Spirit Airlines: The Most Complained-About Carrier In The U.S.

It’s a little hard to parse that spaghetti-like mess at the lower end of this graph, but it’s quite easy to spot Spirit soaring high above the rest of the competition (Source: U.S. PIRG)

Yes, we’ve repeatedly made fun of delusional Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza for his claim that his company is the “most consumer-friendly” airline around, especially when it comes in dead-last in traveler opinion surveys and is the only U.S. carrier to make a recent list of the world’s worst airlines. And a new study confirms that Spirit’s passengers are several times more likely to complain than passengers on any other domestic carrier.

Just check out the graph above, culled from the new U.S. Public Interest Research Group study [PDF] on airline complaints filed with the Dept. of Transportation.

Between 2009 and 2013, Spirit was not only the airline with the highest rate of complaints to the DOT, but its rate was anywhere from three to nine times worse than any of its competition. Additionally, while many of the airlines in the study — with a couple notable execption — demonstrated no substantial growth in complaints during this five-year period, Spirit’s complaint rate rose by more than 20%.

“As the airline has grown in the past several years, complaints against [Spirit] have skyrocketed,” reads the report. “Since 2008, the DOT has hit Spirit with five different fines totaling $565,000 for violating various consumer protection laws concerning oversales, baggage, and multiple cases of deceptive advertising.”

Spirit’s numbers are so much higher than the complaint rates for the competition that U.S. PIRG had to include a second graph that omits Spirit just to present more precise information about the rest of the industry:

Aside from Spirit, the most noticeable data on the graph belongs to United, which saw a massive spike in 2012 following its merger with Continental. Of course, complaints had been on the rise at the airline before the acquisition and still remain higher than almost all other carriers.

Speaking of mergers, as US Airways and American finish combining everything, it will be interesting to see how consumers react. American had been on the rise during the years leading up to its marriage to US Airways, while that carrier’s complaint rate had been trending downward. Granted, AA was going through bankruptcy and was having a lot of trouble with cancelled and delayed flights during that time.

Frontier Airlines may not be a household name to casual travelers, but it has grown in recent years in an effort to link people in underserved regions of the country to major airline hubs. But US PIRG points out that this growth has resulted in growing pains, with Frontier leaping from the middle of the pack to become second only to Spirit in the complaint rate department.

“When airlines cut corners, it causes all sorts of headaches for passengers,” said Laura Murray, U.S. PIRG Education Fund Consumer Associate. “These complaints show that the airlines and policymakers should act to improve service.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Atraer clientes con el uso de Redes Sociales #socialmedia #marketing

Hola:

Una presentación sobre cómo atraer clientes con el uso de Redes Sociales.

Un saludo

Archivado en: Marketing on line, Redes Sociales, Sociedad de la información Tagged: internet, Marketing, redes sociales, tic, Web 2.0.



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via Alfredo Vela Posteado por www.bscformacion.com

If You Left Your Dangerous Crocodile At The Strip Mall, The Folks At TJ Maxx Know Where He Is

(KCRA.com)

So you’ve already ignored the rule about not buying dangerous, exotic animals like a crocodile and keeping it as a pet. There’s another rule, and it’s all about not leaving said pet at a strip mall. Both of those rules were recently ignored by one bad consumer, leaving a crocodile wandering around by the TJ Maxx at a strip mall, ostensibly looking for an affordable vegan leather purse or something.

Shoppers spotted a four-foot crocodile that had apparently been dropped off outside a reptile business at a California strip mall yesterday morning and sprung himself from his container. Witnesses called the cops while the croc wandered over to TJ Maxx to hang out, reports KCRA.com.

It’s unclear who left the crocodile, but police say he came with a note that said “call rescue,” and identified the animal as a Nile crocodile. He was lassoed by an animal control expert and coerced back into his cage.

“It was most likely a crocodile that was illegally brought into the country or illegally captured elsewhere in the county,” said a police rep.

To be clear, this is not some harmless animal — it’s illegal to own a crocodile for a reason, notes a California Fish and Wildlife official.

“This one is a really nasty crocodile,” said Patrick Foy, a game warden. “It’s got a really bad attitude. This animal genuinely is a very dangerous animal. Leaving it in a parking lot absolutely (puts) the public at risk, especially kids who might think that they can go and touch (it) — people who just don’t know how dangerous these crocodiles really are.”

