uMattress Firm Getting Into Bed With Rival Sleepy’s In Deal Worth $780Mr

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• 
  Instead of going to the mattresses* like they used to, two big rivals are hopping into bed together: Mattress Firm Holdings has agreed to buy Sleepy’s in a $780 million deal.

  The merger will unite the two biggest names in the U.S. specialty mattress business, reports Bloomberg, with Mattress Firm taking on #30 million in liabilities as part of the deal.

  The companies said the merged business would have a 21.2% share of the specialty mattress market, according to industry data released in 2014: the addition of Sleepy’s will give the new company a total of almost 3,500 retail stores and 80 distribution centers in 48 states, with only Wyoming and Alaska missing out on brands like Mattress Discounters, mattress.com and 1800mattress.com.

  Mattress Firm could use a little pick-me-up (and put-me-to-bed?) after seeing demand dip, and discounts took a bite out of its sales results. Investors won’t be going to bed angry, either: shares of Mattress Firm went up by 7.7% upon the news this morning that the companies are getting together.

  *See: Godfather

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uAmerican Airlines Mistakenly Sends Corgi On 3,000-Mile Trip To Hawaii Instead Of Mississippir

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• There aren’t many things that Mississippi and Hawaii have in common, so it might be hard to fathom how an airline would mistakenly send a dog to one place instead of the other. But that’s exactly what happened over the weekend, when Bethany the Corgi took an unplanned trip to the island state. 

  CBS DFW reports that a mix-up with American Airlines at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport sent the small pooch nearly 3,000 miles out of the way to Hawaii instead of her intended destination of Jackson, MS.

  Bethany’s owner posted a flyer on Facebook over the weekend asking for help finding his beloved pet after she failed to arrive in Mississippi on the same flight as him.

  A spokesperson for American tells CBS DFW that the airline sent a system-wide alert about the missing dog and tracked her down Sunday morning… in Hawaii.

  The dog, who is being cared for by a vet in Hawaii, is doing fine, the spokesperson said. The airline planned to fly Bethany back to Dallas Monday evening and then on to Jackson Tuesday.

  The animal’s owner told CBS DFW in an email that he was thankful to American’s customer service managers who worked tirelessly to find his beloved pet.

  While things ended on a happy note for Bethany and her owner, that isn’t always the case. According to CBS DFW, airlines have lost 52 pets during the past 10 years.

  Mix-Up Sends North Texas Pet To Hawaii, Instead of Mississippi [CBS DFW]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uThis Giving Tuesday, Help Keep Consumerist Independent (And Get Free Stuff For Donating)r

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• When you came to Consumerist today, did you have to wait for 14 different banner ads to load, or hurriedly click around to mute an auto-play video? Likewise, you didn’t have to scroll past any “sponsored stories” bought and paid for by the companies we’re supposed to hold accountable. That’s because Consumerist does not accept advertising in any form. You can help keep it that way — and score some free stuff — with a tax-deductible donation this Giving Tuesday.

  2015 was an amazing year for us. Thanks to the support of our readers, we are producing more of our important, original content than ever before. Our independent, non-partisan journalism was cited in testimony before Congress and by lawmakers. Our twice-weekly newsletter is growing. We shattered our all-time monthly traffic record. The Consumer Federation of California named our team “Journalist of the Year.”

  If you want to help, simply click here for more information about how you can make a tax-deductible donation to Consumerist.

  Those who donate $50 or more will receive a one-year subscription to Consumer Reports magazine, the Annual Buying Guide, and access to the iPad edition. If you’re already a Consumer Reports magazine subscriber, your subscription will be extended by one year.

  The full amount of your donation will be used to support Consumerist.

  Every little bit helps our small team do more to give consumers an independent voice.

  Thank you again for being such loyal and supportive friends. We’re counting on you, because we’re not counting on advertising.

  

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uVirgin America Passenger Says He Was Blocked From Flight Because Crew Didn’t “Feel Comfortable”r

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• 
  We’ve all heard stories of airline passengers being removed from planes because of apparently minor disputes with the flight crew, but a Dallas man says he wasn’t even allowed to board his Virgin America flight because he made the crew uncomfortable.

  The man, a lawyer who is also the vice-chair of the Dallas Plan Commission, was trying to board his Virgin flight home to Dallas at NYC’s LaGuardia airport when he was stopped by a gate agent and told he could not travel on this flight.

  The gate agent told him that the crew did not “feel comfortable” having him on the plane and that it was the captain’s decision. After speaking to the crew, the gate agent further explained that the boarding refusal occurred because the man had apparently rubbed a flight attendant the wrong way, metaphorically speaking, earlier in the day.

  “She said I cut in front of a flight attendant on my way inside the airport and that they didn’t feel comfortable with me on the flight,” he tells the Dallas Morning News. “I said if that was the case then I would apologize. She went back on the phone and said I wasn’t allowed on the flight.”

  The man, who is Irani-American, says that he hopes his ethnicity was not the cause of the rude treatment. He ultimately flew home on American Airlines.

  The airline is refusing to explain why it blocked the traveler from boarding, and will only say that it was a “misunderstanding” and that it is sorry.

  Virgin America offered him passes for two free flights on the airline and to reimburse him for the ticket he had to purchase on American.

  Rather than keep the tickets, the man arranged to donate the two free tickets to the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas.

  He tells the Morning News that all he wanted was an apology, which he received. As for the tickets, he explained, “I don’t like the idea of throwing freebies at the problem.”

