What's On Your Mind? Ford, Starbucks, Ikea, Polaroid

Wereported last week that Ford tumbled from fifth to 23rd in J.D. Power and Associates' annual survey that tracks buyer satisfaction with new cars and trucks. Michael, of Brookhaven, N.Y., counts himself as one of those less than satisfied Ford owners after the No. 3 spark plug blew out of his truck on the way to a job.

“I have owned seven Fords, I currently own three, and I will be buying a truck this year,” Michael told ConsumerAffairs.com. “With Ford's attitude about not covering this repair, which is clearly their responsibilty, my purchase of a new truck will not involve Ford.”

This is a longstanding complaint among Ford truck owners, particularly truck's like Michaels, the V-8 Triton.

Tired of waiting

When Starbucks added drive through service at some of its stores, not all consumers saw it as an improvement.

“Upon my first visit to this location on my way to work, I went in to get a cup of coffee and it seemed as if all the attention was on the drive-through,” said Mike, of Revere, Mass. “I was the only person in the store,but I had to wait because the drive-through was busy. I waited so long that I asked for a refund because I had to go to work, then suddenly my coffee was ready! This left a bad taste in my mouth.”

Starbucks has been adding drive-through windows at many of its stores since the mid-1990s after shunning the concept for a long time. Company officials said at the time they made the change because customers – Mike excepted – requested it.

Better inventory control

Don't you hate it when you check with a store to see if a needed item is in stock, only to be told it's out of stock once you arrive? Hilary, of West Orange, N.J., said she needed a particular table from Ikea.

“I called the store and went online three times, and each time I was told it was in stock,” Hilary told ConsumerAffairs.com. “Each time I went to the store it was not available. I won't go back again.”

Hilary said the cost of the gasoline to make three round trips to the store, only to return empty handed, almost cost as much as the item she was looking for.

What are the odds?

It's one thing if you buy a TV set and it malfunctions. You think to yourself, “maybe I just got a bad unit.” But what if it happens twice?

“I bought two Polaroid TVs on the same day and within three days BOTH of them stopped working,” said Jill, of Quincy, Ill. “It was the same exact problem; the screen went blank and no sound. I have read MANY complaints on different web sites that everyone has had the same problem.

There are a lot of complaints about Polaroid TVs at the moment. Earlier this month a federal class action lawsuit claimed Polaroid TVs are a fire hazard and that the company has failed to warn consumers.