Watch out for phone scam using Wal-Mart's name

The Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado is warning local residents not to fall for a new phone scam that uses the Wal-Mart name. According to the BBB, someone who identifies himself as "Victor Vasquez" and claiming to represent “Wal-Mart Computer Systems” has called area consumers to tell them they've won a second prize of $9.8 million in a Wal-Mart sweepstakes. To claim their winnings, consumers are told to pay an insurance fee of $1,600 via Western Union, which "Victor" says would pay the cost of shipping the prize via United Parcel Serve and having it delivered by a U.S. Marshal. In one case, the insistent "Victor" suggested a consumer obtain a loan or borrow money to send him the money. The BBB says “Victor” actually is a con artist calling from Jamaica and the Wal-Mart name is being used fraudulently to lend credibility to the scheme. Wal-Mart is not running a sweepstakes or using the name Wal-Mart Computer Systems, according to the BBB. To protect themselves, consumers should remember that legitimate lotteries and sweepstakes don't charge insurance or processing fees to claim prizes. Also, don't fall for the use of familiar names, such as Wal-Mart. If in doubt, consumers should ask for contact information and verify it with a reputable source. And, never send money to strangers using a money transfer service. More information: 636-1155 or bbb.org.

Bad customer service -- what about rude customers?

Several readers commented on the article about customer service in Jan. 27's Business section, including a Wal-Mart associate, Steve, who works in the produce department at a local store.

The other side of the customer service debate, Steve says, is that customers are becoming more difficult for employees to deal with.

"They yell. They scream at the clerks. They are downright rude. And they expect to be treated like royalty," Steve says.

He gives a recent example of a bad customer experience that happened on his shift.

"A woman had opened a container of tomatoes and was picking out ones she felt were bad and was throwing them on the floor. I came over to her and said, 'Oh, I can take those bad ones for you.' She said, 'I am NOT paying $3.99 for bad tomatoes!' I replied, 'OK.' She said: 'You are being rude.' I replied, 'No, I'm not.' I was tryng to be helpful. She said, 'NOW you are talking back to me! The customer is always right!'

"I walked away. She contacted a manager and wanted to have me fired. Of course, store management knew I had done nothing wrong.

"You may think this is an isolated case," Steve continues. "However, it is becoming the norm. Customers know they can take out their aggressions on clerks in shops and be as nasty as they want and no one will do anything about it.

"I've found as time goes on, the customer is becoming more aggressive and more rude. And they wonder why they can't get good help. The customer that comes in with a smile and asks for help will get clerks falling over themselves to help. But you don't hear about that because the customer with the nice experience very seldom says anything. It's the bitter customer that yells the most."

Consumers lack confidence as holiday season approaches

Consumer confidence is taking a nosedive just as the holiday shopping season approaches. In a November survey, Ohio-based BIGresearch found 37.3 percent of nearly 8,000 respondents said they were very confident or confident about economic conditions, the lowest level since June 2006. “Gas price increases may be a contributing factor and 80 percent of consumers also said they expect prices to hit $3.25 by Christmas,” said Gary Drenik, BIGresearch's president and chief executive offer. Consumer concerns over the economy and gas prices are prompting them to take several measures to compensate; 41 percent said they are taking fewer shopping trips and shopping closer to home. About one-third of respondents said they are worse off than a year ago and half said there is “too much month at the end of their paycheck.” Respondents also say they intend to stick to a budget (37.1 percent), do more comparative shopping (26.7 percent) and use more coupons (27.8 percent).