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uMcDonald’s Offering Table Service, New Menu At California Restaurantsr

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• 

  Walk in to just about any McDonald’s in the country and you’ll be faced with the same process: wait in line to order your meal, recite your desired order to the person manning the register, wait a bit longer at the counter for your food to be prepared, and amble around the restaurant to find seating. While this tried-and-true method has worked for decades, the Golden Arches is apparently ready to change things up and show its fancier side by testing table service at hundreds of locations in California. 

  The Los Angeles Business Journal reports that 600 restaurants in Southern California will serve as testing grounds for the table service experiment, which comes with yet another new menu.

  If you’re expecting McDonald’s table service option to rival that of any full-service restaurant, you’d better think again.

  Under the tests, customers will still order at the counter, the only change is their meal will be brought to their table by an employee.

  In addition to changing its ordering/delivering procedure, the 600 SoCal McDonald’s locations will also test the newly expanded Taste Crafted Burgers and Chicken menu.

  The fast food giant previously tested a similar version via kiosks at 2,000 restaurants around the country. That program was first called “Create Your Taste” and then renamed to “Chef Crafted.”

  The expanded offering, just the latest in the fast food company’s many meal and menu revamps this year, allows customers to customize their beef or chicken sandwich.

  Options on the menu include a beef patty, and grilled or buttermilk chicken paired with either a sesame seed, potato, or artisan roll. The sandwiches can then be finished with “bundled toppings” like “Buffalo Bacon” – which includes blue cheese spread, spicy buffalo sauce, applewood smoked bacon, tomato and shredded lettuce.

  Clay Paschen III, President of McDonald’s Operators’ Association of Southern California tells the L.A. Business Journal that the menu was created in an effort to respond to customer demand, but that it’s too early to tell whether the menu would make its way to McDonald’s stores nationwide.

  McDonald’s Latest Offer: New Burgers, Table Service [The Los Angeles Business Journal]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uTime Warner Cable Says It’s Resolved Outages That Kept Midwestern Customers From Shopping On Cyber Mondayr

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• 
  The time has come — you’re off work, your computer is all fired up and ready to deliver those Cyber Monday online shopping deals… or at least, you thought it was, but it won’t connect to the internet. No deals for you. That’s the experience many Time Warner Cable customers had last night, with many in the Midwest reporting widespread outages.

  TWC says it’s resolved the disruptions that kept internet customers in Wisconsin, Ohio and Kentucky from taking advantage of Cyber Monday sales last night.

  DownDetector.com noted outages affecting Green Bay, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville and Lexington (h/t USA Today). Customers on social media made the issue known:

  Midwest "shafted" on Cyber Monday. Thanks #TWC you're lucky my internet is down or I'd leave a negative review. http://pic.twitter.com/b2ipUJNGUj

  — Colin Dewey (@jstdeweyit77) December 1, 2015

  Time Warner Cable is the best. Cyber Monday? Internet goes down all over Ohio. You guys are clutch.

  — Michael Kent (@michaelkent) December 1, 2015

  Was going to pay my Time Warner bill, but I can't get on the Internet… #timewarneroutage #timewarnercable

  — Brittany Neeley (@ishouldnthave) December 1, 2015

  #TWC update, the cable company told me they would send a guy out and I need to be home between the hours of 1:00 PM and 2017.

  — Tones (@ShinSooTones) December 1, 2015

  TWC acknowledged the outages earlier in the evening, telling customers on Twitter that the company was working on the problem.

  We are working to resolve the internet issues in the Midwest as quickly as we can. Thank you for your patience. ^TK

  — TWC Help (@TWC_Help) December 1, 2015

  By later in the evening, a spokesperson said the issues had been resolved.

  “[S]ome customers in Ohio, Wisconsin and Kentucky experienced intermittent Internet connection issues,” said a company spokesperson (via CNNMoney [warning: link has video that autoplays]). She added that the issue was resolved later on Monday night.

  Time Warner customers weren’t the only ones having trouble on Cyber Monday: Target.com crashed yesterday morning, with shoppers reporting that they had trouble getting onto the site to shop throughout the day. A spokesperson for the company apologized for the inconvenience on Monday, “we appreciate their patience, and encourage them to try again in a few minutes by refreshing their browser.”

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uRegulators Reportedly Poised To Block Staples, Office Depot Mega-Mergerr

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• 

  Providing office supplies for commercial businesses could be the final nail in the coffin of the would-be formation of the $6.3 billion StaplesMaxDepot Voltron, with regulators reportedly poised to block the mega-merger next week. 

  The New York Post, citing sources familiar with the matter, reports that regulators continue to have concerns that a union between the office supply chains would result in a single nationwide company serving corporate and government clients.

  Staples and Office Depot are the largest and second-largest commercial office suppliers respectively, and are truly national distributors, unlike third-place finisher and perennial New York Yankees advertiser W.B. Mason.

  The New York Post reports that, as it stands, the FTC’s four-person panel is split on its decision, with two members opposing the deal solely because of the combined company’s corporate supply business.

  The Federal Trade Commission officially has until Dec. 8 to make their decision, but even that deadline is fluid. If they choose, the agency can extend its review in order to obtain more concessions from Staples.

  To ease the concerns of regulators, Staples previously offered to sell its commercial supply business to competitor Essendant. That company, which used to be called United Stationers, is still a minor corporate supplier when compared to the betrothed retailers.

  Additionally, both chains have closed stores in areas where their business overlaps. Office Depot plans to close 400 stores by the end of next year whether the merger goes through or not.

  Regulators ready to block Staples-Office Depot merger [New York Post]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist