When sorry seems to be the hardest word, a cheque for $10m can help.
That is what McDonald's found this week, as it issued an apology to Hindus, vegetarians and others for failing to tell them that its fries were not strictly vegetarian. As well as making the $10m payment, which will go to Hindu and other groups, McDonald's posted a message on its website. It read, in part: "We sincerely apologise for any hardship that these miscommunications have caused among Hindus, vegetarians and others. We should have done a better job in these areas, and we're committed to doing a better job in the future."
The fast food chain has committed to enhancing its disclosures concerning the source of ingredients in its food products, after admitting to using beef extract in its vegetable oil.
Gap, Nike and... Gucci? Not normally three names you'd put together, but Gucci this week found itself at the centre of a small protest in London against slave labour.
No one is claiming that the elegant threads sold in Gucci's stores, and sported by individual such as Chris Eubank and Victoria Beckham, are stitched by slave labourers.
The issue is over suppliers to Gucci's parent company Pinault Printemps Redoute. A report in The Independent says that the American union Unite is claiming that subcontractors to PPR keep workers in appalling conditions, and pay them as little as 44p a day.
The company has hit back, saying it upholds the standards and the laws of each supplier country and all its factories are audited. "It could not be more wrong to say we run sweatshops." Unite, however, was undeterred. "PPR has got to recognise that public opinion is against it... and until they do so we will continue standing outside Gucci stores," Laura Dubinsky, a Unite representative, said.
Meanwhile over at Gap... the company reported a 9% drop in sales for the month of May, the 26th consecutive month of declining sales at the group, owner of the Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy chains.
Falling into that odd category of brand names that become so successful that the word becomes generic, Walkman has joined the likes of Hoover and Kleenex -- at least as far as the Austrian legal system is concerned.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Sony can no longer use its Walkman as an exclusive trademark in Austria, after the supreme court ruled that the Walkman name was too generic to be owned.
However, with Sony owning a worldwide trademark right on Walkman, it is hard to see what implication the Austrian ruling will have. The Japanese electronics giant has vowed to protect its name in other ways.
Sick of the tiresome effort of pushing a trolley around a supermarket? Sainsbury's is taking convenience shopping to new levels by launching a service that will allow customers who order groceries online to collect their orders by car.
It is launching this service to combat the problem of finding delivery slots, as internet delivery becomes more popular. A shop in Manchester will offer the drive-through service; a personal shopper for 拢5 and an area in which to relax while someone else buys your cornflakes on your behalf. If you can't afford a fiver, for 拢2.50 someone will handle the checkout business for you.
Back home -- you might wait for ages for the British Gas man to come to you, but British Gas waits for no one.
The Daily Mail reports that British Gas is threatening to break into people's houses to read their meters -- even if it is the company itself that has failed to keep an appointment.
It says that some customers have received letter saying they will gain entry by sending a meter reader armed with a warrant and with a police officer. Although, to be fair, those who have received the letters say that British Gas promises to change the locks and leave the keys at the local police station.
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