[kj] OT Fighting Corporate Rip-offs

killing joke gathering@misera.net
Tue, 27 Jan 2004 08:22:06 +0000 (GMT)


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shame lucy that...
was a good age of greed story till then
lol


Lucy Cornwell <lucy.cornwell@vetstream.com> wrote:
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBUrbanMyths.shtml#niemanmarcus
 
Neiman-Marcus Cookie Hoax
May 2003 

This particular hoax has been going around for years and years though for some reason I never included it here. It is pretty obviously a hoax as it has lots of errors. Consider, the writer would have to sign her VISA credit receipt. Don't you think whe would have noticed the $250? Also, her VISA statement would only list Nieman-Marcus and a total. It does not list the items. 
Something I missed when I read it (and was informed of by a reader) is that the total on the statement does not add up. It says, 
   $250.00 - Cookie 
   $20.00 - Scarf 
   $9.95 - 2 salads 
   -------- 
   $279.95 - Total While the hoax says $285??? The difference is too small to be sales tax so I guess the writer cannot add. 
You can actually go to the Neiman-Marcus website and download the cookie recipe. The recipe on the website is a little different from the recipe in the hoax. The hoax recipe contains oats, a hershey bar, and nuts while the official recipe contains espresso powder. I have been told that both recipes are very good. 

-----Original Message-----
From: gathering-admin@misera.net [mailto:gathering-admin@misera.net]On Behalf Of Tom Foolery
Sent: 27 January 2004 07:16
To: gathering@misera.net
Subject: [kj] OT Fighting Corporate Rip-offs



> > This is a true story. Please forward when you finish reading!
> >
> > A little background: Neiman-Marcus, if you don't know already, is a
very expensive shop; i.e. they sell a typical $8.00 t-shirt for $50.00.
> >
> > Let's let them have it!
> >>>
> > THIS IS A TRUE STORY
> > My daughter and I had just finished lunch at a Neiman-Marcus Cafe in
Dallas. Because both of us are such biscuit lovers, we decided to try
the
> > "Neiman-Marcus cookie". It was so excellent that I asked if they
would
give me the recipe. The waitress said with a small frown, "I'm afraid
> > not, but you can BUY the recipe."
> >>>
> > I asked how much, and she responded, "Only two fifty - it's a great
deal!" I agreed to that, and told her to add it to my bill.
> >>>
> > Thirty days later, I got my VISA st atement, and the Neiman-Marcus
charge was $285.00. I looked at it again, and I remembered I had only
spent
> > $9.95 for two sandwiches and about $20.00 for a scarf. At the bottom
of
the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe-$250.00". That was outrageous!
> >>>
> > I called Neiman's Accounting Department and told them the waitress
had
said it was "two fifty", which clearly does not mean "two hundred and
> > fifty dollars" by any reasonable interpretation of the phrase.
Neiman-Marcus refused to budge. They would not refund my money because,
according to them;
> >
> > "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already
seen
the recipe. We absolutely will not refund your money."
> >
> > I explained to the Accounting Department lady the criminal statutes
which govern fraud in the state of Texas. I threatened to report them to
the
> > Better Busines s Bureau and the Texas Attorney General's office. I
was
basically told: Do what you want. Don't bother thinking of how you can
> > get even, and don't bother trying to get any of your money back."
> >>>
> > I said, OK, you've got my $250, and now I'm going to have $250 worth
of
fun." I told her that I was going to see to it that every cookie lover
> > in the world with an e-mail account gets a $250 cookie recipe from
Neiman-Marcus... for free. She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do that."
> >>>
> > I said, "Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before you
RIPPED
ME OFF!" and slammed down the phone.
> >>>
> > So here it is! Please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think
of.
I paid $250 for this, and I don't want Neiman-Marcus to EVER make
another
> > penny from this recipe!
> >>>
> >>> NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES (Recipe may be halved)
> >>> 2 cups butter
> >>> 24 oz. chocolate chips
> >>> 4 cups flour
> >>> 2 cups brown sugar
> >>> 2 tsp. (Bicarb) soda
> >>> 1 tsp. salt
> >>> 2 cups sugar
> >>> 1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
> >>> 5 cups blended oatmeal
> >>> 4 eggs
> >>> 2 tsp. baking powder
> >>> 2 tsp. vanilla
> >>> 3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
> >>>
> >>> Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream
the
> >> butter
> >>> and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour,
> >> oatmeal,
> >>> salt, baking powder, and Bicarb (soda). Add chocolate chips,
Hershey
> >> Bar,
> >>> and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie 
> >> sheet.
> >>> Bake for 10 minutes at (180)  375 degrees.
> >>>
> >>> The above quantities makes 112 cookies.
> >
> > PLEASE KEEP THE RECIPE AND SEND IT TO EVERY PERSON YOU KNOW WHO HAS
AN
> > E-MAIL ADDRESS! This is not a joke-it's a true story.



