More urban legends and hoaxes: Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe, Bill Gates Message, and Bill Gates and Disney
Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe
My daughter & I had just finished a salad at Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas & decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus Cookie".
It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe and the waitress said with a small frown, "I'm afraid not". "Well", I said, "would you let me buy the recipe?" With a cute smile, she said, "Yes."
I asked how much, and she responded, "Only two fifty, it's a great deal!"
I said, with approval, "just add it to my tab." Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement from Neiman-Marcus and it was $285.00. I looked again and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe $250.00." That's outrageous!
I called Neiman's Accounting Dept. and told them the waitress said it was "two-fifty," which clearly does not mean "two hundred and fifty dollars" by any POSSIBLE interpretation of the phrase.
Neiman-Marcus refused to budge. They would not refund my money, because according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe - we absolutely will not refund your money at this point."
I explained to her the criminal statutes that govern fraud in Texas, I threatened to refer them to the Better Business Bureau and the State's Attorney General for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, "Do what you want, we don't give a crap, and we're not refunding your money."
I waited, thinking of how I could get even, or even try and get any of my money back. I just said, "Okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm going to make sure that every cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250.00 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus... for free. She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do this." I said, "Well, you should have thought of that before you ripped me off", and slammed down the phone on her.
So, here it is!!! Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of. I paid $250 dollars for this... I don't want Neiman-Marcus to ever get another penny off of this recipe...<snip> [Back]
Bill Gates Message
Hello Everyone, And thank you for signing up for my Beta Email Tracking Application or (BETA) for short. My name is Bill Gates. Here at Microsoft we have just compiled an e-mail tracing program that tracks everyone to whom this message is forwarded to. It does this through an unique IP (Internet Protocol) address log book database. We are experimenting with this and need your help. Forward this to everyone you know and if it reaches 1000 people, everyone on the list will receive $1000 and a copy of Windows98 at my expense.
Enjoy.
Note: Duplicate entries will not be counted. You will be notified by email with further instructions once this email has reached 1000 people. Windows98 will not be shipped until it has been released to the general public.
Your friend, Bill Gates & The Microsoft Development Team
Bill Gates and Disney Version:
Everyone is to resend to 15 individuals. Please read and forward to as many friends as possible... we've checked up on this and this is no joke of a chain letter or something if this reaches 13,000 people... duplicate entries don't count, though... So, please help & pass on... thank you, and here you go!!!
WALT DISNEY JR.GREETING
Hello Disney fans,
And thank you for signing up for Bill Gates' Beta Email Tracking My name is Walt Disney Jr.
Here at Disney we are working with Microsoft which has just compiled an e-mail tracing program that tracks everyone to whom this message is forwarded to. It does this through an unique IP (Internet Protocol) address log book database.
We are experimenting with this and need your help.
Forward this to everyone you know and if it reaches 13,000 people, 1,300 of the people on the list will receive $5,000, and the rest will receive a free trip for two to Disney World for one week during the summer of 1999 at our expense. Enjoy.
Note: Duplicate entries will not be counted. You will be notified by email with further instructions once this email has reached 13,000 people.
Your friends, Walt Disney Jr., Disney, Bill Gates, & The Microsoft Development Team.