Since we're on the topic . . .

Since we’re on the topic of cooking, and since my blog is a place where I can freely rant and rave, I would like to say for the record that Cook’s Illustrated Magazine is a low-down, rotten, no-good company with deceptive and misleading advertising strategies and vile marketing tactics. Several months ago, because a friend recommended it, I signed up, online, for a “risk-free,” no-cost trial issue. Two weeks later I got a bill for a year’s subscription, which I promptly threw away. Yesterday I got a “collection notice” from the “National Credit Audit Corporation” that my subscription payment is past due. When I read this, I was not a happy camper, and called the credit corporation to tell them as much. Fortunately, despite the fact that the experience has left a sour taste in my mouth, everything has been straightened out.

It’s a competitive, dog-eat-dog world and I know that companies out there are just trying to make a buck, but, nonetheless, I hate it when companies do these sorts of things. If they say something is “free” and there’s “no risk” in getting a sample, then the last thing I should expect (as an innocent consumer) is to receive a “collection notice” from a credit audit corporation that I owe money. If I were of a more frail mind, or didn’t want to hassle on the phone, I might have been tempted to just pay up to avoid potential credit problems – and that’s exactly what Cook’s Illustrated would have wanted me to do!

Although I’m sure that many cooks, and aspiring cooks, have benefited from Cook’s Illustrated Magazine’s techniques, recipes, and tips, in my estimation, none of these benefits could possibly recompense me for the hassle, maltreatment, and exploitation I feel I have suffered. So, in conclusion, I think that, for now anyway, I’ll stick with my wonderful (and purely free) internet resources.