Amazon May Take On Ticketmaster With New Event-Ticketing Business

Though many have tried, no online ticket sellers have even come close to touching Ticketmaster. It doesn’t hurt that its parent company is Live Nation, which owns or operates many of the biggest concert venues and promotes the biggest touring acts. Is Amazon one of the few companies with enough size and reach to actually take on Ticketmaster? We might soon find out.

Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, reports that Amazon is looking to partner with venue owners to sell tickets to sporting games, concerts, and other events.

Amazon’s entrance into the event ticketing industry could come in a variety of avenues. One source tells Reuters that the company has been in talks with one league about selling tickets as a secondary market, akin to StubHub.

Or Amazon could try compete directly with Ticketmaster for that primary ticket market, hoping to get a taste of that $1.6 billion business.

Running Into An Issue

Breaking into the ticketing market could prove to be difficult for Amazon. That’s because Ticketmaster is currently the exclusive seller of primary tickets for many of the top venues in the U.S., a number of which — as mentioned up top — are actually owned by Live Nation. According to the company’s website, it controls 196 concert venues, including the House of Blues and Fillmore chains, along with dozens of arenas and festival sites.

Additionally, one source tells Reuters that Amazon’s talks with some venues have stalled over issues related to customer data.

While owners want to know more about who is buying tickets for their events, Amazon doesn’t appear willing to share that information, the source notes.

Not The First Time

Reuters reports that any future ticket-selling ventures from Amazon won’t be the first of its kind. The company currently sells tickets to shows in London’s West End.

In some cases, the company — which began to sell tickets in 2015 — has outsold possible U.S. rival Ticketmaster.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Macy’s Launching Its Own Self-Scanning Technology In Stores, Kinda

While Walmart tests stores where shoppers walk around scanning their own purchases with smartphones, and Amazon tests a store where customers just pick up their purchases and walk out with them, Macy’s doesn’t want to be left out. That’s why the department store chain is testing its own system, which turns its stores into a catalog showroom for smartphone users.

Scan & Wait

During today’s earnings conference call, chief financial officer Karen Hoguet talked about the app alongside the company’s ever-improving online sales numbers. The app, she said, is “a way to enhance our in-store experience.”

Hoguet explained how the app will work: “A customer can scan an item on our mobile app while in store to see pricing, availability and any product reviews. They could also then buy the item straight from the app and have it shipped.”

This may be easier than finding a cashier at times in a Macy’s store, but still seems retrograde compared to options that let customers self-scan within the store, or ordering kiosks at competitor Kohl’s that don’t even require customers to bring their own smartphones.

The idea of ordering items from inside the store might seem familiar and a bit dated if you’re old enough to remember when catalog showroom stores were still a thing. Other retailers have been way ahead of Macy’s at building their own ordering and in-store shopping apps. The new offering from Macy’s is less “Scan & Go,” more “Scan & go home and wait several days for your package to arrive.”

Like other legacy retailers, Macy’s also wants to bring customers into its stores to pick up online orders, helping to boost online revenue while saving money on actually shipping stuff to customers and maybe selling them more stuff.

One-on-one customer non-interaction

This builds on a previously announced project, though, an app meant to answer basic store questions such as, “where’s the wedding registry?” and “where are the children’s shoes?”

At the time, just over a year ago, the Macy’s chief growth officer said that the directory app would “help us explore new ways to engage one-on-one with customers in-store, providing them another level of service right at their fingertips.”

In other news

Macy’s shared some promising news about its business, including that some customers who used to shop at the chain’s stores that have since closed shifted to other nearby Macy’s locations, and the chain plans to launch an “enhanced” loyalty program close to the holiday season, in addition to the multi-retailer Plenti program in which it already takes part.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Uber Debuts In-App Messaging For Those Times You Can’t Find Your Driver

For years, texting has been the preferred — and sometimes only — method Uber drivers and passengers have used to connect, from confirming the pickup location to notifying passengers their ride has arrived. Now, instead of sending these messages to your text service, the company has created its own in-app messaging service. 

Uber announced today that in an attempt to streamline the pickup process and remove the “who’s this texting me?” question many users encounter, it has created an in-app chat feature.

With the new system, passengers can chat with their driver by clicking on the “contact” and “chat” tabs in the Uber feed.

Once the driver receives the message, the app will read the content aloud, and the driver can then acknowledge the message by sending a “thumbs up” emoji to the rider.

While Uber has previously used a system that anonymized users’ and drivers’ phone numbers for texting or calling outside of the app, that system wasn’t always available everywhere Uber operates. This, a rep for the company tells The Verge, spurred the company to create the new system.

Uber says that the in-app chat feature will be rolling out to users and drivers in coming weeks.

“This is our first step towards leveraging real-time-messaging to enable seamless communication experiences for our customers and help them connect in both the digital and physical worlds,” the company says in a blog post.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

American Airlines’ “First-Class” Lobster Roll Doesn’t Even Get The “Roll” Part Right

‘Tis the season for lobster rolls, those often-pricey sandwiches stuffed with tasty lobster meat straight from the sea. Or, in the case of American Airlines, two pieces of bread with an orangey-white substance holding them together.