luv from

Stimro

"Mummy, what's a Killing Joke?"

"A Whoopee cushion packed with Semtex"




---------------------------------
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<DIV>shame lucy that...</DIV>
<DIV>was a good age of greed story till then</DIV>
<DIV>lol</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR><B><I>Lucy Cornwell &lt;lucy.cornwell@vetstream.com&gt;</I></B> wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">
<META content="MSHTML 5.50.4933.1800" name=GENERATOR>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#008080 size=2><A href="http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBUrbanMyths.shtml#niemanmarcus">http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBUrbanMyths.shtml#niemanmarcus</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#008080 size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#008080 size=2>
<H3><A name=niemanmarcus>Neiman-Marcus Cookie Hoax</A></H3>
<P>May 2003 </P>
<P>This particular hoax has been going around for years and years though for some reason I never included it here. It is pretty obviously a hoax as it has lots of errors. Consider, the writer would have to sign her VISA credit receipt. Don't you think whe would have noticed the $250? Also, her VISA statement would only list Nieman-Marcus and a total. It does not list the items. 
<P>Something I missed when I read it (and was informed of by a reader) is that the total on the statement does not add up. It says, 
<DL>
<DD>$250.00 - Cookie 
<DD>$20.00 - Scarf 
<DD>$9.95 - 2 salads 
<DD>-------- 
<DD>$279.95 - Total </DD></DL>While the hoax says $285??? The difference is too small to be sales tax so I guess the writer cannot add. 
<P>You can actually go to the Neiman-Marcus website and <A href="http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/service/nm_cookie_recipe.jhtml">download the cookie recipe.</A> The recipe on the website is a little different from the recipe in the hoax. The hoax recipe contains oats, a hershey bar, and nuts while the official recipe contains espresso powder. I have been told that both recipes are very good. </P></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> gathering-admin@misera.net [mailto:gathering-admin@misera.net]<B>On Behalf Of </B>Tom Foolery<BR><B>Sent:</B> 27 January 2004 07:16<BR><B>To:</B> gathering@misera.net<BR><B>Subject:</B> [kj] OT Fighting Corporate Rip-offs<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR>&gt; &gt; This is a true story. Please forward when you finish reading!<BR>&gt; &gt;<BR>&gt; &gt; A little background: Neiman-Marcus, if you don't know already, is a<BR>very expensive shop; i.e. they sell a typical $8.00 t-shirt for $50.00.<BR>&gt; &gt;<BR>&gt; &gt; Let's let them have it!<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;<BR>&gt; &gt; THIS IS A TRUE STORY<BR>&gt; &gt; My daughter and I had just finished lunch at a Neiman-Marcus Cafe in<BR>Dallas. Because both of us are such biscuit lovers, we decided to try<BR>the<BR>&gt; &gt; "Neiman-Marcus cookie". It was so excellent that I asked if they<BR>would<BR>give me the recipe. The waitress said with a small frown, "I'm afraid<BR>&gt; &gt; not, but you can BUY the recipe."<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;<BR>&gt; &gt; I asked how much, and she responded, "Only two fifty - it's a great<BR>deal!" I agreed to that, and told her to add it to my bill.<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;<BR>&gt; &gt; Thirty days later, I got my VISA st atement, and the
 Neiman-Marcus<BR>charge was $285.00. I looked at it again, and I remembered I had only<BR>spent<BR>&gt; &gt; $9.95 for two sandwiches and about $20.00 for a scarf. At the bottom<BR>of<BR>the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe-$250.00". That was outrageous!<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;<BR>&gt; &gt; I called Neiman's Accounting Department and told them the waitress<BR>had<BR>said it was "two fifty", which clearly does not mean "two hundred and<BR>&gt; &gt; fifty dollars" by any reasonable interpretation of the phrase.<BR>Neiman-Marcus refused to budge. They would not refund my money because,<BR>according to them;<BR>&gt; &gt;<BR>&gt; &gt; "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already<BR>seen<BR>the recipe. We absolutely will not refund your money."<BR>&gt; &gt;<BR>&gt; &gt; I explained to the Accounting Department lady the criminal statutes<BR>which govern fraud in the state of Texas. I threatened to report them to<BR>the<BR>&gt; &gt; Better Busines s Bureau and the Texas
