Bad Consumers

—>So, you roll into Taco Bell at 3:30 am. They're closed. Sure, you're upset, but do you need to shoot the person working there? One guy in Miami thinks so, and he's apparently still at large after shooting a Taco Bell employee in the leg simply because the restaurant wasn't open.  More Â»

—>An Ohio man smashed into an AdultMart store with his car, picked up the sex toy he wanted — after picking up a more expensive model and dropping it — then sped off. And the store's security camera's caught it all on video.  More Â»

—>I hope we're not editorializing too much by calling these people weirdos, but let's have a look at the facts provided by the Bennington, VT police department: The alleged weirdos ran 450' of extension cord across a Home Depot parking lot in order to power an electric drill that they planned to use to steal the giant chili pepper off of a Chili's. Weirdos, right? That's fair, isn't it?  More Â»

—>Holy crap! A random Walmart shopper apparently just went and slapped some other shopper's toddler because the kid wouldn't stop crying. A police report says that the man told the toddler's mother to keep her quiet saying "If you don't shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you."  More Â»

—>Here's an issue you probably didn't expect to run into on your flight from Oakland to Las Vegas. According to the SF Chronicle, a man exposed himself, then punched a passenger who screamed. After that, he decided to strip naked and resist while flight attendants and other passengers subdued him. The flight was turned around and both the man and the woman he punched were taken to the hospital. They apparently don't know each other, and the man is wanted on drug charges.  More Â»

—>The FBI is currently searching for this man, a bank robber with a keen eye for t-shirts. He robbed the Commerce Bank at 8050 Big Bend in Webster Groves, Missouri by handing the teller a note which read, "I have a gun. I will kill you. Give me your $100's and $50's."  More Â»

—>Here's some advice for you. If the KFC employee forgets your condiments, do not back your car into her. This is an overreaction on your part.  More Â»

—>The job market is tough. No one seems to know it better than our nation's fresh-faced recent college graduates. They've discovered a harsh truth—despite hounding alumni for donations, colleges aren't able to find jobs for them. One recent college grad in New York City is fighting back, since she graduated three whole months ago and her alma mater hasn't found her a job yet.  More Â»

—>Here's a story that will teach you a little something about how not to behave. According to George Smith, who does online marketing for Crocs, a blogger at the BlogHer conference in Chicago tried to extort him out of some shoes. This is not a good idea.  More Â»

—>We know it's stressful out there, but really, there's no reason to start waving your gun around in the Walmart parking lot. According to the Peninsula Daily News, a woman threatened several other customers who told her to stop yelling at Walmart worker who had sold her the wrong ammunition.  More Â»

—>Watch out for organized, highly trained teams of shoplifters in your local mall. They aren't small-time operators—they stole $23,000 worth of bras and panties from a West Virginia Victoria's Secret. No, really.  More Â»

—>A Denver police officer, annoyed that his McDonald's order was taking too long, allegedly pointed his gun at the drive-thru attendant. Then he left without paying.  More Â»

Advice: If the Walmart employees tell you that you can't drink alcohol while waiting to have your car serviced, don't respond by ripping a telephone out of the wall. [Hernando Today via Fark]  More Â»

—>After Walmart wouldn't let him make a return, Phillip R. Wright, 41, of Monroe, Louisiana, pictured, left, looking disgruntled and pretty "arsony," set a men's clothing rack inside the store on fire.   More Â»

—>Yes, Rick Seaney of FareCompare.com is rounding up the worst airline passengers of 2009 — in May. Maybe he's optimistic and doesn't expect the lady who drank all the hand soap from the lavatory to be topped in the many months ahead — or maybe he just wants to write a follow-up in December. Either way, we love it.  More Â»

—>The last line of defense against armed robbery at Fry's: receipt checks. Three men loaded up carts with merchandise at a San Diego store, and just headed for the door.  More Â»

—>Brad learned the hard way that asking a Chase customer service representative "WHAT THE F*** IS WRONG WITH MY ACCOUNT?!" is not the best way to find out what the f*** is wrong with your account. Brad had fumbled a wire transfer that temporarily shut down access to his card. He called to restore access, but the card still wouldn't work. At this point, Brad decided to curse at the CSR and hang up after being placed on hold for thirty seconds. When he called back, he was surprised to learn that the next CSR knew that he had just cursed at a colleague.  More Â»

—>19-year-old West Virginian Rebecca Sue Taylor is facing felony charges after trying to sell her five-month-old son for $10,000 to raise money for a new apartment. Taylor was in talks to act as a surrogate mother for Leigh Burr, but then realized she could skip a few steps and still turn a buck. When it looked like negotiations weren't going well, Taylor, who claimed she had been "unable to bond with the infant," dropped the price of her son to $5,000.  More Â»