Yesterday, Ben “Lucky” Schlappig, creator of the One Mile At A Time travel site, flew from Los Angeles to New York City on American, which served up what he describes as possibly the “worst meal I’ve ever been offered in a premium cabin.”

What. Is. This.

Schlappig says he ordered what was described as a lobster roll with sweet potato chips off the business class menu, as he was curious to see how it would be.

What he got was an aluminum tub of tomato sauce, pickles, and what looked like a grilled white bread sandwich that was definitely not a roll.

Schlappig writes that he thought there had been a mistake, so he asked the flight attendant if he’d received the wrong item. But she assured him that yes, this was the lobster roll, and that it was actually the “first-class” version because they’d run out of business class rolls.

He notes there was about “as much lobster meat on the sandwich as you’d get in a tub of butter.”

And while weaker-stomached folk than he might have trashed the sandwich and stayed hungry, Schlappig soldiered on and took a bite. It tasted “like they took soggy pieces of bread and then spread butter with tiny particles of lobster on it,” he writes.

“Fortunately I wasn’t that hungry, and have mostly stopped eating the meals on domestic flights as a matter of principle (and calories!),” he explained to Consumerist via email. “I had a few bites just to confirm it was as bad as it looked, but that’s it.”

Not up to expectations

Schlappig notes that he already has “appropriately low expectations” of American’s food, so it’s not something he would personally submit a complaint over, “but the average consumer would almost certainly be disappointed if this was their meal on a business or first class ticket.”

We reached out to American to ask if this sandwich lived up to the airline’s expectations for premium dining. American claims he was served the wrong meal.

“We apologize to Mr. Schlappig for his experience,” an American spokesperson told Consumerist. “During his flight, he was served the lobster grilled cheese with tomato soup instead of the lobster roll. The meal he was served is not up to our standards and we have shared his feedback with our teams for review.”

After we contacted American, Schlappig received that same explanation. It’s worth noting that this is what that item should look like when properly catered:

Schlappig, who says the sandwich he tried was “disgustingly awful,” tells Consumerist that American’s explanation only compounds the problem: “It actually makes it even worse if that’s intended to be a dish.”

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

FCC Not Worried About Lack Of Broadband Because We Really Just Need Our Phones

Since it became obvious that internet access was going to be an essential for everyday living, the Federal Communications Commission has wrestled with how to encourage providers to build expensive wired networks to reach rural and remote communities, but not with much luck. Now the FCC is considering a new tactic for solving this problem: Suggesting that maybe there isn’t a problem so long as you can get online with your phone.

Why is the FCC asking this now?

The proceeding itself isn’t anything nefarious; it’s an annual process for the FCC.

Section 706 of the Communications Act requires the FCC to come up with a report every year outlining whether broadband deployment to Americans is sufficient. Most years that means we see a Notice of Inquiry surface around late summer, give or take, with a Report following the next spring.

In 2014, for example, the Commission asked if the 4Mbps download standard for “broadband” should be updated. A few months later, its report established the significantly faster 25Mbps as the new standard.

More recently, the FCC’s 2016 Sec. 706 notice looked into the question of whether or not cellular or satellite internet access should be considered effectively the same as wired broadband. That question was never resolved, due in large part to the turnover involved with the change to a new White House.

Now the newest Sec. 706 proceeding effectively suggests scrapping that 2016 question and starting over.

What is the FCC actually asking?

The actual text [PDF] is as dense as you’d expect for an FCC proceeding. Technically it has several dozens of inquiries in it. But the important ones boil down to about five key questions.

• Given that smartphones and LTE coverage are now widespread, should the FCC consider the use of mobile internet in its next report? (And several follow-up questions: how?)
• Since satellite internet exists, should it be considered a source of fixed internet service in the next report?
• Since we have to count the people who don’t have any access, can we start leaving out the ones who theoretically have access to phone data but not to home internet service?
• Can we drop the 25 Mbps download speed threshold back down to something lower?
• Is 10 Mbps download speed / 1 Mbps upload good enough for phone internet to be “broadband”?

Some of these have been perennial questions for years, like whether or not the FCC should count satellite internet as fixed broadband.

However, in the past the FCC considered that while mobile and fixed service were both important to consider, they should exist as separate axes — you couldn’t say that a home “had broadband access” if they were served by a wireless network but no wired service to the home was sold in the area.

What could change?

The Commission is not wrong to note that smartphone use has become massively pervasive in a short time.

Recent data from the Pew Research Center indicate that about 77% of all adults in the U.S. have a smartphone, with the number highest among those ages 18-29 (92%) and lowest among senior citizens (42%).

However, there’s a massive discrepancy in the ownership stats based on socioeconomic class. While 89% of those with college degrees have smartphones, that figure is only 54% for those who didn’t graduate high school. Likewise, 93% of those with household incomes greater than $75,000 per year have a smartphone, but only 64% of those who make less than $30,000 annually do.

Lower-income Americans are also vastly more likely to only use a smartphone, Pew notes. Among those with six-figure household incomes, only 4% skipped home access and lived the mobile-only life. But for those making $30,000 or less, that jumps to 20%.

