Category Archives: Consumer activism

“Beantown AutoMobile Detailing” vandalizes my car, refuses to clean it up

On Wednesday night, April 16, 2014, after our minivan sat idle for two days while we celebrated the beginning of the holiday of Passover, I went out to run an errand and found a sodden, disintegrating advertisement from “Beantown AutoMobile [sic] Detailing” stuck between the driver’s side window and its lower rubber gasket. When I… Read More: “Beantown AutoMobile Detailing” vandalizes my car, refuses to clean it… »

An open letter to the owner of The Chubby Chickpea Food Truck

Dear Avi, “You know what the great thing is about owning your own business? You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” That’s what you told me this morning when your food truck arrived 10 minutes past its scheduled opening time and still hadn’t opened 10 minutes after that. That’s what you told… Read More: An open letter to the owner of The Chubby Chickpea… »

Globe Direct: Hey Boston, here’s 34 tons of trash per week on us!

What would you say if I told you that there’s a Boston business that adds more than 34 tons per week of trash to the City of Boston’s waste stream*, trash that the residents of Boston end up paying to dispose of to the tune of >$100,000 per year**? What would you say if I… Read More: Globe Direct: Hey Boston, here’s 34 tons of trash per… »

Boston Herald rude sales people won’t leave us alone

To: Boston Herald home delivery department Subject: Rude sales call from Boston Herald My wife and I (you can find us in your records under our home phone number [elided]) are no longer Boston Herald subscribers. We currently have no desire to resume our subscription. Since we canceled our subscription, your sales department has called… Read More: Boston Herald rude sales people won’t leave us alone »

Another reminder of why I so “love” Paychex

Because I am a boring old fuddy-duddy, I was spending the minutes leading up to the New Year trying to reconcile my 2013 medical flexible spending account (FSA), i.e., to match up the FSA transactions listed on the Paychex web site with those listed in my financial management software and confirm that there were no… Read More: Another reminder of why I so “love” Paychex »

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: Das Keyboard comes from behind for the win »

Herb Chambers Honda of Boston tries to charge me $942 for an $118 repair

September 22, 2013 American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Honda Automobile Customer Service 1919 Torrance Boulevard Mail Stop: 500 – 2N – 7A Torrance, CA 90501-2746 Attention: [name elided] at 800-999-1009 ext. [extension elided] This is a followup to the attached letter which I sent you on August 2, 2013, about which we subsequently spoke by… Read More: Herb Chambers Honda of Boston tries to charge me $942… »

Canceling my previous recommendation for NoMoreRack.com

I recently recommended a flash charger for cell phones and other devices, being sold by NoMoreRack.com for a great price. I stand by recommendation of that particular product, but I find it necessary to withdraw my recommendation for NoMoreRack.com. They strongly encourage their customers to recommend their site and products to friends and relatives, and… Read More: Canceling my previous recommendation for NoMoreRack.com »