Daily Dose of Common Sense

Get ready, folks.

Under an energy bill passed by Congress in late 2007, the incandescent light bulb will start being phased out in the US in 2012 and totally phased out by 2014. 100 watt bulbs will be the first to go, and by 2014 the 40 watt bulb will be the last.

But, why?

In short, the incandescent light bulb wastes energy. A lot of energy. According to an article by US News and World Report, 90% percent of the energy that an incandescent light bulb burns is wasted as heat.

Currently, the most widely available alternative to incandescent bulbs is the CFL (Compact Flourescent) bulb. While CFL lights seem to cost more at checkout–about $3.00 per bulb compared to .50 cents per incandescent bulb–the overall energy and cost savings to households is significant. In fact, most reports agree that CFLs last up to 5 years longer and use 75% less energy, which means a 12% decrease in your electric bill per year.

Many complain that CFL bulbs don’t have the same color effect as incandescent bulbs; however, in recent years manufacturers of CFL bulbs have started to offer a wider range of options. Besides, isn’t the energy savings enough to override those concerns?

Energy Star has offered these tips to choosing the right CFL:

• Light color is measured on a temperature scale referred to as Kelvin (K).
• Lower Kelvin numbers mean the light appears more yellow; higher Kelvin numbers mean the light is whiter or bluer.
• For a whiter light, look for bulbs marked 3500-4100K.
• For bluer white light, look for bulbs marked 5000-6500K.

So, what are you waiting for? Jump in and beat the ban while saving yourself some money.

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The answer is almost always do NOT regift. If you don’t want it, what makes you think someone else will? But, times are tight so many people may be desperate to cover all their gift bases. If you MUST regift, consider these helpful hints:

How is the condition? Only new, unopened gifts in good condition should be considered for regifting. Never give partially used gift cards. Don’t give items that you have owned for a long time. A general rule of thumb: if you have to dust it off, it is not regiftable. 

Is this going to work? Successful regifters use common sense. If you are going to regift, be sure you know who gave you the item, so you don’t return something to the original giver. Only regift items to people who are not likely to see the original giver.

Do you have good intentions? Don’t just give a gift to give a gift. Be sure that the recipient will appreciate the item. Remember, if you feel that an item is undesirable, the recipient probably will too. If you are regifting simply because you ran out of time, gift cards are simple to obtain and always well received.

The smarter thing to do with unwanted gifts is to give them to a charitable organization. Visit this information page by the Better Business Bureau for ideas.

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Are you planning on getting up at the crack of dawn on Friday to snag some sales? The stores hope you will. The name “Black Friday” refers to the fact that retailers generally move into the black (in other words profitable) on that day. But, look deeper into the fine print on the sale items and you may decide to stay home instead.

Many stores pull some sleazy shenanigans to get customers in the door. Here are some things to look out for.

Limited quantities
Yes, those deals on the flat-screen tvs look too good to be true. The sales are real, but only for the first few people who can grab one. The stores knowingly limit the amount of items for sale–and there are NO rain checks. So, if there are four tvs available for the deal price and you are number five…so sad, too bad.

Sears has not officially revealed its Black Friday sales. However, the company confirmed to CNNMoney.com that two of its post-Thanksgiving deals include a Samsung 40-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $599.99, “Only while quantities last, minimum three per store, no rainchecks.”

“Sure, you probably have more, but how do you put out a circular to millions of households and only have three?,” Dworsky asked.

Taking advantage of not-so-tech-savvy consumers
Stores knowingly offer the killer deals on lower-quality products, especially electronics, because consumers won’t know the difference. These have far less features than the standard models in a product line.

Dworsky cautions that retailers usually don’t advertise these models as derivatives. “There’s no way the average consumer will know that the TV model they are buying is not the standard one unless they are savvy enough to compare their model numbers,” he said.

The risk
A Black Friday stampede at Wal-Mart last year resulted in the death of an employee. This year, some stores have changed their policies to avoid chaos, either staying open throughout Thanksgiving night or giving numbers to those in early morning lines. However, not all stores have revised the “winner-take-all” atmosphere of Friday morning. If you’re in the market for one of the hot items, be prepared to hold your own against the masses.

Also, you risk getting up at THE CRACK OF DAWN to come home empty handed. Talk about presentus interruptus. That would be too depressing for words.

Me, I’ll be in bed at 5AM on Friday. I’ll wait for the Cyber Monday deals and shop in my pajamas.

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Two college students in Pennsylvania experienced terrible service at a local pub. They did what almost anyone who gets bad service would do: they didn’t pay the tip. The problem is the students were with other friends, and the restaurant automatically adds an 18% added to any large party’s tab.

So, the restaurant called the police and the two tip skippers were later arrested. With handcuffs. Court date to come.