Rural-dwelling Americans and those living on tribal lands are also the most likely to have trouble getting internet access at home. In the last Broadband Progress Report (2016), the FCC found that 39% of rural Americans lacked access to fixed broadband — something newer mapping data still bears out.

If the Commission were to decide that mobile service alone is sufficient, none of the low-income urban dwellers or far-flung rural residents who cable and telecom providers don’t serve would “count” anymore, so long as there was an LTE network available in their census tract. Suddenly, the internet access problem would seem largely fixed — but only because officials wouldn’t be looking at who falls through the cracks anymore.

What happens next?

The Commission is gathering public comment on the NOI until the end of September.

Stakeholders, like telecom businesses, lobbying groups, consumer advocacy groups, and even the general public, can all file their answers to the questions the FCC asked in the NOI. The Commission then takes those responses, and its own research, and assembles a Broadband Progress Report that will, theoretically, be released sometime between Jan. and March 2018.

But there’s a catch. As we’ve seen from FCC chair Ajit Pai during the latest assault on the net neutrality rules, the inquiries the Commission puts out under his leadership have a way of leading you directly to the answers they want to receive.

In short, it seems likely that if Pai is asking, “can we drop the definition” and “can we ignore people who we determine can use cell phones,” the answers he will decide on are “yes” and “yes,” no matter what the comments actually say.

by Kate Cox via Consumerist

How Does A $3 Toll Turn Into A $20 Rental Car Charge?

Cashless payment systems like E-ZPass have helped make highway driving a less irksome experience by speeding up lines. Rental car companies even offer this option so you don’t have to worry about an embarrassing last-minute scrounge for change at the tollbooth, but rental car customers are now realizing that this convenience can come at a huge price.

We’ve previously told you about some of the steep fees involved in using a rental company’s toll-paying device, but those fees could be small change compared to penalties for drivers who use the car’s device without even realizing it.

The Pew’s Stateline recently took a look at how the convenience of cashless toll roads has turned into a cash machine of sorts for rental car companies, while draining the pockets of their customers.

How Does It Work?

• You rent a vehicle from your favorite car rental company.
• The car you receive is equipped with a transponder that detects when the vehicle passes under an electronic toll.
• While driving through a designated toll lane, the transponder records the toll, adding the charge to your bill.

While that sounds innocent enough — you use a toll road, you pay the toll — lawmakers and consumer advocates say there’s more to it.

Many rental car companies will charge convenience, administrative, or service fees for this toll service, turning a hypothetical $1.50 toll to a more than $20 charge on your bill.

Stateline reports that rental company’s fees for these services vary depending on how the company handles the service — for example, if they contract with a third-party, the fees could be more — and how it is presented to a customer.

For instance, an Avis customer driving on Maryland’s Intercounty Connector might be charged $3.95 in fees after going through a $2.11 toll, Stateline reports, adding that the fees don’t stop there. Once the customer goes through the toll, the customer will continue to pay the $3.95 fee each day they have the car.

Most car companies cap these fees, Stateline reports. Hertz, for example, limits toll rental fees to $24.75, while Avis caps its fees at $19.75/month.

In the case where a customer opts out of a tolling option, Hertz subsidiaries Dollar and Thrifty will charge drivers as much as $90 if they trigger electronic tolls during the course of their travels, Stateline reports.

This is all too much, according to lawmakers and advocates who have begun to file complaints against companies charging the fees.

Clear and Transparent

Back in March, the city of San Francisco sued Hertz for allegedly gouging tourists by fraudulently charging them millions of dollars in extra fees when they drive over the Golden Gate Bridge.

According to the suit [PDF], Hertz offers customers an automatic toll-paying service called PlatePass that they can use on California’s toll bridges, or just pay cash. But paying cash isn’t an option on the bridge, where motorists can use a FasTrak toll tag, or pay online, in person, or by phone after their car has gone through.

The lawsuit claims that Hertz doesn’t tell customers about these other options and instead, once they drive over the bridge, PlatePass is triggered. Hertz customers are charged an undiscounted toll rate of $7.50, the city says, as well as a $4.95 “convenience fee.”

But they often aren’t charged that fee once, according to the complaint, and instead can be hit repeatedly by that fee for up to $24.75.

San Francisco isn’t the only municipality or governing body to take on toll fees.

Stateline reports that earlier this year the Florida attorney general agreed to a settlement with Avis, along with its subsidiaries Budget Car Rental and Payless Car Rental. Under the agreement, the companies must disclose their fees on their websites and at service counters, and inform customers they can forgo the company’s tolling system by using their own transponders or avoid toll roads altogether.

Other Options

Renters also have other options when it comes to paying for tolls. However, Stateline notes, these options might not be clear to customers.

Some states allow drivers to pay for fees in advance online, while in others it is perfectly legal to use your own transponder in a rental car, as long as that car has been added to the customers’ account.

Stateline notes, however, that this option doesn’t work everywhere, as the tolling systems vary by state. This, despite, a five year old federal law [PDF] requiring states to begin implementing a single one-device system.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Health Insurers Looking To Charge Higher Individual Premiums In 2018. Which Americans Will Be Hit Hardest?