—>The Taco Bell in South Bend, Indiana is installing "self-locking" doors after two young girls walked in on four people having sex in the bathroom. Public sex in this particular bathroom is apparently such a problem that they tried keeping the bathrooms locked — but too many customers complained about having to ask for a key.  More Â»

—>Do you remember Millard? He was the angry customer who demanded that Woot send him black iPod headphones to match his black iPod, and claimed to have been misled by the company. Woot is selling black iPods today and wants to make it very clear—"in case your monitor can't display pictures, or you're black-white colorblind"—you will receive white earbuds with your iPod. Sorry, Millard, Woot is still refusing to cooperate by inventing a black version of the Apple product.   More Â»

—>47-year-old Washington resident Michael Lynch tried and failed to pay a $206 speeding ticket with a plastic bag filled with coins and urine. Surprisingly, his special payment for doing 54 mph in a 35 mph construction zone didn't violate any laws...  More Â»

—>Georgia resident and SECO Parts and Equipment employee David Johnson told his co-worker that there would be consequences for parking in his spot. "He better come move it," Johnson warned, "or I'll move it for him!" This wasn't enough to convince the co-worker to move from what had to be an ideal spot, so Johnson did what any rational solution-minded employee would do. He got a forklift...  More Â»

—>We've made it pretty clear that we don't condone Latreasa Goodman's attempt to use 911 to report a McNugget Emergency, but in all fairness to Goodman, she was being shafted by the lying, uncooperative McDonald's employee who said "all sales final" and refused to refund her money. McDonald's has released a statement where they own up to their role in escalating things in the first place, and they're sending her a free meal gift card as well as the refund she originally requested. Now she can enjoy a complimentary lunch on the day she goes to plead "no contest" to the judge for abuse of 911.  More Â»

—>A Florida woman called 911 three times because the McDonald's where she was dining ran out of McNuggets.  More Â»

—>Delicious though they may be, Girl Scout Cookies are not recession-proof. Sales are down by as much as half according to one troop leader.  More Â»

—>Sure, we have to admit that it's kind of funny, but our official position is that you should not use your immense technological skills to modify a radio to broadcast on the Taco Bell drive thru's frequency. Sadly, we did not get this important message out to two teenagers in Sedalia, Mo.  More Â»

—>Remember the Walmart greeter that got attacked by a cop during a receipt check? Well, he's suing for $21 million, says Chattanooga's News Channel 9.   More Â»

—>Earlier this month, we wrote about a Tennessee police officer who shoved a 71-year-old Walmart greeter to the ground after he tried to check his receipt. He originally wasn't going to face charges; now he's been suspended and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into it.  More Â»

—>Here's a little advice for all you impatient people out there. We know its really annoying when you're towards the middle of the plane and have to wait for all the stupid, slow people in front of you to pick up their crap and get off the plane — but don't think that you can just open the emergency exit and walk around on the wing of the plane.  More Â»

Please do not eat the lobster, then glue the shell back together and return it for a refund. [Times Union Albany] [Thanks to Laurie & Brian!]  More Â»

—>Apparently even more annoyed with receipt checking than we are, a Tennessee police officer shoved a 71-year-old Walmart employee to the ground after the employee tried to check his receipt, then pushed a customer through a glass door. That's a bit much.  More Â»

—>As you scramble to redeem gift cards and return unwanted items, we remind you that honey attracts more flies than vinegar, tart words make no friends, and please stop dropping F bombs in crowded stores.  More Â»

—>Here's a suggestion for all of you who bank at Bank of America. If the bank makes you angry, do not try to get revenge by calling 911 and reporting a fake robbery in progress.  More Â»

—>The New York Times says that police departments all over the country are reporting an increase in shoplifting arrests — up to 20%.  More Â»

—>Remember that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer and Newman attempted to drive a mail truck full of cans and bottles to Michigan in order to profit from the $0.10 bottle deposit? Well, apparently, people really do this. And it's no fun for Michigan.  More Â»

—> JetBlue appreciates your cooperation in this matter. [Newsday]  More Â»

—>Yes, it needs to be said because flight attendants are worried that some people don't know not to watch porn while flying next to strangers. American Airlines flight attendants even want porn sites blocked on flights offering WiFi access.  More Â»

—>Gas thieves have stolen over 5,000 gallons of fuel from the Open Pantry Citgo in Wauwatosa, WI according to WauwatosaNow.com.   More Â»