So, let’s look at both sides. First, how bad was the service? Here is what the two students told the media.

They had to find their own napkins and cutlery while their waitress caught a smoke, had to ask the bar for soda refills, and had to wait over an hour for salad and wings, they told NBC10.

Sounds pretty lousy. I wouldn’t tip either.

The restaurant, on the other hand, believes this was a violation of their policy.

The menu clearly states, “18 percent gratuity added to check of parties of 6 of more,” and a similar message is printed on receipts, a pub employee said this morning.

So, the police treated this as a theft. A theft of $16.35.

First, if you have ever waited tables, you know when you’re giving lousy service. I waited tables for years, and I knew that I was a horrible server. It’s not hard to figure it out based on your tips, guest comments, and your own common sense. This waitress went out to have smokes and let people wait an hour for food? She KNEW she didn’t deserve the tip, but thought she was entitled to it anyway. Guess what? Gratuities are given for good service.

Second, the restaurant risks bad PR and the ire of every college student in town over a lousy $16? It’s mind-boggling. Seems like these students are their bread and butter (forgive the food pun) and the restaurant should treat them a little better. It’s been a few years since I’ve been on a campus, but if I remember anything, it’s that all college students are just itching for a good protest. I smell a boycott brewing in Bethlehem.

Third, the police have nothing better to do than get involved in this case? What real crimes were being committed while these non-tippers were being booked? You would think one of the officers would show a little common sense, throw down a $20 and call it a day.

If you want to fight an automatic gratuity, talk to the manager. Explain your situation and make your case. Most times (as it happened with me a few times), the manager will remove the automatic gratuity from your bill and instead leave the tip to your discretion. If the manager isn’t there, or doesn’t agree with you, pay the tip and then talk to the owner later. Believe me, these people care about how their customers are treated. You might find a free dinner or gift certificate coming your way.

If that doesn’t work, there’s always the Fox Problem Solvers.

[Via PatsPapers.com]

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Here are some of our favorite brief Web stories from this week.

Some people had common sense.

• Science-Based Medicine has a great article on the dangers of homebirth with a midwife. It is the most dangerous form of planned birth in the U.S. As a friend on Twitter said, “Get to the hospital, hippy!”
• In an effort to encourage Californians not to drive so much, pay-as-you-drive insurance plans will now be offered there. If you’ve ever experienced their traffic, any reasonable measure to get fewer cars on the road gets a thumbs up.
• A Wisconsin woman called 911 to report herself as a drunk driver. She said she didn’t want to hurt anyone. We realize she never should have gotten behind the wheel in the first place, but at least she wised up. Most drunk drivers don’t have the cajones to report themselves; instead, they take their chances on the road.
• The two greatest SNL hosts ever–Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin–take over hosting duties for the 2010 Oscars. Smart choice by the producers, who must know that the show format is stale, stale, stale. Here’s hoping for a “Pete’s Schweatty Balls” sketch on awards night.

And, some did not.

• A company has released a $100 mobile device that connects only to Twitter. It doesn’t make phone calls or let you retrieve emails. Only Twitter. In case you didn’t know, you can get an iPhone at these prices, which will give you a whole lot more functionality.
• 53% of Maine voters denied gays the same rights as heterosexuals. Hey, Maine, you think gay marriage is immoral? Blag Hag said it best: Know what else is an abomination, Maine? Lobster.
• Because the airline industry is doing so well, United says “no” to track suits in first class. Shouldn’t they just be grateful that anyone can afford to buy a first class ticket these days?
• A man repeatedly saw Jesus’ image on his truck window. While many look to this as a sign, we think he just needs to wash his truck more often.

There are tens of millions of workers in the U.S. who do not receive any paid sick leave. That means that about 40% of Americans either have to work while ill or take the hit to their paychecks. For people living paycheck-to-paycheck, this usually means sucking it up, taking some cold medication, and heading to work. And you know who’s catching what they have? Everyone else.

This is one reason that public officials are very worried about this flu season. Many of the workers in this category are waiters, child care employees, office temps, and cashiers. They’re handling your food, your kids, and your money. That means germs are spreading at the speed of light.

You can hardly blame John/Julie Q. Worker who doesn’t get sick leave. Yes, he/she should stay home but what if he/she fears being fired, or can’t afford to take the pay hit? And, you can hardly blame struggling Small Q. Business, who can’t afford to pay workers for not working. But, businesses should at least help sick workers make up the hours lost with additional hours later on.

So, shame on bigger companies like Wal-Mart (who can afford sick leave) for not treating this issue with the seriousness it deserves.

Workers at many retailers and restaurants say their employers’ policies discourage them from calling in sick. At Wal-Mart, when employees miss one or more days because of illness or other reasons, they generally get a demerit point. Once employees obtain four points over a six-month period, they begin receiving warnings that can lead to dismissal.

In addition, when Wal-Mart employees call in sick, their first day off is not a paid sick day (although workers can use a vacation day or personal day), but the second and third days are paid. The policy is meant to keep workers who are not actually sick from taking a day off to, say, go fishing.

Paul Hotchkiss, a support manager at a Wal-Mart store in Hastings, Minn., said the point system pressured him to report to work two weeks ago even though he had swine flu.

Forcing people to come to work sick only gets other workers sick. Offices are notorious germ factories, even outside of flu season.

A recent study found the average office desk contains 20,961 germs per square inch! The worst hot spots for germs? Phones, computer keyboards, and computer mice. If not cleaned regularly, they are a great breeding place for viruses that cause colds and flu.

Also, don’t forget about communal bathrooms, the office coffeepot, microwaves, and water coolers. Gossip isn’t the only thing being exchanged in these places. Germs are also traded on any commonly touched surfaces.

If you get sick leave, USE IT. If you don’t, lobby your bosses and companies for better sick policies. This flu season, we may need all the help we can get.

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In New York City, a law was passed in 2008 that required chain restaurants post the calorie counts of their menu items. The early results are in, and it appears that most people don’t change their eating habits after knowing the amount of calories in the food.

A new study, performed by some NYU and Yale professors, tracked customers in four fast-food restaurants in poor neighborhoods of NYC:

It found that about half the customers noticed the calorie counts, which were prominently posted on menu boards. About 28 percent of those who noticed them said the information had influenced their ordering, and 9 out of 10 of those said they had made healthier choices as a result.

But when the researchers checked receipts afterward, they found that people had, in fact, ordered slightly more calories than the typical customer had before the labeling law went into effect, in July 2008.

Anyone who thought these calorie postings would be the end to the obesity problem in this country were deluded. People want to eat what they want to eat. Knowing how unhealthy it is doesn’t counteract the convenience and the cost. It will take a lot more than a few small numbers up on a menu board to educate people on how to make smart food choices. Also, these restaurants don’t offer a ton of healthy options. Even some of the salads aren’t exactly healthy in terms of calories.

Plus, it’s hard to order a salad when the smell of french fries is swirling around you like a cloud. A greasy, delicious cloud.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: ebruli

Craftiness is all the rage. Because of the recession, many people are making things at home. Soap, stationary, knitting, sewing, scrapbooking…there’s a whole lotta crafting going on. And, sites like Etsy, GetCrafty, and eBay are hugely popular for those seeking out handmade items.

But, not everything made by two hands is a winner. One of my favorite new Web sites is Regretsy. This site finds the absurd in the vast crop of crafted items on Etsy and asks the questions we’re all dying to know: Why?

In some cases, a store-bought gift is better. Especially if someone is trying to pass this off on you: Corn Poo Soap.

Want to know how banks are making up the money they lost in the economic crash? Off you, that’s how.

Despite the current recession, banks are charging record fees to checking account customers. The costs are sneaky: higher non-bank ATM fees, higher bounced check fees, and higher monthly service charges.

ATM fees have risen for three-consecutive years. In 2009, consumers paid an average fee of $3.54 to use another bank’s ATM, up 16% from 2004. This includes the fee charged at the ATM, as well as the fee charged by the customer’s bank.

This year, consumers are paying a record charge of $12.55 per month for an interest-bearing checking account, up 3.5% from 2004, Bankrate’s data show. The average bounced-check fee was $29.58 this year, near the inflation-adjusted high of $29.73 reached in 2005.

Also, banks are increasing their credit card interest rates and penalties for late payment. They are finding any way they can to make up for the housing mortgage debacle of ‘08. And, don’t look for it to get any better any time soon.

BankRate.com has a good list of ways to avoid checking account fees. Some tips are common sense, like don’t bounce checks and only use your bank’s ATMs, but others may be new information on how to avoid paying more.

Most banks offer three or four checking account options. Visit the Web sites of several banks and see the differences between accounts. Do you really need free checks if you’re going to have to pay a fee for the account? If you pay most bills online, perhaps you only need a couple of paper checks per month and it would be cheaper to buy them yourself. Carefully review what each account offers and see if it’s worth the price of admission, or if you’d be better served by a free account.

So, read your statements and shop around. Don’t let your bank stick it to you.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: The Consumerist

A man in New York is suing Bank of America for “$1,784 billion, trillion dollars.”

Did Bank of America kill his first-born child? Nope. He’s suing the bank because of a bad customer service experience.

Yeah, you’re not going to win that one, buddy.

Photo courtesy of Flickr: The Consumerist