At Least 230 Cases Of Norovirus Linked To Doughnut Shop

Hundreds of people in Ohio have been sick this week — and they can blame doughnuts: Officials have linked at least 230 reports of norovirus to one local doughnut shop.

The Toledo-Lucas County health department has confirmed that local residents’ norovirus came from local doughnut shop Mama C’s, with three samples taken from the restaurant testing positive.

At least 230 people said they became ill after eating there between Aug. 4 and 7.

The restaurant closed down to be sanitized on Tuesday, and will probably stay closed for a few more days until officials grant it permission to reopen. Norovirus is highly contagious and difficult to kill, making it a particular scourge on cruise ship and in hospitals and nursing homes.

Since the disease spreads so easily and quickly, the local health department is worried about secondary infections — that is, people who contracted the illness at the doughnut shop passing it to friends, family members, or people they serve at their own foodservice jobs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who have had norovirus should keep from serving food to others for at least 48 hours after their symptoms go away. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headaches, muscle aches, and fever.

“People are pretty quick to shame them, but it can happen anywhere,” one customer who had visited Mama C’s just before the outbreak told WTOL-TV. “I mean, I clean, but my goodness, my house could be carrying a virus for all I know with the people coming in and out, touching things. I think it’s super unfortunate. We are definitely going to give them a second chance.”

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Panera Workers Break Into Car To Rescue Two Dogs Inside

It might seem like a quick trip to you, but even if you don’t think you’ll be gone very long it’s always important to remember: Do not leave any living thing in a car with the windows up and no air conditioning on a hot day. If you do, you may find a few broken windows when you return, like the dog owner who left his two pooches in a hot car.

Two eagle-eyed Panera Bread workers in Beaverton, OR, told police that they spotted a pair of Yorkshire Terriers barking from inside a locked car — with the windows rolled up — parked outside their restaurant, reports KGW.com.

Temperatures outside were around 90 degrees at the time. It only takes a few minutes for the inside of a car to heat up: Even with the windows cracked, the temperature inside a car can reach 125 degrees in minutes, with 80% of the increase in temperature happening in the first 10 minutes.

The workers first tried to find the dogs’ owner, and when that failed, one of them broke the window to rescue the pups. It’s legal under Oregon law to break into vehicles to save people and animals, depending on the situation.

The owner of the dogs eventually returned and said he’d been at a nearby Chase Bank opening an account. It’s unclear how long he was gone, but he reportedly admitted to police that it was a “poor choice” to leave his pets — 13- and 2-year-old emotional support animals — behind. He was cited for animal neglect.

Along with Oregon, 25 other states have laws that protect people who break into parked vehicles to save people and domestic animals, according to a study by Michigan State. Colorado joined this group in July, with a new law that exempts people who are “rendering emergency assistance from a locked vehicle” from criminal and civil liability “for any property damage resulting from their forcible entry into that vehicle.”

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Facebook Finally Launching Long-Rumored “Facebook Watch” TV-Like Feature

“TV” doesn’t mean what it used to. We’re as likely to watch a premium drama from Netflix or Amazon as from any traditional broadcast or cable channel, and we can watch it on a laptop, phone, or tablet as easily as we can watch it from the big screen in our living rooms. And so it’s unsurprising that Facebook — the all-encompassing worldwide digital platform that once was merely a social network — is finally ready to launch its own programming channel, Facebook Watch.

The news is no surprise; we heard back in June that Facebook was planning to commission its own original content soon, and the August timing for this launch had been rumored in July. Still, after much hullaballoo it’s finally here. So what can you expect?

What is it?

“Watch” is basically just the latest tab to show up on the already-crowded Facebook app, appearing on the little bar between the icon that takes you to your timeline and the one that leads you to the Marketplace. It replaces the “Video” icon that’s already there.

It is of course personalized, Facebook says, algorithmically optimized for you personally just like everything else on Facebook is supposed to be.

To that end, it will contain sections like, “Most talked about,” for videos lots of people are commenting on, or “What’s making people laugh,” for content that generates a “haha” reaction. And of course, there will be a section for what your friends, personally, are watching, because what is Facebook without oversharing?

What can I watch on it?

While Facebook is still expected eventually to make a play for original content in the style of an Amazon or Netflix, it’s still not there yet.

For now, Watch is still “a platform for all creators and publishers to find an audience,” as Facebook would have it, which means free content generated by others and hosted on Facebook. The company lists some examples of existing Facebook-based shows and live events that “connect with fans” or “engage fans and community.”

Facebook will also be live-streaming one Major Leage Baseball game per week, the company adds, and is planning to “seed the ecosystem” — i.e., guarantee there’s something to watch on Watch from the start — with a few shows they’ve paid for, including one hosted by Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs fame).

When do I get it?

As with pretty much every new Facebook feature, they’re starting with “a limited group of people” and will roll it out to everyone “soon.” You may have Watch today, or you may be the last person you know to finally start seeing it months from now.

by Kate Cox via Consumerist

Report: Tesla Has Plans To Test A Self-Driving, Electric Semi-Truck

Sure, you may be getting used to the idea of sharing the road with cars that drive themselves — but how do you feel about cruising alongside an autonomous semi-truck?

