Jiffy-Lube busted — Charged for work not done

(via The Consumerist)

NBC4 in LA took a car to 9 different Jiffy-Lubes for work. At 6 of those stores, charges were imposed for work that was never done. To their credit, the top folks at Jiffy-Lube have fired mechanics at the stores in question and installed cameras in the work area at 31 area sites so customers can see what is going on.

After our investigation, dozens of customers … (emailed to say they) wondered if the same thing had happened to them.

TO ease those concerns, Jiffy Lube says it’s installing video cameras in 31 Los Angeles area stores so customers can make sure repairs are really getting done.

Jiffy Lube has also terminated six employees we caught on tape, including one employee at the Encino store who sold us a new fuel filter but later admitted to the district manager that the work was not done.

Also gone is the district manager, Steven Ayoub, who denied his identity when I tried to question him.

This is now the third time in three years that Jiffy Lube told us it was cleaning up its act.

[tags]Jiffy-Lube, Consumer fraud[/tags]

Gates stepping down from day-to-day Microsoft operations

(via Joystiq)

An article at MSNBC has full details. Basically, Mr. Gates is staying with Microsoft, but cutting back his direct involvement. He’ll still have massive stock holdings (roughly 1 billion shares, giving him nearly 10%), and will still be involved somehow (although I’m not quite certain in what manner). He is going to focus now on his charitable foundation instead of keeping Microsoft running.

REDMOND, Wash. – Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates announced Thursday he will transition away from a daily role at the software company he co-founded to focus on the charitable work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Gates, 50, will continue on as the company’s chairman after transferring his duties over a two-year period.

I’m no fan of Mr. Gates, but I recognize how good a leader he is and how smart he has to be to have kept Microsoft in such a dominant position for so long. I wonder how well his replacements will handle things. Will software quality improve? Will security improve? Will we see new and better/more innnovative things? Or will everything fall apart and Microsoft become just another computer company? I expect most people (that is, we consumers) will see little different. I hope that Microsoft continues doing well in the things they are good at and improves in the areas where they need to be better.
[tags]Microsoft, Bill Gates[/tags]