Illustration by Dustin Elliott Judy Williams’ recent flight from Seattle to Billings, Mont., was a painful lesson in self-service fatigue. She stood in two lines at the airport to drop …
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Illustration by Dustin Elliott UPS declares Lina Mahmoud’s $687 package lost, but Michael Kors refuses to refund her, playing a frustrating game of corporate hot potato. How does she get …
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Illustration by Dustin Elliott Karen Plaskon’s refrigerator breaks under her Sears Master Protection Agreement, and Sears approves a replacement. But after months of delays, canceled orders, and endless excuses, she’s …
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Illustration by Dustin Elliott Mark Christensen sells two-day Metallica concert tickets on StubHub and follows all the rules. But when the buyer gets confused, StubHub sides with them, costing Christensen …
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Illustration by Dustin Elliott Sean Thomas pays SeatGeek $2,744 for concert tickets advertised as “premium” floor seating in the first 5 rows with a VIP merchandise bundle. Instead, he receives …
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Illustration by Dustin Elliott Alyssa Klenotich orders clothing but accidentally sends it to her old address. She quickly contacted the shipper, SpeedX, to ask it to return the package to …
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Illustration by Dustin Elliott Debbie Rivet buys two made-to-order evening gowns from London designer Safiyaa, returns them both according to company policy, then watches her refund disappear into an 8-month …
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Illustration by Dustin Elliott Paul Avron’s daughter buys Coldplay tickets nine months before their show, but when the tickets don’t appear on the day of the event, a StubHub representative …
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Illustration by Dustin Elliott When David Cerullo returns a defective DVD/VCR combo to Amazon, he expects a quick refund. Instead, the company asks him to prove his identity — and …
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Illustration by Dustin Elliott When Howard Friedman’s new refrigerator stops cooling, he expects a simple replacement. After all, he had bought it from Walmart, one of the world’s largest retailers. …