According to Reuters, Tesla is working on a long-haul, electric, autonomous semi-truck that would travel in “platoons” that are led by one vehicle. As detailed in emails between Tesla and the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles viewed by Reuters, the company is close to testing a prototype.

“To insure we are on the same page, our primary goal is the ability to operate our prototype test trucks in a continuous manner across the state line and within the States of Nevada and California in a platooning and/or Autonomous mode without having a person in the vehicle,” Tesla regulatory official Nasser Zamani wrote to a Nevada DMV official.

At the same time, Tesla is getting together with officials in California to discuss its autonomous trucks, a state DMV spokeswoman told Reuters.

Though Tesla declined to comment on the matter to Reuters, CEO Elon Musk announced in April that the company is planning to unveil an electric truck in September, so all these discussions seems to indicate that it’s preparing to compete in the autonomous truck business.

Tesla Semi truck unveil set for September. Team has done an amazing job. Seriously next level.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2017

Doing so with an electric truck may prove pretty difficult however, due to current battery range limitations that make it tough for electric trucks to travel the long distances involved in long-haul transport. As one lithium-ion battery researcher explains to Reuters, the massive batteries required would basically be the truck’s cargo.

Crowded streets

Of course, Tesla isn’t the only company interested in autonomous commercial transport: In 2015, a company called Freightliner got a license to test its autonomous tractor-trailer truck in Nevada.

Amazon is also working on figuring out how it could use autonomous delivery vehicles — including trucks, forklifts, drones, and sedans.

Most recently, the California DMV started looking into whether Uber may have broken the law by testing its autonomous trucks in the states without getting permission first. Uber claims that the technology its testing is “driver assist” features, like blind spot detection, crash prevention systems, and dynamic cruise control.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Safety Regulators Issue Safety Alert For Still-Popular Fidget Spinners

Following several incidents in which it became increasingly clear that toys-of-the-moment fidget spinners weren’t just exploding in popularity, but actually exploding, federal safety regulators have issued a safety alert aimed at reducing the potential for injuries and fire hazards associated with the gadgets. 

The Consumer Product Safety Commission today confirmed that it is investigating a number of incidents associated with the toys, while also outlining precautions users should take before unwrapping fidget spinners.

The Evolution Of Fidget Spinners

While fidget spinners may appear to be pretty harmless, there could be dangers lurking inside, from choking hazards to the potential to explode or catch fire.

As we’ve previously reported, fidget spinners have evolved from their modest designs with mechanical parts to include internal batteries that power bluetooth speakers, lights, and other features.

These batteries, like those used in hoverboards, can be charged — although it’s unclear if the batteries are lithium-ion. And that poses a problem, because if there’s a battery inside a thing, that thing can catch fire when you least expect it.

So far this year, there have been several incidents in which chargeable fidget spinners have burst into flames while plugged in. Just last month, a family in California claimed that a fidget spinner began to smoke while charging.

To this end, the CPSC issued several tips meant to prevent such incidents, as well as reduce the chance that younger users could choke on the toys’ parts.

“Fidget spinners can be fun to use but consumers and companies should be aware of some of the safety concerns associated with this product,” CPSC acting chairman Ann Marie Buerkle said in a statement.

Choking Hazards

When it comes to fidget spinners and choking, the CPSC notes that the plastic and metal spinners have small pieces that can break, creating a choking hazard.

As a result, the agency simply recommends keeping the products away from children under three years of age.

Additionally, because the CPSC says it is aware of choking incidents involving children up to age 14, the agency recommends warning children of all ages not to put fidget spinners or the gadgets’ small pieces in their mouths.

Users should also not play with fidget spinners near their face.

Fire Risks

While the CPSC notes that choking hazards also apply to battery-operated fidget spinners, users should be aware of fire risks, too.

“Like any battery-operated product, consumers should be present and pay attention to their devices while charging them,” Buerkle said.

Consumers who purchase these products should have working smoke alarms in their home and never charge the product overnight.

Additionally, users should always use the cable that comes with the spinner or make sure to use a cable with the correct connections. Finally, the spinner should be unplugged immediately after it is fully charged.

The CPSC urges anyone who experiences a safety issue with fidget spinners to file a report at saferproducts.gov.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Target To Partner With Online Dog Supplies Retailer Bark, Carry Items In Stores

Maybe it’s suddenly time for subscription services and big-box discount stores to be pals. After yesterday’s report that Walmart may be in talks with beauty products subscription service Birchbox, today we learned Bark, a pet supplies company best known for its Barkbox subscription service, has mage a deal with Target to put its products in stores.

From subscription boxes to big boxes

Bark has followed the Birchbox model (sort of) by offering its treats and toys for sale individually on its website as well. We didn’t notice that Target has been offering Bark products online before now, but soon the toys will also appear in stores. That’s the first time they’ve been available in any in-person retail outlet.

“It’s an important differentiator because the less they can be like Amazon and Walmart, the more people are likely to go into their stores,” a market researcher told the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Bark is the third e-commerce startup that Target has partnered with. For a while, Harry’s, another subscription service, took over half of all razor sales at Target during a promotion that put the company’s products on endcaps.

