Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

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Holy Sheets: Paper Towel Size Madness

Have you shopped for paper towels lately? It seems that these paper manufacturers have conspired to confuse customers by putting crazy size comparisons on each package.

Four rolls of this is equal to eight rolls of that. Eight “giant” rolls are equal to 12 “regular” rolls. Six “mega” rolls are equal to eight regular rolls, but six “big” rolls are also equal to eight regular rolls, and six “huge” rolls are equal to 15 regular ones. Twelve “giant” rolls are equal 18 regular rolls, but 12 “big” rolls are equal to only 16 regular ones.

Doesn’t this drive you crazy? Why don’t they simply say in big letters (as opposed to the tiny print they use now ) exactly how many sheets are on each roll so you know what you are really buying.

*MOUSE PRINT:

sheets

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Sprint Student Free (?) for All

Best Buy recently sent out an email making an astonishing offer on cell service for students:

Sprint student offer

They are providing a year of free service. That means free unlimited calls, texts, and 1 gig of data ($10 extra for unlimited data). What a deal!

It says however, “with purchase of phone at Student Activated price.” What’s that?

*MOUSE PRINT:

Sprint student prices

The prices being charged by Best Buy for the phones appear to be full price, the same as what Sprint itself would charge. In some cases, the price appears to be $50 higher than buying from Sprint directly. The benefit for the student, however, is a free year of service, without having to sign a two-year contract.

So is this a good deal? The less expensive of the two Sprint plans that the student is required to sign up for is $70 a month (plus fees and taxes) if he/she had to pay for it. So that is $840 saved for the year, but the student is paying full price or slightly more for the phone. On the other hand, if the student were to get a fancy phone free from Sprint during a promotion, he or she would have to pay that $840 for service. So it appears that the student could save a little by taking advantage of the student offer, but not hundreds and hundreds of dollars.

Presumably in year two, the phone might be able to be added onto a family plan at discounted monthly rates, and then the savings would increase (or maybe just get onto a family plan to start with to save).

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TSA Pre-Check: A Pleasant Surprise in the Fine Print

On the way back from Washington, DC a couple of weeks ago, MrConsumer was stopped by a TSA official before entering the waiting line for security. He scrutinized my boarding pass and diverted me to the TSA Pre-Check line. Thinking he made some mistake because perish the thought would MrConsumer pay extra for a pre-screening program to expedite his trip through security, the TSA official said it was a random choice that I was being directed there.

Okay, I thought, maybe this is a heightened security check for random passengers. But how much more could they ask me to remove?

Turns out that pre-check is an expedited process to go through security. No removing of shoes or belts. No taking out your plastic bag of toiletries. No laptop in a separate bin. And no going through the full body scanner. All I had to do was remove metal from my pockets and go through the old-fashioned metal detector.

A check of the TSA website reveals that the TSA Pre-Check program is indeed a system being rolled out across the country. It is currently available at seven airlines, including American, Delta, United, and US Airways in selected cities. They have a secret formula to figure out who is harmless enough to let through security with only minimal screening (and clearly the system isn’t working too well if they let MrConsumer through ).

How do you know if you have been selected to cut the long line, and go express through security?

*MOUSE PRINT:

TSA Pre-Check

Look right on your boarding pass in most cases for that designation.

Based on the details found at the TSA Pre-Check program website you do have to pay $85 for a five year expedited “pass” through security. So maybe the TSA is taking a page from product manufacturers and offering a free sample to random passengers in the hope that they will buy into the program.