 Attorney General's office. I<BR>was<BR>basically told: Do what you want. Don't bother thinking of how you can<BR>&gt; &gt; get even, and don't bother trying to get any of your money back."<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;<BR>&gt; &gt; I said, OK, you've got my $250, and now I'm going to have $250 worth<BR>of<BR>fun." I told her that I was going to see to it that every cookie lover<BR>&gt; &gt; in the world with an e-mail account gets a $250 cookie recipe from<BR>Neiman-Marcus... for free. She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do that."<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;<BR>&gt; &gt; I said, "Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before you<BR>RIPPED<BR>ME OFF!" and slammed down the phone.<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;<BR>&gt; &gt; So here it is! Please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think<BR>of.<BR>I paid $250 for this, and I don't want Neiman-Marcus to EVER make<BR>another<BR>&gt; &gt; penny from this recipe!<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES (Recipe may be halved)<BR>&gt;
 &gt;&gt;&gt; 2 cups butter<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; 24 oz. chocolate chips<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; 4 cups flour<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; 2 cups brown sugar<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; 2 tsp. (Bicarb) soda<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; 1 tsp. salt<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; 2 cups sugar<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; 1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; 5 cups blended oatmeal<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; 4 eggs<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; 2 tsp. baking powder<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; 2 tsp. vanilla<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; 3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream<BR>the<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt; butter<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour,<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt; oatmeal,<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; salt, baking powder, and Bicarb (soda). Add chocolate chips,<BR>Hershey<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt; Bar,<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie <BR>&gt; &gt;&gt; sheet.<BR>&gt;
 &gt;&gt;&gt; Bake for 10 minutes at (180)&nbsp; 375 degrees.<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt;<BR>&gt; &gt;&gt;&gt; The above quantities makes 112 cookies.<BR>&gt; &gt;<BR>&gt; &gt; PLEASE KEEP THE RECIPE AND SEND IT TO EVERY PERSON YOU KNOW WHO HAS<BR>AN<BR>&gt; &gt; E-MAIL ADDRESS! This is not a joke-it's a true story.<BR><BR><BR>
<DIV>
<P><FONT face="Arial Black, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif">luv from</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial Black">Stimro</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif"><EM>"Mummy, what's a Killing Joke?"</EM></FONT></P>
<P><EM>"A Whoopee cushion packed with Semtex"</EM></P></DIV></DIV><BR clear=all>
<HR>
Add photos to your messages with <A href="http://g.msn.com/8HMBEN/2749??PS=">MSN 8. </A>Get 2 months FREE*. _______________________________________________ Gathering mailing list Gathering@misera.net http://four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/gathering</BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE><p><hr size=1><font face="Arial" size="2"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">BT 
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