The reptile store serves as a safe surrender site for animals that are no longer wanted by their owners. But a store employee says the usual pets are bearded dragons, pythons and like, and that getting a croc is “unusual.”

He’s now in the hands of California wildlife officials and will probably end up in a zoo, where there are no discount stores for name brand goods or even a pretzel stand.

Abandoned crocodile lassoed in Roseville strip mall [KCRA.com]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

What’s In A $100 Grilled Cheese Sandwich?

Under that egg and other stuff is apparently a grilled cheese sandwich.

I have a hard time justifying paying $3.50 to my corner deli for a grilled cheese sandwich when I’ve got all the makings of the comfort food classic in my fridge. So I’m having some difficulty imagining what it would take to get me to fork over $100 (plus tax and tip, etc.) for any sandwich, let alone a grilled cheese.

But I’m obviously not the target customer for deca Restaurant + Bar at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago, which is celebrating National Grilled Cheese Month (Wait — donuts and bacon only get a day, but grilled cheese merits an entire month? The puppet-masters behind this nation’s arbitrary holiday observances have their priorities out of whack.) with something called a Zillion Dollar Grilled Cheese.

Since there is not yet a zillion dollar note, nor consensus on exactly how many dollars constitute one zillion, the restaurant is generously selling the sandwich for the low, low price of $100.

So what on Earth is in it?

According to deca, it’s “enveloped” — not merely wrapped, or more accurately, sandwiched — in “artisan country sourdough bread, and cooked until golden brown in Laudemio Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi EVOO.”

Considering I can get an entire, righteous loaf of artisan sourdough from the local bakery for a few bucks, and even though this particular oil goes for something like $60/bottle it can’t take more than a tablespoon or two to make a grilled cheese (though some people prefer using mayo), we’re not seeing the cost justification yet.

Then there’s “thinly sliced black Iberico ham, sourced from pigs living primarily in the south of Spain, allowed to roam free in the pasture eating acorns until they are of proper size.”

Okay, so it’s getting a little more expensive, but it’s also roaming — much like that acorn-chomping pig — outside the realm of a grilled cheese.

Speaking of which, we’re several ingredients in and no mention of what is providing the melty goodness.

For that, deca uses “40-year aged Wisconsin cheddar infused with 24K gold flakes.”

And there you go. The cheese and the gaudy bling factor in one ingredient. I’ll never understand this fascination that some people with disposable income have for eating gold. It only results in some very pricey poop.

But deca’s not done yet, throwing on some heirloom tomatoes and 100-year-old aged balsamic vinegar, and a bit of white truffle aioli to ratchet up the fancy and the price.

Still not enough? Why not toss some froie gras on top… and a duck egg?

And just in case you felt shortchanged, it comes with a side of lobster mac and cheese.

If it helps, think about this as a $70 sandwich with a $30 side dish.

$100 Gold-Plated Grilled Cheese Offered at Ritz-Carlton’s Deca Restaurant (DNAinfo Chicago via Eater)

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Want To Send Facebook Messages On A Mobile Device? You’ll Need A Separate App For That

Perhaps you were having a nice walk down memory lane exchanging Facebook messages with one of your high school friends who you haven’t seen in real life in over 14 years but hey, it’s Facebook. In the future if you want to take that conversation to your phone or tablet, you’ll have to download a separate messaging app.

Instead of going through the existing Facebook app that does everything else Facebookian — upload photos, post statuses, “like” your aunt’s repost of an inspirational quote — the social media company is forcing chat users to download the stand-alone Messenger app to get at messages on the go.

“Today we are starting to notify people that messages are moving out of the Facebook app and over to the Messenger app,” Facebook told the AFP. “To continue sending messages on mobile, people will need to install the Messenger app.”

The change will first show up in updates to iPhone and Android apps in “a handful” of European countries before spreading to the U.S.

However, users with Windows Phone and tablets won’t see any change and can still use the normal Facebook app for messages. Anyone with a lower-end Android device with memory constraints is also exempt, reports The Verge, as well as inside Paper, Facebook’s news app. For now.

In related news, from now on if anyone wants to comment on my Facebook page using their mobile devices I would appreciate it if you would first download an app that turns all words into kittens. Thanks.