“Ultimate pets destination”

Target seems to be on a pet kick lately: The retailer announced this week that it will start carrying dry and wet pet foods from Blue Buffalo, and that it’s expanding the selection of its Boots & Barkley brand line of products for cats and dogs.

“Almost 70% of our guests have pets at home,” Christina Hennington, senior vice president of essentials and beauty at Target, said in a statement. “So we saw an opportunity to become their ultimate pets destination by offering new and exclusive pet brands they can only find at Target.”

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Would You Eat A Burrito Topped With ‘Popping Crystals’?

Burrito-lovers looking for a little extra flavor on their meal might add tomatoes, lettuce, cheese sauce, or even a bit of guacamole. But what about a Pop Rocks-like seasoning? That’s apparently an option for customers at select Taco Bell locations in California. 

FoodBeast reports that at least four Taco Bell locations in California are selling packets of cayenne-flavored “popping crystals” as part of a test for the chain’s new Firecracker burritos.

The Firecracker burritos, which come in cheesy and spicy variations, were first spotted by a Reddit user earlier this week. The $1.29 meal sounds a lot like your typical burrito; filled with rice, cheese, beef, and tortilla strips, but wrapped in a red tortilla. The spicy version includes chipotle sauce.

To set these new burritos apart from all the rest, Taco Bell is giving guests the option to add a little more kick by way of  seasoned “popping crystals,” which sound a lot like Pop Rocks and can be added to any order for an additional $0.20.

Reddit user Elbore says that he was “confused by the whole thing,” after ordering the meal at a Santa Ana location. He notes that the packet of poppers “taste sweet and crackle just like pop rocks.”

The Firecracker burritos, and presumably the cayenne popping rocks, are available for purchase at the locations until Aug. 16, according to FoodBeast.

Consumerist has reached out to Taco Bell for additional information on the test; we’ll update this post when we hear back.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Could Midwest Express Return To The Skies?

While we’re used to airlines either shutting down or getting swallowed up in mergers, one recently defunct carrier may be rising from the ashes: There’s an effort to bring back Midwest Express, an airline perhaps best known by its fans for serving warm — baked-on-board — chocolate chip cookies.

Returning to the skies

Two business partners have started a site called FlyMidwestExpess.com and are planning to get the carrier — which changed its name to Midwest Airlines in 2002 before it was eventually gobbled up by Frontier — up and running again.

Noting that there are fewer flights out of Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport, making already annoying travel “more of a hassle,” the folks behind the effort say they’re “working hard to bring back Midwest Express.”

“With convenient destinations for business travelers, roomy seats, WiFi and friendly people who care about you, it’s going to help you plan your travel more efficiently,” the site says. “Flights to many of our destinations will allow you to travel out and back on the same day, getting you back home at night, instead of being away.”

Money matters

Launching a new airline is not cheap — it could cost at least $100 million, industry experts told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — but the people behind Midwest’s resurrection are remaining tight-lipped on their fundraising progress.

“We have a number of people we are working with, and because of that we can’t really make any announcement,” one of the business partners explained to the newspaper.

As for the big question everyone is asking, it sounds like the free cookies may also make a comeback.

“More details will be coming soon. We can’t wait to get in the air!” the site reads, adding, “Oh, and by the way, we haven’t forgotten the cookies!”

Comeback kids

This isn’t the first time someone has tried to revive a defunct airline. In 2014, Eastern Air Lines Group filed paperwork to begin the long process of beginning service again, more than 20 years away from the tarmac.

It currently operates out of Miami and flies to destinations including Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Walmart Says ‘Back-To-School’ Sign Should Not Have Been Posted Over Gun Case

The nation’s largest retailer says it is now trying to find out why a back-to-school promotional sign was posted on a rifle display case at one of its stores.

A photograph, allegedly taken at a Walmart in Indiana, shows an “Own The School Year Like A Hero” placed above a tall glass display case containing a number of firearms available for purchase. The image immediately took on a life of its own yesterday, and Walmart has responded by saying that the promotional sign should not have been placed on that case.

“What’s seen in this photograph would never be acceptable in our stores,” a rep for the big box store said in a statement to the Washington Post. “We regret this situation and are looking into how it could have happened.”

The rep said the retailer is currently trying to identify at what store the display was photographed. It will then work to determine if the sign was placed by an employee or a shopper.

A woman who claims to have taken the photograph tells the Post she was shopping at an Evansville, IN, Walmart when she spotted the sign in the sporting goods section. She tells the paper she attempted to notified staff immediately with her concerns but could not find a manager.

However, the Walmart rep claims that the sign was not at the Evansville store, even though the purported photographer insists this was the location.

The customer says she was shopping with her husband early Wednesday when they spotted the sign in the sporting goods department.

She tells the Post that she was “disgusted” by the display and notified employees.

Social Media Response

While it’s unclear on what social media platform the photo was first posted, it quickly drew attention from Twitter users.

