannot do what their sellers claim they can do,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “In some instances, consumers might be choosing supplements over other proven therapies for serious conditions under the mistaken belief that these products can help.”

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

Nearly two years ago nutritional company Herbalife revealed that it was under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission for its often controversial business practices, or what some people claim is a pyramid scheme. Now, it looks like the company is ready to put the federal probe behind it.

Herbalife revealed in its recently filed annual report [PDF] that it was in talks with regulators to resolve the nearly two-year long investigation.

“The company is currently in discussions with the FTC regarding a potential resolution of these matters,” Michael Johnson, chairman and CEO of Herbalife, said during an earnings call Thursday. “A possible range of outcomes include the filing by the FTC of a contested civil complaint or further discussions leading to a settlement, which could include monetary penalties and other relief or the closure of these matters without action.”

The FTC’s investigation centered on the company’s multi-level marketing sales strategy that worked by exclusively selling weight-loss shakes and nutritional products through a network of independent distributors, or “members,” who earn through commissions on sales to other recruited members.

The probe was initiated after the FTC received more than 100 complaints about the company in 2013, and came on the heels of a years-long legal battle with investor Bill Ackman, who accused the company of operating a pyramid scheme.

Johnson said Thursday that the company has been cooperating with regulators for the past two years, but could not predict when or if a resolution would come.

“Moreover, no assurances can be given that the outcome of these matters will not have a material adverse impact on a company’s business operations, its financial condition or its results of operations,” he said during the call. “At the present time, the Company is unable to estimate a range of potential loss, if any, relating to these matters. We cannot comment on the scope, duration or the outcome of the investigation at this time. We will provide updates when appropriate to do so.”

[via The Chicago Tribune]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist

जनता का आदमी

I’ve never been on a cruise, but if I were to find myself stuck on a massive ship with thousands of other people and no exit other than leaping into the sea, I’d hope there would be enough food and drink to keep everyone entertained, lest it devolve into apocalyptic anarchy-at-sea. Thankfully, the cruise operators make sure to pack a lot of booze and snacks along for the trip. 

More precisely — according to an Associated Press look at the behind-the-scenes operations at Royal Caribbean — that cruise ship will have 5,400 lobster tails, 21,000 ice cream cones, 14,800 pounds of potatoes, and 31,900 bottles of beer. And all of that is stowed on the ship in a matter of hours.

While cleaning state rooms and emptying the trash are all major parts of the cruise ship turnaround, making sure there’s enough food, booze, and just-in-case items is one of the most important aspects of the cruise ship business.

The AP reports that each week while the soon-to-deboard passengers on the Oasis of the Seas are still asleep, the crew members of the ship are busy at work unloading 25 trucks full of goods in preparation their next week at sea.

Because many of the islands that the ship will eventually visit don’t have products that meet the cruise line’s standards, it must take everything with it when it leaves port in Florida, Raimund Gschaider, associated vice president for hotel operations at Royal Caribbean, tells the AP.

“In a hotel, you get your supplies on a daily basis. You’re never tied into a limited timeframe,” he said. “For us, we only have one go at it.”

And so while the passengers sleep, the ship’s employees bring aboard 10,272 new rolls of toilet paper, 1,000 new light bulbs, 30 replacement TVs, and 23 gallons of hand sanitizer.

As well as, 820 bottles of vodka, 293 bottles of scotch, 765 bottles of Rum, 16,900 cans of soda, 3,360 bottles of white wine, 2,776 bottles of red wine, and 2,622 gallons of milk.

To ensure that guests don’t go hungry at the Oasis’ 25 restaurants, workers stock 46,800 eggs, 19,723 pounds of chicken, 7,070 pounds of fish, and 5,400 bananas.

Just what goes on the ship, and how much of it, is determined by past trends and tweaked to account for the age and nationalities of those setting sail, the AP reports.

So if, for example, a college basketball tournament is taking place during the voyage, the ship would increase the typical 31,900 bottles of beer stocked, along with snacks like hot dogs (10,680), beef (18,314 pounds) for burgers, and other game day fare.

“I’m amazed every single time you do it,” Gschaider says. “It’s an orchestration of all different operations. Everything needs to be fine-tuned down to the last minute.”

32,000 bottles of beer, 10,680 hot dogs, 5,400 lobster tails: Stocking a cruise ship [The Associated Press]

by prakash chandra via Consumerist