Facebook smartphone chats pushed to Messenger app [AFP]

Facebook will turn off messaging in its mobile app, forcing you to download Messenger [The Verge]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

GM Puts Engineers Tied To Ignition Recall On Leave

(Theo Curmudgeon)

In the middle of an investigation into why General Motors allowed vehicles with defective ignition switches to not only hit the market, but continue to be sold and driven for years while at least 13 people died, the carmaker has placed to engineers directly involved with this issue on paid leave.

Bloomberg reports that one man led the engineering team on the Chevrolet Cobalt, the vehicle most associated with this recall. Documents turned up during the Congressional investigation into the recall indicate that this engineer rejected a potential fix to the ignition issue, saying it would take too long and cost too much money.

The other engineer led the team that designed the faulty switch in the recalled vehicles. He later, and apparently without the knowledge of others at GM, gave the third-party part supplier the green light to produce improved switches in 2006. However, the part number was not changed, so people who repaired these vehicles may have later replaced a perfectly good part with a defective one since there was no way of knowing which was which.

“This is an interim step as we seek the truth about what happened,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement Thursday. “It was a difficult decision, but I believe it is best for GM.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

California Town Officially Declares Factory’s Sriracha Odor A “Public Nuisance”

(JoshBassett|PHOTOGRAPHY)

It wasn’t enough for the town of Irwindale, CA to simply call the Huy Fong Foods Sriracha factory a public nuisance, it’s now voted unanimously to declare it as much. The city council is expected to official adopt the resolution at the next meeting, at which point Huy Fong will have 90 days to mitigate the odor.

Residents had complained in an October lawsuit that the smell of hot sauce production burns their eyes and throats at certain times of day, leading a judge to temporarily halt production in November. The case brought by the town will be brought to trial next November.

And now that the factory is up and running again, the company is working to appease the town, reports the Los Angeles Times. Huy Fong’s lawyer had pledged to submit an action plan within 10 days and have the smell totally fixed by June 1 before last night’s meeting.

Huy Fong could have some help from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which has been testing the air at the factory and indicated that the odor could be lessened with active carbon filters, something Huy Fong has used before.

“The City Council is determined to assert its authority regardless of the status of the odor remediation efforts,” Huy Fong’s lawyer said.

The town’s officials say the Council went for the public nuisance designation as a sort of insurance in case the factory doesn’t fix the smell. The Council says it’ll have the right to enter the factory and make the changes itself, if it has to. That being said, the town does want the factory to stay there, says one councilman.

“I respect the fact that they are here. But they know there’s a problem and it needs to be fixed,” Councilman Albert Ambriz said.

Irwindale Council declares Sriracha smell a public nuisance [Los Angeles Times]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Parents Of Autistic Kids Sue Disney Over New Waiting Line Policy

(Great Beyond)

In an effort to discourage some ethically questionable visitors who had been hiring disabled “tour guides” (or who pretended to be disabled themselves) in order to skip long lines at Disney park attractions, the company instituted a policy change last October. Rather than moving directly to the front of the line, these guests are given tickets that tells them when to come back so they don’t have to endure a wait in line. But some parents of autistic children have sued Disney over the policy, saying it goes too far and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

According to the Orange County Register, 16 families with autistic kids recently filed suit in Los Angeles against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, alleging that the new policy is too narrow and doesn’t allow individualized exceptions for some guests, based on the severity of their disabilities.

The plaintiffs say that for some autistic children, being made to wait for an attraction — whether it’s in line or while continuing to move around the park — can result in a difficult scenario for parents.

“Because of their autism spectrum disorder, they’re not capable of waiting without melting down,” a lawyer for the parents tells the Register. He believes that the policy violates the ADA by failing to “provide an individualized assessment” in the way the previous policies did.

Before the change, disabled visitors to Disney were allowed to move to the front of the line. Because not all disabilities are visible, and because park employees are not allowed to ask for proof of disability, an increasing number of impatient visitors without any medical need to skip the line were gaming the system by lying.

The notion behind the new policy was to effectively expand the parks’ FastPass system to include disabled visitors. Without the ability to immediately skip the line, unethical guests would not be as likely to lie about being disabled. At the same time, disabled visitors do not have to wait in the queue but are free to see other parts of the park before returning at their appointed times.

