Today, we decided to call WaMu to ask about getting our mortgage bailed out in some sort of way, since all the other kool kids are doing it, including WaMu's new sugar daddies themselves. more ›

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It's a season of sales in Seattle's fabulous boutiques, making it a perfectly dreary, who-wants-to-be-outside-anyways month to break your assumption that boutiques are only for skinny, rich women. Deals are ready for the reaping, so grab your girls and head north of the Ship Canal, where some of our favorite boutiques reside. Here is a short selection of a few where you can find money-smart steals right now. more ›

We have no idea what their customer service is like, because we long ago left them for WSECU and USAA. But a nightmarish account by one customer, Krissy, manages to make having a barcode stapled to your head seem like a relatively pleasant experience. Her purse was stolen in October, she contacted WaMu to safeguard her accounts -- and she's still dealing with multiple screwups on their end, three months later.:

I wrote my letter, faxed it and mailed it, and naturally, heard nothing. Then on December 31st, I signed online to check up on things. And that very day, there was a whopping credit-reversal in my late checking account, putting it into the negative for hundreds of dollars. I. Was. PISSED. No scratch that -- I *am* pissed, as here I sit on January 9th, 2008 and STILL haven't gotten my credit back -- despite calling Risk Operations and being told "Oh how funny! We received your letter the same day as the credit reversal. Sorry 'bout that. But don't worry, once they process everything they should reissue the credit to the account."

starbucks, howard schultz, sonics more ›

We knew WaMu had run into some fiscal turbulence (and some legal headaches). We imagine money's tight. more ›

Turns out Amazon.com's customer service department isn't staffed by computers -- just sarcasm-savvy people who use computers. Consumerist broke the story: Amazon Sends "Best Customer Service E-mail I've Ever Received". We'll summarize: One of Amazon.com's Black Friday deals was the chance to win a $1000 laptop for $299. Many people entered; most of them were unsuccessful. Some theorized that Amazon employees had snatched up all the good deals, since no one they knew had won... more ›

Running text ads on your blog never really struck us as the Get-Richest-Quickest path; we used to have Amazon ads on a book review blog and after a year or two and no checks, we decided we could better use the real estate and quit the program. A few months later we got our first and final check for...$6ish? But Seattle's Furious Seasons blog has just discovered firsthand the pain of algorithmic rejection. The email... more ›

There are a lot of things we can see being seized at the border between Canada and the United States: handguns with the serial number filed off, bricks of heroin, briefcases with the radioactivity sign on the side. Hard drives we'd expect to make it through, but unfortunately we'd be wrong. The guy bringing the masters of the songs Chris Walla recorded in Vancouver back down to Seattle had the drive containing them yanked by Homeland Security. more ›

The Seattle Times has a quickie little snippet about some ski resort ownership swapping, namely that Boyne USA has bought the Summit at Snoqualmie from Booth Creek. At first we were a little concerned, namely because Booth Creek has a great track record from a customer service perspective, especially when they extended our season's pass for free after the disastrous winter of 05-06. But after a little more research, we're very excited because this is excellent news for mountain bikers. more ›

The great thing about Switzerland -- we'll tie Seattle in shortly, hang on -- is that there's no convenience too small for the Swiss to consider. Everywhere you go, some Swiss person has already been there and added a neat little touch. Not that we don't show that consideration here in Seattle -- last night at the Hopvine we noticed they have little coat hooks just beneath the bar so you don't have to throw them over your barstool. Thoughtful, see. Could still use a foot rail, but one thing at a time. more ›

We recently had a brief exchange with a Peet’s Coffee barista during which she said something about Peet’s opening a shop in upper Queen Anne. In September. We freaked. Given the ridiculously short time-frame, though, we filed the idea away under Wishful Thinking.
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Pretend for a moment that you work the circulation desk at a Seattle branch library. more ›

There's a classic science fiction short story called The Country of the Kind by Damon Knight that was published in 1955. The narrator of the story walks around a utopia acting like a huge asshole, disrupting lives and smashing up properties. He thinks of himself as the king of the world because everyone around him is too nice--like enlightened and tolerant and kind--to stand up to him. It's a humane and permissive society, completely free of violence and conflict. For some reason it's reminiscent of Seattle, but that's not why we bring it up. more ›

--A portion of all Sonics/Storm ticket sales now go to opposing civil rights for gays!. more ›

For the past week, the TALK of our cozy little neighborhood in upper Fremont has been that Paseo, home of the best grilled pork sandwich ever, would re-open Friday after its annual month-long vacation. more ›

We sent our passport off to Philadelphia last week for routine renewal, then got unexpected assignment to cover a travel symposium in Italy...next week! No chance of getting new passport in time. Called State Department, expecting endless bureaucracy, got helpful advice on first ring. Used automated system to schedule interview right here in Seattle, got appointment within the hour. Impressive staff at Passport Office. At least one federal agency doing things right, makes leaving home a breeze. more ›

Who delivers the best customer service in the country? Amazon.com: According to the National Retail Federation/American Express survey gauging consumer attitudes toward retailers' customer service, which was released Thursday, Amazon topped a number of venerable retailers for best meeting consumer needs. Who came in second? Nordstrom. Seventh? REI. That's right: local companies took 3 of the top 10 spots on the survey. A nationwide survey. "Online consumers are completely changing the definition of service," said... more ›

Seattle-based Fortune 500 companies have been getting a lot of attention from Consumerist lately -- first Starbucks, now WaMu:

Washington Mutual Inc. says it moved tellers out from behind counters to encourage "friendly customer service in a welcoming retail environment," a design it proudly patented. more ›

Not long after we linked to the Consumerist story on Karen's difficulties with Coinstar, we got an email from George White in their PR department. George wanted to give Karen her money back, but needed to get in touch with her -- something we, unfortunately, couldn't help with. However, George also wrote to Consumerist, who were happy to update the story today with a heartwarming conclusion: We've sent George Karen's email address. Big props to... more ›

Let's get right down to it, Boingboing - Amazon's Unbox user agreement is quite a document. Really groundbreaking stuff! more ›

Stupid cone of silence! King County Metro doesn't read Seattlest. They never link to us. (We bet they steal our posts, too.) So we're pleased to see them getting busted by the Weekly for not having a useful bus map. Cries out newcomer Kauffman: more ›

Seattlest's favorite consumer blog, Consumerist*, is asking readers which American company is the best at customer service:

Which companies get it? Which companies make customer service a reality instead of just a buzzword on the employee manual?

A 2003 Passat GLS wagon. It's anthracite blue, with black leather seats and automatic transmission. more ›

What is it about the organic foods co-op that they so often invite the socially challenged to helm their cash registers? The following experience may not make it on the "most annoying sales clerks quotes" list, but only because the annoyance was too prolonged and crazy to sum up with a single quote. more ›

While we haven't got anything against Notre Dame (nor little fellas with big hearts), we don't much care for local barbershop chain Rudy's. Seattlest has never gotten a cut or color there---we already know where our hair loyalties lie---but even our brief encounters with Rudy's staff have not been good. Look: we've got a very low tolerance for snide, hipper-than-thou attitude from people who spend their days sculpting fauxhawks and sweeping up hair. Though it should be mentioned that somehow the staff at the Phinney Ridge location is the exception to the rudeness rule, overall, Rudy's customer service is about as good as their website...which is to say it's terrible. more ›

It's difficult to be bleeding edge all the time. Sometimes by the time Seattlest gets around to posting an item, we suspect maybe it's long ago scabbed over and there's just that faint white line and memories of itchiness. more ›