—>There's nothing we dislike more than people who scam a system put in place to protect vulnerable consumers from abuse, but the sad fact is that they do exist. SF Weekly has an article that tracks the exploits of a serial evictee, a "renter" who leases apartments with no intention of paying rent, and then games the system in order to stay rent free for as long as possible.   More Â»

—>If something goes wrong with the projection while you're watching Iron Man, (or any other movie, actually) and the ticket agent will not give you a refund, do not grab the monitor and throw it through a glass door.  More Â»

—>Not only is it illegal to shoot your lawnmower with a sawed-off shotgun, it's illegal to own a sawed-off shotgun. Apparently, no one bothered to share this information with Keith Walendowski of Milwaukee, WI.   More Â»

—>An intoxicated first class passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Guyana became so angry that coach passengers were allowed to exit before him that he "yanked open an emergency hatch and slid down the chute," says the AP.   More Â»

—>Look, we know gas is expensive, but don't save a couple bucks by topping off your U-Haul's gas tank with water. We won't pretend to care about U-Haul—not even U-Haul cares about their vehicles—but the next renter will want to bludgeon you with a rusty ice pick when their truck breaks down because you hosed the engine.  More Â»

—>Once again we remind you not to drink too much at the airport before getting on your flight. We know airports are boring and sad and they make you want to kill the pain with copious amounts of gin. Don't do it — or you could end up punching a JetBlue flight attendant in the face.  More Â»

—>Here's a bad idea. Please don't protest high gas prices by setting fire to a Chevron station, an Arco station, and a Starbucks. Meet Diane Craig, 64, of Danville, California. She's accused of using "fireplace logs" to try to start fires inside the restrooms of the two gas stations and a Starbucks.   More Â»

—>A Portland jury recently found Latasha Curry not guilty of misdemeanor harassment for throwing a $4 venti iced mocha at a Starbucks manager who accused her of running a free drink scam. Curry was initially offered a free drink after she complained that her iced tea was too bitter. When she tried to redeem her freebie two days later, store manager Ryan Smith decided that Curry looked suspiciously like a woman who redeemed a free drink from a different store 11 months earlier. Smith accused Curry of running some elaborate drink scam, prompting Curry to serve Smith a free venti shower.  More Â»

—>Meet Charles Ray Fuller, 21, of Crowley, TX. He was arrested on April 22 after allegedly trying to pass a check for $360 billion at a Forth Worth Chase bank.  More Â»

As gas prices rise, fuel thieves come out of the woodwork. [Houston Chronicle]  More Â»

—>Donald Lynch, certified public accountant, was convicted of misdemeanor assault after pushing a 75-year-old Walmart greeter who wanted to check his receipt, reports The Chronicle. Lynch said the greeter tried to block him by pushing against him with his shoulder. Security tape showed the greeter flying to the floor. While an employee has no right to touch you, you also don't have a right to shove them on the floor, especially if they're septuagenarian!  More Â»

Bad Consumer: If you decide to rob a bank, then feel bad about it later, apologizing and returning the money won't keep you from going to jail. Just ask Catherine Kaczazanowski. [NBC4]  More Â»

—> The TSA says a 21 year-old man was caught smuggling a box cutter onto an airplane by hiding it inside a secret compartment inside a book. The man says he forgot the box cutter was inside the book.  More Â»

—>37-year-old Mesa, Arizona resident Scott Martin didn't understand why a shop owner wouldn't sell him a watch in exchange for two $100 bills bearing Abraham Lincoln's watermark. The shop owner gently explained that President Lincoln appears on the penny and the $5 bill. This was enough to start a fight that ended with the shop owner tasering Martin.

When fire rescue personnel arrived, they cut off Martin's shirt to treat him, and three more counterfeit $100 bills fell out, the document said.  More Â»

—>The first sign that Russell Petrie was too drunk to fly was probably when he boarded the plane and yelled "let's party and have some drinks!"  More Â»

—>Here's a little free advice from your friends at The Consumerist: Don't deposit bags of meth at the ATM. You don't get any interest and they're probably going to figure out who are after they see your name and account number.  More Â»

—>The North Miami police are looking for Antonio McKenzie, a "fake Target clerk" suspected of stealing numerous iPod Touches from Target Department Stores in South Florida.   More Â»

—>Holy crap! A "multiagency" investigation that started with a single shoplifting incident has lead to the arrest of an 18 person crime ring in Florida, says The Ledger.   More Â»

—>Quick, you stuffed $195 worth of videos into your jacket and you're rushing towards the exit when you spot Target's menacing security force. What do you do? If you answered "set lingerie on fire as a diversion," then you may be as bright as 19-year-old shoplifter Tabitha Bozman of Elyria, Ohio.  More Â»

—>A Michigan man was caught shoplifting $300 worth of hunting knives from Meijer after he scuffled with security guards and fell forward, impaling himself. He'd hidden the knives in the waistband of his pants.  More Â»

—>The Manhattan District Attorney's office is prosecuting a Bloomingdale's salesperson for running a month-long bogus gift card scam that netted $34,515 from the store, says the NY Sun.

It says Bloomingdale's sales receipts were the key element of Ms. Ng's alleged scheme.  More Â»

—>There are legitimate lawsuits and then there's this:  More Â»

—>If you know who has been ripping off Coke vending machines in Pennsylvania's LeHigh Valley, you could be the winner of a years supply of Coca-Cola.  More Â»

—>Attention air travelers: If your 3' long stuffed crocodile is blocking the emergency exit, you are going to need to move it. If you refuse, you're going to get kicked off the plane.   More Â»

—>Another person has been caught trying to pass a fake (ahem, there are no real ones) million dollar bill. This time the idiot in question tried to pass the bill at a bank.  More Â»

—>Here's a bad idea: If the fast food restaurant of your choice is closed, simply break in and cook your own food.   More Â»

—> If you're going to report your vehicle has been stolen and then hide it in a friend's backyard with license plates you grabbed from your boyfriend's house, then make sure it doesn't have a LoJack system installed first. A woman in San Diego did just that in an attempt to prevent it from being repossessed, but as soon as she filed the report with the police, they activated the system and traced the vehicle.  More Â»

—>Shopping addiction is really sad, especially when it compels otherwise normal people to do something insane like steal $2.89 million dollars just to buy shoes and jewelry.  More Â»

—>Workers at one particular Walmart in Louisiana are going to notice if you keep buying meth supplies at their store. They've busted two different meth cookers says the Associated Press:

The Wal-Mart worker alerted Slidell police Friday after he saw a man buying material used to make the drug, police spokesman Capt. Kevin Foltz said.  More Â»

Wachovia becomes the third bank to sue former Atlanta Falcons quarterback (and current douchebag) Michael Vick for defaulting on a loan. This one was to finance a wine store and totaled $1.3 million. Oh yeah, he's also overdrawn on his checking accounts by $34,680.85. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]  More Â»

—>Todd Layne Cleaners on the Upper East Side filed a $300,000 defamation suit against disgruntled former customer Evan Maloney. The dry cleaner decided to "vigorously defend" itself after Maloney hung ten posters in his building decrying Todd Layne's horrible customer service. Maloney lists five grievances:  More Â»

—>A unidentified man asked a clerk at a Giant Eagle store in Pittsburgh to make change on a $1 million dollar bill featuring Grover Cleveland's portrait. When the cashier refused and confiscated the fake money, the man attacked an electronic funds transfer machine and then reached for her price scanning gun.  More Â»

Vick signed loan agreements as the CFO of Divine Seven, which bought at least 130 vehicles, including many Kia Spectra and Ford Taurus cars, through 1st Source Bank loans, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in South Bend on Wednesday.  More Â»

—>The ordeal of battling the $54 million lawsuit over a pair of pants finally got to the DC drycleaners and they've closed up shop.   More Â»

—>No, "over salting" isn't code for anything nasty. The 20-year-old McDonald's worker literally spilled salt on the hamburger meat that was used to make a "Big 'N Tasty" that was served to a Georgia police officer.  More Â»

A list of things currently being stolen from Walmart. Of interest, Alli is still popular with the shoplifters and DVDs of 300 are rising in the charts. [Behind The Counter]  More Â»

That is all.  More Â»

—>A Maryland woman with a purse completely "packed" with fudge was arrested last week in the Maryland House Hotel where she was found, covered in chocolate and crying hysterically, on on a lobby sofa. The sofa was also stained with chocolate.  More Â»

City sources said a marathon meeting of the Commission on Selection and Tenure of Administrative Law Judges ended late Monday with agreement to meet again next week to finalize wording of a letter explaining the panel's doubts about granting Pearson a 10-year term on the bench. Pearson's initial term expired at the end of April, at the height of his legal battle against the Chung family, owners of Custom Cleaners on Bladensburg Road NE.  More Â»

—>Step 1) Locate olive oil aisle.  More Â»

—>Meet Anenide Cherry. Walmart banned her from entering their Palm Bay, FL store after she was caught using her three kids to steal merchandise worth over $300. Loss prevention officers observed Cherry's tikes, ages 6, 12, and 15, bagging unscanned items at the self-checkout counter. From Local6:  More Â»

—> A man robbed a Citizen's Bank in Manchester, New Hampshire dressed as a tree, according to the Union Leader. His clothing has been described as "adorned with tree branches held on by duct tape," and it was noted that "His short, dark hair and mustache were clearly visible between the leaves."  More Â»

—>A white male about 6' tall with dirty blonde hair hailed a taxi and took it to a Washington Mutual branch in Orlando, FL. He then asked the driver to wait while he went inside to "do his business."   More Â»

—>The dumb scams people try to pull never cease to amaze us. Take Chandon L. Simms, 23, of Monroe, LA. He walked into his local Walmart, grabbed a 42" Sanyo Plasma TV, removed its price tag and affixed one that would scan for only $4.88.  More Â»

Michigan woman sues Starburst for $25,000+ for permanent personal injuries after biting into a Fruit Chew that she says pulled her jaw out of joint. Get bent, Starburst respectfully replies (VIDEO).  More Â»

—>Employee theft is a serious problem for retailers. It makes prices go up and return policies more strict. So when we hear about an employee getting busted for such a spectacularly stupid, yet probably effective and routinely performed scam we are glad.   More Â»

—>According to the AP, so-called "shrinkage" at Walmart could rise to more than $3 billion this year. The shrinkage comes from a combination of supplier fraud, employee theft, bad bookkeeping and, of course, shoplifting.   More Â»

—>Convicted shoplifters are no longer welcome at Walmart, even if they wear signs proclaiming: "I am a thief, I stole from Walmart." Walmart was initially gung-ho about the decision to publicly shame the thieves, and even planned to keep the signs for future use. Their dreams of shoplifter shame now lie slightly worn at the return desk after a Walmart attorney told Judge Kenneth Robertson that the shoplifters were persona non grata at Walmart.

Robertson said the attorney said WalMart was afraid "that people might try to run [the shoplifters] down or throw something at them.''

—>Don't steal from the Walmart in Attala, Ala or Judge Kenneth Robertson Jr. will make you wear a sign that says, "I AM A THIEF I STOLE FROM WALMART."   More Â»

—>Amanda Verett is asking a judge to enter a default judgment in her civil lawsuit againt Pizza Hut and the Pizza Hut customer she was holding the door open for. The co-defendant Clarence Jackson, has not responded to Verett's lawsuit in the required 30 days.   More Â»

An IRS investigator said Robert Arant had hundreds of customers, many of whom apparently used his bank, Olympic Business Systems LLC, to conceal assets for the purpose of evading taxes.  More Â»

The post has been advertised against a backdrop of a sharp rise in the number of air rage incidents. According to the Civil Aviation Authority's latest statistics, the number of incidents has increased from one in every 27,000 flights in 2002-3 to one in every 16,000 flights in 2005-6.  More Â»

—>David S. Howell must have thought he was so smooth: Sneaking a water bottle full of vodka onto a full United flight out of Chicago. Too bad he drank most of its contents in the first 30 minutes, then threatened to kill a male flight attendant.  More Â»

Reports said the man, from the 2000 block of Arlington Avenue, used a lighter and tissues stuffed in his pocket to ignite his jacket, which became "severely burnt."  More Â»

The manager said two men in a green car ordered food just before midnight and she told them she was out of certain condiments they had requested. About 20 minutes later she said a man called yelling at her that he did not get all his food. She told the man the store was closed, but he could come by the next morning and talk to the day manager. Five minutes later she heard a loud bang at the drive-thru window and found food splattered outside, according to the report. The manager said she saw the same green car driving away toward Interstate 40.

Police were called to Chase Bank, 1800 E. 80th, about 4 p.m. after Russell tried to cash the check, which was written on an invalid Bank One check with no imprint, White said. Russell had several other checks with him that were signed the same way but made out in different dollar amounts, including one for $100,000.

Police Sergeant Brett Wilson says the department was notified of the alleged baby swap yesterday morning. Within hours, they had mother Nicole Uribe behind bars and the baby safely placed with a foster home.  More Â»

The Falls River Major Crimes Division has cleared Taco Bell in the case of the spiked taco. "Police reported "an opiate" was found in the half-eaten taco a Fall River man said made him sick after eating at the Taco Bell." Unfortunately for local Fall River lawyers, it seems like the dude spiked his own taco. After the half-eaten morsel was analyzed at the state crime lab, the opiates in the taco were confirmed, but the alleged taco victim, "Phillip Daggett, 27, has declined to cooperate in the investigation and has refused to speak with a detective assigned to the department's Major Crimes Division."  More Â»

Bad consumer. Bad bad bad. — BEN POPKEN  More Â»