Retail

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Blue Diamond Doesn’t Stick to Its Durability Claims

Blue Diamond waffle platesWhen we buy nonstick cookware, many shoppers want the coating to last as long as possible. So manufacturers try to convince us of how durable their brand is.

In a website ad for Blue Diamond waffle plates for a its griddle, the company can’t seem to get its numbers straight.

First it says its diamond-infused coating delivers five times more strength and lasts 10 times longer.

Blue Diamond 5x-10x

Then it changes the numbers. Ten times longer wasn’t enough, so someone at the company probably suggested let’s say 50 times stronger and six times harder.

Blue Diamond 50x

But then, there’s the old asterisk after those numbers. And the claims change again.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Fine Print

Lasts longer, more strength, more durable, harder… 5x, 10x, 6x, 50x… it almost feels like the company is pulling numbers out of thin air. And that makes their claims at least two times harder to believe.

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Home Depot Sued for Letting Google Secretly Listen to Customer Calls

The Home DepotA California consumer recently sued The Home Depot and Google for wiretapping and privacy law violations. See complaint. What did these companies allegedly do? Something you would never expect!

Apparently, sine 2021, The Home Depot has been utilizing a Google service called Cloud Contact Center AI. It monitors and analyzes customer service calls in real time, and based on the information being talked about in the call, Google provides suggestions to the live Home Depot agent of what to say to the consumer next.

*MOUSE PRINT:

The consumer says:

23. Plaintiff was not aware, and had no reason to believe, that his communications were simultaneously being disclosed to a third party: Google. Plaintiff was not informed at the beginning of his calls that Google would be monitoring and recording the calls.

24. When Plaintiff spoke with human Home Depot customer service representatives, he had a reasonable expectation that the conversation was only between himself and Home Depot.

It is unclear, if like most companies, The Home Depot announces that calls are being recorded. Even if it does, such a statement clearly does not disclose, that another company, Google, is also listening in.

Under the California Invasion of Privacy Act it is illegal for anyone without authorization who “reads, or attempts to read, or learn the contents or meaning of any message, report, or communication while the same is in transit or passing over any wire, line, or cable…”

The consumer’s lawyers are asking the court to grant injunctive relief to have the companies immediately stop the practices complained of unless all parties to the conversation have been informed of and agreed to the practice.

How do you feel about a company secretly using AI (artificial intelligence) to analyze customer service conversations?

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Fish Fillets Plumped Up With Water

MrConsumer was always suspicious that store brand frozen, unbreaded fish fillets were somehow plumped up with water to add to the package weight because after pan frying they would shrink to a fraction of their original size.

Now, in a lawsuit just filed by consumers from three states, food giant, Conagra, is accused of doing just that to two big brands of breaded fish fillets — Van de Kamp’s and Mrs. Paul’s.

fish fillets

While the package says “100% whole fish filtets,” the ingredients statement tells a different story.

*MOUSE PRINT:

ingredients

According to the lawsuit:

The truth is, Defendant pumps up those fish with an industrial filler called sodium tripolyphosphate (“STPP”) and extra water to artificially add weight, which may then ooze out as a white goo when the fish is cooked. STPP, a suspected neurotoxin, is typically used to manufacture things like rubber, paint, and antifreeze. STPP also is used by unscrupulous businesses in the seafood industry to engage in short weighting.

The disclosure in tiny print on the back of the products’ labels about the presence of STPP does not dispel or disclaim to reasonable consumers the bold, prominent statements on the front and back of the products suggesting that the products are composed of ‘100% whole fish

The consumers’ lawyers say the fish is soaked in a solution of STPP which encourages the absorption of water. On average, they say, this adds 13-percent of extra weight to the fish.

Here is a video demonstration of how much a fish fillet shrinks when pan fried by exuding the water it had been plumped up with.

In the lawsuit, the lawyers allege a variety of unfair and deceptive practices under various consumer laws and seek a stop to the practices charged. Conagra has not commented on the pending litigation. And a consumer lawyer told MrConsumer that using STPP may be legal.

What do you think of the practice of bulking up the weight of fish products with water and chemicals?