How Consumer Reports Has Kept Trust of Readers, CEOs
*By Tracey Cheek*
At a moment when public trust in media is at a low ebb and cries of "fake news" are rampant, Consumer Reports has managed to retain the trust of its 6 million consumer members ー and the ear of top CEOs.
Tech companies like including Tesla ($TSLA) and Facebook ($FB) have all made changes to their products or marketing thanks to investigations published by Consumer Reports.
The non-profit organization identified a security bug on Facebook's platform over the summer. They also worked with Tesla to correct a braking issue in the company's Model 3.
"We've been at this for 80 plus years, 60 plus labs; we test and rate over 8,000 products a year," Consumer Reports President and CEO Marta Tellado told Cheddar Thursday. "I think we've earned the trust of both manufacturers and consumers because of the rigor and evidence-based research that we use."
With the proliferation of product reviews online ー not all of which can be trusted ー Tellado said Consumer Reports is more important than ever.
"When they're in the marketplace making decisions, there's an imbalance of power. They don't have all the cards," she said, as well as online reviews that may not be trustworthy.
Throughout its long history, Consumer Reports has played a major role in shaping transportation safety, from seat belts to backup cameras.
As for the future of mobility, Consumer Reports will continue to monitor what's safe and what's not.
"We're seeing a lot of marketing that says 'self-driving' and that sends a message to the consumer that you don't have to pay a whole lot of attention ー you can take your hands off the wheel," Tellado said. "It's not self-driving yet. So we've come back around to some automakers and said that advertising is not safe, and they've responded to that."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/consumer-reports-in-the-digital-age).
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A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
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It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