A rep for Disney says the lawsuit is without merit and claims that, contrary to the allegations in the complaint, the new policy does allow employees to make evaluations based on individual guests’ needs.

“Our Disability Access Service is designed for guests who, due to certain disabilities, cannot tolerate extended wait times at attractions,” the company told the Register in a statement. “In circumstances where the service might not meet guests’ needs, we work individually with guests to ensure we are able to accommodate them.”

[via Cleveland.com]

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Dollar Store Bubble Bursting? Family Dollar Closing 370 Stores, Cutting Prices

(Steven Depolo)

Once upon a time, dollar stores were living the high life, enjoying increased revenue and making plans for expansion. Okay, that was just a year ago, but still, a lot can change in a year. And that’s definitely the case for Family Dollar, whose recent revenue drop has executives taking some pretty serious action.

Following a poor financial performance so far this year, Family Dollar announced that it will close 370 stores, reduce staff, and lower the prices on more than 1,000 items, Forbes reports.

The news is in stark contrast to the company’s previous plans to expand its foothold on bargain retail in the United States.

Last year, Family Dollar management announced it planned to triple the number of retail spaces for a total of 23,000 stores. At the same time, the stores added more brand name items and put in additional refrigerated displays for groceries to increase their appeal to consumers.

Now, officials with the company say they plan to slow their expansion pace to just 350 to 400 new stores. The chain opened 500 new stores in 2013 and planned to do the same in 2014.

Perhaps Family Dollar took their growth and the misguided belief that consumers could always find the best prices at their stores a little too seriously.

Thursday’s announcement seems to fall in line with the idea that dollar stores continued to expand at their own peril; a notion Consumerist reported last year.

Local dollar stores experienced a period of high patronage during the recession when consumers traded in shopping trips to big box retailers for those at discount joints. Companies, such as Family Dollar and Dollar General, took their popularity as a sign that consumers needed more stores, and a dollar store bubble was born.

The big question during the period of rapid discount retailer growth was whether or not there would be a demand for these stores once they’re all opened?

Unfortunately, Family Dollars’ move to cut stores, staff and prices might just give us our answer.

Family Dollar Closing 370 Stores And Lowering Prices After Revenue Falls 6% [Forbes]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Actress Wants Pharmacy To Pay Her $6M For Using Photo Of Her Outside The Store

(rolando.pujol)

Famous people! Isn’t it funny how they also get stuffy noses, use cotton swabs and sometimes just need a bag of fun-size candy bars, like other humans do? Sure, celebrities shop at the pharmacy. It’s where the toilet paper is when you need it. But Katherine Heigl, an actress from movies about too many bridesmaids dresses, doesn’t like that New York City chain Duane Reade is allegedly using a paparazzi pic of her shopping at the store as part of its advertising efforts.

She’s suing Duane Reade for “not less than $6 million” in damages claiming that the chain used her name and image in its commercial advertising, reports Reuters.

Last month she was snapped walking out of the store with Duane Reade bags in her hands, a photo you can see as of right now on the store’s Facebook page as well as its Twitter account, with the caption:”Love a quick #DuaneReade run? Even @KatieHeigl can’t resist shopping #NYC’s favorite drugstore.”

Love a quick #DuaneReade run? Even @KatieHeigl can’t resist shopping #NYC's favorite drugstore bit.ly/1gLHctI http://t.co/uGTc3k1Mii—

Duane Reade (@DuaneReade) March 18, 2014

Heigl’s complaint says the company shared that photo with the captions advertising the store without her approval, and that she “is highly selective and well compensated” when she does endorse something.

“Duane Reade is liable for not less than $6 million in compensatory and punitive or treble damages,” the lawsuit, filed in federal court yesterday, reads.

“We expect Duane Reade to pay for its willful misuse of Katherine Heigl’s name and likeness,” said her lawyer, noting that the money will go toward a charity.

Looks like Walgreens has a new customer. Because everyone knows the corner bodegas don’t have the extra soft toilet paper, only the overpriced, sandpapery rolls that your roommate buys at 2 a.m. when he remembers you asked him to pick some up.

Actress Katherine Heigl sues Duane Reade for unauthorized photo use [Reuters]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist