"I'm never shopping THERE again!" Share your story!

[Kimblee]

And if you get really curious, I have a trunk just like that and I can jimmy the lock open by sliding a butter knife blade between the lock's "flappy" part and the part of the lock behind it. With a good hard wiggle it always comes open, and it really hadn't seemed to damage it, since it still cheerfully locks itself any time I'm in a hurry.

[magician5]

Local locksmith.

[Piratelvr1121]

Thanks!  I'll have to give those options a try and see how they do cause I did put a few things in my trunk, like my knitting stuff and a small Captain Jack Sparrow doll my friend made me.

[LadyClaire]

Not so much mine, but a former neighbor, and she told me about it. Ashley's Furniture. She told me "Never EVER buy furniture from them!"  I don't remember the whole story as it's been a couple years, but it involved less than satisfactory delivery practices, and on more than one occasion.   

I've avoided the place ever since, as there's other places in town to get furniture from instead.

This reminds me of when I worked at a credit card company and we got many many letters disputing charges for Jennifer Convertibles (a sofa chain).  I just looked up the company to see if they are still in business and lo and behold, they own Ashley's Furniture.

My goodness! Ashley's is actually on our list of "places that have earned our loyalty." They've been  so wonderful and helpful that they've become our go-to spot for all furniture needs.

Maybe our local store is just good?

Same here. We have a couch, loveseat, dining room table, and bookcase all from Ashley's. All are about 2 years old and still look and feel new.

[BabyMama]

There's a local deals site that seems to be operated at least in part by the newspaper. Every few days they offer a different discount deal.

I've bought a few and had good luck. But then I bought one last year for a certain restaurant. It was good until December 31. Unfortunately the restaurant I bought it for closed both their locations (saying they were searching for a new site.) I asked on their FB wall how I could use my certificate. They said it could be used "for catering." Yeah...it's a $10 certificate. That seems worth it for everyone

I've e-mailed the deals site twice now (before the expiration date) if I can get a refund credit for the amount I paid, or something. No response. I'm annoyed enough to not buy anything through them again.

[jedikaiti]

There's a local deals site that seems to be operated at least in part by the newspaper. Every few days they offer a different discount deal.

I've bought a few and had good luck. But then I bought one last year for a certain restaurant. It was good until December 31. Unfortunately the restaurant I bought it for closed both their locations (saying they were searching for a new site.) I asked on their FB wall how I could use my certificate. They said it could be used "for catering." Yeah...it's a $10 certificate. That seems worth it for everyone

I've e-mailed the deals site twice now (before the expiration date) if I can get a refund credit for the amount I paid, or something. No response. I'm annoyed enough to not buy anything through them again.

Try calling the newspaper (maybe a business department?) about it. I'm sure they just have a 3rd party running their deals site, but they should be informed if the 3rd party is dropping the ball like that.

[BabyMama]

Thanks, I'll give that a try

[dawbs]

There's a local deals site that seems to be operated at least in part by the newspaper. Every few days they offer a different discount deal.

I've bought a few and had good luck. But then I bought one last year for a certain restaurant. It was good until December 31. Unfortunately the restaurant I bought it for closed both their locations (saying they were searching for a new site.) I asked on their FB wall how I could use my certificate. They said it could be used "for catering." Yeah...it's a $10 certificate. That seems worth it for everyone

I've e-mailed the deals site twice now (before the expiration date) if I can get a refund credit for the amount I paid, or something. No response. I'm annoyed enough to not buy anything through them again.

Generally you've paid w/ a CC or paypal or the like--dispute w/ them too.

[Jocelyn]

Charter Internet has just about gotten there for me.
Last night, it was cutting in and out, so I called about it. They said they'd call me back when service was restored.
Service came back in at 9 pm.
They called at 8 am. On a Saturday. Just to let me know they'd restored service 11 hours earlier.
I objected to their delaying the 'service is back on' call for 11 hours, so that they could call at 8 on a Saturday.
They cut off the service again.
And did I mention the questions like 'Do you know what a modem is?' in a tone of voice like they were speaking to a child...Why, yes, yes I do. It's a device I was using when you were still using diapers.
And 'Why would we do this and risk losing a customer?' Oh, perhaps because life at Customer Service is dull, and you know that losing one customer isn't going to affect your life in the least? So it's more amusing to retaliate against a complaining customer?

[HorseFreak]

There's a local deals site that seems to be operated at least in part by the newspaper. Every few days they offer a different discount deal.

I've bought a few and had good luck. But then I bought one last year for a certain restaurant. It was good until December 31. Unfortunately the restaurant I bought it for closed both their locations (saying they were searching for a new site.) I asked on their FB wall how I could use my certificate. They said it could be used "for catering." Yeah...it's a $10 certificate. That seems worth it for everyone

I've e-mailed the deals site twice now (before the expiration date) if I can get a refund credit for the amount I paid, or something. No response. I'm annoyed enough to not buy anything through them again.

Try calling the newspaper (maybe a business department?) about it. I'm sure they just have a 3rd party running their deals site, but they should be informed if the 3rd party is dropping the ball like that.

I bought a deal like that through a radio program. I think it was $25 for a $50 gift certificate (plus processing fee of $3) for a restaurant that my parents might like. It was supposed to be their Christmas present, but the restaurant closed 3 weeks after the deal was offered! I wrote a polite letter to the company that issued the certificate explaining the restaurant had closed and I wanted a refund of my $25 PLUS the fee. I got it within days with no problem.

[Kaora]

Not so much a place as a product.  I have atopy, as passed down from my mother (likely to have been passed down from hers, too), meaning, in simple terms, prone to eczema, asthma, and various allergies.  Mum got some Dove Unscented Body Wash for Sensitive Skin and wanted us to try it first.  Am I glad I did, as I still have eczema, but its a bit better than my mother's, because the darned thing, the darned unscented piece of thing, meant that unscented smells like Dove Soap!  It was so strong it made my eyes water, I know the Cetaphil wash doesn't smell, so I checked the label and fragrances.  Now my legs burn a little, but had it been my mother instead, it could have been full on hives.

((More rants on Atopy later.  Let's just say boat loads of unfun.)

[kherbert05]

Not so much a place as a product.  I have atopy, as passed down from my mother (likely to have been passed down from hers, too), meaning, in simple terms, prone to eczema, asthma, and various allergies.  Mum got some Dove Unscented Body Wash for Sensitive Skin and wanted us to try it first.  Am I glad I did, as I still have eczema, but its a bit better than my mother's, because the darned thing, the darned unscented piece of thing, meant that unscented smells like Dove Soap!  It was so strong it made my eyes water, I know the Cetaphil wash doesn't smell, so I checked the label and fragrances.  Now my legs burn a little, but had it been my mother instead, it could have been full on hives.

((More rants on Atopy later.  Let's just say boat loads of unfun.)

I have Atopic Dermatitis oatmeal soap and curel have been helping lately. Dove products drive me up the wall with itching. 

[Tea Drinker]

I use the fragrance-free Dove soap (at my dermatologist's recommendation for dry and sometimes itchy skin), and discovered a year or two back that they use "unscented" to mean it contains a "masking fragrance." In my world, as a competent user of English, "unscented" and "fragrance-free" would be the same thing. Not theirs.

[Elfmama]

I use the fragrance-free Dove soap (at my dermatologist's recommendation for dry and sometimes itchy skin), and discovered a year or two back that they use "unscented" to mean it contains a "masking fragrance." In my world, as a competent user of English, "unscented" and "fragrance-free" would be the same thing. Not theirs.

And along those same lines, "No added sugar!" does not mean the same thing as "Unsweetened." It means "Contains artificial sweeteners!"

[PastryGoddess]

I use the fragrance-free Dove soap (at my dermatologist's recommendation for dry and sometimes itchy skin), and discovered a year or two back that they use "unscented" to mean it contains a "masking fragrance." In my world, as a competent user of English, "unscented" and "fragrance-free" would be the same thing. Not theirs.

That totally belongs in the brain hurty thread...doh!