@Walmart WHAT ARE YOU DOING http://pic.twitter.com/Uv6OJvkqHB

— Con Con (@Nagginsnnotions) August 10, 2017

Seriously @Walmart? Now you promote bringing guns into schools? #Walmart http://pic.twitter.com/TsZULvsMch

— Chayzz Devyant (@ChayzzDevyant) August 9, 2017

Explain this @Walmart http://pic.twitter.com/Ir9pwg0MeF

— Anthony (@OMGItsBirdman) August 9, 2017

The retailer replied to several customers on Twitter, noting that the store had removed the sign and apologized for the display.

However, in posts later in the day, the retailer clarified to several Twitter users that the store that supposedly housed the display was incorrect, and that the company was still looking into the matter.

Hi Jared. To add a bit, the manager at the location reported confirmed that there was no such sign posted. Still looking into it. -Dean

— Walmart (@Walmart) August 9, 2017

Consumerist has reached out to Walmart for additional information on the situation. We’ll update this post if we hear back.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Dallas Chipotle That Rained Mice Temporarily Closes To Check Over Building

Remember the Chipotle restaurant in Dallas where customers captured video of mice falling from the ceiling and scurrying across the floor? That was a few weeks ago, and now the restaurant is temporarily closing so experts can evaluate the building.

The location, in a historic district in downtown Dallas, has had consistently good health inspection scores, including after the mouse infestation went viral, the Dallas Morning News points out. Its Yelp reviews are less consistent, even before the well-publicized mouse infestation.

At the time of the plummeting-rodents incident, the company said that pest control pros found a gap in the 100-year-old building and were able to get in. Three weeks later and after sealing that gap, the restaurant will close for an unspecified amount of time while the company checks the building. Will it reopen? That depends on what the company finds while the location is closed. Totally rodent-proofing such an old building would be difficult.

A Chipotle spokeswoman told Bloomberg Technology (warning: auto-play video at that link) in a statement that the company “regret[s] any inconvenience and will reopen only when we are certain the building meets all Chipotle standards for operation.”

Employees will be allowed to temporarily transfer to other nearby locations while their restaurant is closed. Presumably, the company would like customers to do the same.

The timing of this incident was pretty bad for Chipotle, coming shortly after a restaurant in Virginia temporarily closed after customers came down with norovirus, a super-contagious gastrointestinal illness that was traced to an employee working while sick.

Here’s the original video posted to Twitter that kicked this whole mouse-hunting issue off.

My friend @BahadirKoseli took this video at lunch today at Chipotle in Dallas (West End) @ChipotleTweets literally explain this please 🤢 http://pic.twitter.com/hbHHObpC45

— Becca Winn (@beccawinning) July 18, 2017

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Sexy European Suitor May Be Looking To Woo Charter Into Another Merger

Summertime fling fantasies aren’t just for libidinous teens at camp. European telecom giant Altice, which recently purchased Cablevision and Suddenlink in the U.S., is reportedly gazing across the campfire and into the eyes of another potential American mating partner: Charter.

Sources tell Reuters that Altice is in “the early stages of working on an offer” to snap up Charter.

In typical Reuters fashion, it downplays the import of such a merger saying only that it “would build more scale” in the U.S. for the companies. It’s a little more than that: A merger of Altice and Charter would likely create a cable/internet operation that surpasses Comcast to become the nation’s largest.

Charter, since buying up Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in 2016, has been within a couple million customers of Comcast’s number. Adding another 5 million or so from Altice would put it over the top.

Who the heck is Altice?

Altice is not currently a very well-known brand in the U.S., though that’s changing fast.

Internationally, however, it’s another story. Altice has been snapping up smaller telecom providers, largely but not only in France since 2002 and now serves more than 50 million phone, internet, and TV customers around the world.

Altice only began to take major steps into the U.S. market in 2015, when it acquired Suddenlink, at the time a smaller cable company serving roughly 1.5 million customers. A few months later Altice also acquired Cablevision (Optimum), which serves several million customers mostly in or near New York City (and a few hundred thousand in the western states).

Altice is now the fourth-largest cable company in the U.S., serving almost 5 million customers. (Comcast and Charter are far and away the largest two; Cox Communications is third.) The company plans to unify all its acquisitions, both in the U.S. and abroad, under a single Altice logo and brand, but isn’t expected to finish that project until sometime in 2018.

The company went public earlier this year, with a well-received IPO in late June.

It seems to be merger mania season.

“Altice wants to buy Charter” is just the latest in a long, long line of merger talks that’s been spinning up this summer — and not the first to involve Charter, either. The company has come up frequently of late:

• July: Sprint makes move on Charter; Charter says it’s not interested… for now.
• June: Charter floats interest in buying Cox Communications, something it’s been trying and failing to do since 2013.
• May: Charter says no to a Verizon buyout, because Verizon’s $100 billion offer wasn’t enough for them.

Charter is not alone; Sprint, T-Mobile, Comcast, and Verizon have all been part of some merger rumor or another so far this year.

Analysts, however, predicted — or perhaps even openly encouraged — this wave of merger mania. We were barely more than a week past the 2016 election when investors giddily started the matchmaking about who could leap into metaphorical bed with whom, given the expectations that 2017 would bring a business-friendly and regulation-hostile administration.

