Category Archives: Consumer Activism Hall of Fame

Das Keyboard comes from behind for the win

I recently received a package from Metadot, the creators of Das Keyboard. It contained: Here’s what the enclosed note says: The day before, I’d received another package from them, containing a brand new Das Keyboard. From the “We’re sorry we messed up!” you might suspect that there’s a less positive back story leading up to… Read More »

UPDATED: Awesome flash charger for portable device power on the road

UPDATE [2013-07-31]: I have withdrawn my recommendation for No More Rack, and I discourage you from patronizing them. It’s rare for me to be so pleased with a particular merchant that I feel compelled to rave about them on my blog, and even rarer for me to feel that way about a particular product, but… Read More »

Rec: Colonial Shoe Repair in Boston, MA

I heartily recommend Colonial Shoe Repair in downtown Boston, MA. They took my wife’s pair of leather boots which were scuffed and salt-encrusted and had a broken zipper, and in a week replaced the zipper perfectly and cleaned, reconditioned, and waterproofed the boots to make them look almost like new.

We love A-Z Auto Center

I want to give a loud shout-out to our favorite auto-body shop and service station, A-Z Auto Center in Brighton, MA. My wife and I have used them numerous times for many different services, including routine maintenance (e.g., oil and filter), auto-body work, repairing a broken automatic minivan door, and tire repair and replacement. In… Read More »

Rec: discountmugs.com

Our family is celebrating my oldest daughter’s bat mitzvah in Israel this summer in a somewhat non-traditional way. She chose the David and Goliath story as the text for her bat mitzvah study project, and she will be giving a presentation on what she has learned followed by a tour of the Elah Valley, where… Read More »

JanSport inaugurated into the Consumer Activism Hall of Fame

Recently, the JanSport backpack I’ve been using for many years broke — the pull tab broke off of one of the zippers. JanSport packs have a lifetime warranty.  Following the instructions on the JanSport Web site, I sent the pack in for repair or replacement.  The Web site promised a turnaround time of about two… Read More »

Zipcar! w00t!

I recently joined Zipcar.  I have been incredibly impressed in all of my dealings with them.  Some examples… Like just about every other company nowadays, Zipcar has a form on their Web site you can use to send them a message.  However, unlike most other companies, they also publish an actual email address you can… Read More »

Product recommendation: Skip Hop’s “Pronto” diaper changing kit

Much of what I attempt to pass off as useful content on my blog is criticism of products and companies that, in my opinion, just don’t measure up.  I have very high standards, which means that I’m often disappointed.  However, it also means that when I’m happy with a product and recommend it, you should… Read More »