The combinations investors mulled over included basically every pairing you can think of among the major internet companies (including the mobile phone ones). And while none of the players have as yet inked an actual deal with anyone, it doesn’t appear to be for lack of trying.

by Kate Cox via Consumerist

Dating Scammer Going Back To Prison For Swindling Women Again

A New Jersey man who already spent five years in federal prison for scamming more than $200,000 from women he met through phone dating services is now heading back behind bars after being convicted for doing pretty much the same thing again.

The 52-year-old pleaded guilty in February to wire fraud for swindling thousands of dollars from more than 10 women. From Dec. 2012 through Dec. 2014 prosecutors said he met women looking for love on telephone dating services, wooed them, and then made up reasons why he needed them to loan him money — loans he didn’t bother paying back.

For example, he’d tell the women he needed them to wire him funds so he could relocate to be closer to wherever they lived and embark on a committed relationship, but then never followed through. Ghosting with the extra sting of financial loss — isn’t dating fun?

He would then turn around and use that money to buy cellphone airtime minutes so he could chat up more women, reports NJ.com.

And he did all of this while on probation, after serving five years in prison from 2007 to 2012 for stealing more than $200,000 from women around the U.S. in a similar scheme.

He’s been behind bars since Dec. 2014, and he’s set to stay there a bit longer: He was sentenced to five more years in a Camden, N.J. court. U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler also added three years of supervised release onto that, and ordered him to shell out more than $39,000 in restitution.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

All Of My Instagram Photos Have Disappeared. What Now?

Remember the Consumerist reader who had temporarily deactivated his Instagram account, then reactivated it, only to find that he’d lost all of his photos? Yeah, that’s still happening to people, and Instagram is now admitting that this is an issue.

A little background

Instagram users who want to put their account on ice for a while have the option of temporarily deactivating their profile. Per Instagram’s help page, this means that “your account and your photos, comments and likes will be hidden until you reactivate it by logging back in.”

Back in September, Consumerist reader Dylan said that when he reactivated his account, his 100+ photos had vanished.

Dylan made repeated attempts to restore his lost content, and even contacted Instagram to see what could be done, but to no avail. So we reached out to the Facebook-owned company on Dylan’s behalf.

Miraculously, his photos reappeared after we contacted Instagram, who chalked it all up as “bug” and an “isolated incident.”

Not so isolated

About that “isolated incident” thing? We’ve since heard from numerous Consumerist readers who say they’ve had the exact same problem as Dylan, and who have had no luck getting Instagram to answer their pleas.

“I felt the need to go off the grid for a day, so I deactivated my Instagram account,” Anna wrote. “When I logged back in the next day, everything was normal, except all of my pictures were gone. I have been reporting the problem to Instagram and messaging them on Facebook constantly.”

“Unfortunately the same has happened to me,” Emmanuelle told Consumerist, regarding Dylan’s story. “I contacted the Instagram help center many of times, sending feedback and reporting a problem and I got nothing.”

“I lost over 3,000 photos that span over five years of memories of my life with people both alive and deceased,” Teshaya wrote. “I cannot get those back!… I’ve contacted Instagram several times via Twitter, calling, reporting it from my account, and I haven’t received any correspondence. I’ve been miserable since and always checking my account to see if they were restored.”

Caitlin told us that only three of her photos were restored after reactivating her account, and Instagram was no help, despite multiple attempts to have her problem resolved.

“Nothing has seemed to work so far,” wrote Caitlin.

These users aren’t alone.

“We’re aware that, in rare cases, people may not see all of their photos when they re-activate their account after temporarily deactivating it,” a spokesperson told Consumerist.

A little test

To see if we could replicate the Case of the Vanishing Photos, we created a dummy account with only six images and a few followers:

We then deactivated that account for a day before reactivating it. As you can see from the screengrabs below, when the account was first reborn (image on the left), all of the photos were gone. But a few minutes later (on the right) they had repopulated the account, without us having to do anything further. It’s worth noting, however, that the number of posts on this account still said five even though all six images had been restored:

Before we deactivated that profile, we also made note of the unique URLs linking to each of the six photos to see if the deactivation/reactivation process affected those links.

Much like the missing photos, these links did not work immediately after restoration, but were functional soon thereafter.

Given how little detail we have on the actual mechanics involved in this process, we can’t say for certain, but we would not be surprised if the size of a reactivated account has something to do with the delay in restoring all the images.

A source more familiar with Instagram’s systems tells us that the unrestored images have likely not been deleted and are just hidden for the time-being. Why? Well, that’s a question no one has been able to answer yet.

So what should you do?

The company says it’s in the process of restoring the affected accounts, “but if your account is one that has not yet been fully restored, you have the option of going through the temporary deactivation and reactivation process again to restore the hidden photos.”

One of our readers had some success when she happened upon this method on her own: About a week after the photos initially disappeared, she deactivated the account, and then reactivated it again.

“I waited another day and then logged back into my account,” Anna explains. “At first nothing showed up again, but then as I refreshed the app, more and more of my pictures showed up.” Since then, all of her photos have been restored.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist