Whether you want to reposition the way a company does business or just want a position to vent, check out our roundup of business complaint sites.
We’ve all had a bad visitor service at one time or another. Now, with the internet, it’s less difficult than ever to find a forum to talk about those incidents, seek recommendations from experts and other consumers, and most importantly. Calm down.
Each state has a client affairs section or a segment on your attorney general’s page where you can file a lawsuit opposing a local business (and some states have either). There are also several agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, Better Business, and the Aviation Compliance and Consumer Protection Division that solicit customer complaints. And in a few months, there will probably be some other. The currency reform package, which has been approved by the House and Senate, includes a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, whose main goal is to pay attention to and (hopefully) act on customer complaints.
General for grabbing
As a consumer, you have the option to interact directly with the company, though you’re likely to end up with a PR backlash at best and silence at worst. However, I recommend that you start exploring this path, especially when you have a serious challenge to solve with the company, such as fraud or failure to provide the service you purchased.
According to the New York Times, a very effective approach is to write a letter to the CEO or other senior corporate officials with their complaints. You write in a polite tone, but don’t be afraid to involve threats, such as noting that “you sent a copy of the letter to a government agency, such as the Federal Trade Commission. “Or, you can verify talking about this with a representative over the phone. In this case, the Times has two pieces of advice: ask the user what they would do for you to get genuine and genuinely extensive help, and exceed the allotted time, because the representative cannot hang up on you and will feel more obliged to solve your problem. (See GetHuman. com for a directory number to connect you to a genuine representative. )
Here’s our roundup of the most productive sites to stop by if you need to vent and see your complaint have any impact, or if you just need to read other consumers’ wild reviews.
Scam Report
RipoffReport. com is the best position to complain and spot scams across the country, and to do so without suppression. According to the site, legal firms use the data entered into Rip Off Report to help with lawsuits against specific businesses. Not only do you get the satisfaction of complaining and having your court cases read, but it can also help reposition the way businesses operate down the road.
Favorite Complaint: “On Tuesday, December 1, 2009, I placed an order at Reptile Depot for nine baroni tablecloths, 2 pygmy chameleons, a live plant, and a virtual timer, totaling $285. 77. . . The order had I have to go out first and arrive the next day. I make my own schedule so I stayed home all day the second. It happened at least 4-5 times), I asked for my money. They said they won’t refund me because that’s not their policy. .
Weeks passed. I kept emailing and calling. They never called any manager or owner to talk to me. Finally, when I called, they lied to me and told me that “Peter”, guilty of live orders, was having lunch. Every time I called, no matter what time of day, was I having lunch?That was five months ago. . . Reptile Depot scammed me for only about $300. They are fraudulent criminals.
Complaints Commission
ComplaintsBoard. com is a smart forum for expressing yourself about corporations, features stories about recalls and corporations in the news and even provides helpful tips for consumers and businesses. Also, for better or worse, users of this site don’t just complain about corporations. One user posted a tirade against a “low-paying parent” who failed to pay child support. Let’s talk about drama.
Favorite complaint: “Bank of America is a very cheating bank, it’s about cheating you or cheating you in any and every way imaginable. And believe me when I tell you that they are liars. I don’t need to spend all day writing an ebook about how I was tricked, however, I will take the time to post this, so that when other people come to see, they will locate another user who says that the things Bank of America is doing are opposite. Who is going to protect other people from those thugs?They take advantage and scam the elderly and much more. It is disgusting to use the word America in its name.
Furious consumer
PissedConsumer. com offers several incredibly useful features. Like ComplaintsBoard, they provide a smart outlet for evacuation and a long list of recommendations for consumers. The site also provides its own visitor satisfaction index, which lists all the court cases PissedConsumer receives across companies and industries to illustrate the most vilified companies. This index shows that Direct TV receives more court cases than any other company and is further evidence that Bank of America is perhaps the most frustrating bank of all. And members have the option to pay for a reputation check service to reduce the likelihood that they will have to complain about them one day.
Preferred complaint: [About AirTran, the airline] “I talked to a skycap about my daughter who is disabled and left her a tip. I left my daughter with him thinking he would take care of her. He rolled it internally and forgot about it. She missed her plane and was upset, just like me. The airline also didn’t take good care of her on her return flight. own luggage. She said she was yelled at on the plane’s loudspeaker before the lights went out because she tried to make sure she could pull her bag off the roof so she wouldn’t drop it on anyone. lost, killed, or dropped that luggage on someone.
(Secondary: A complains about his ordeal with limousine rental. “None of the 3 TVs are working!”)
Comments about the planet
PlanetFeedback. com is one of the most civil places customers can go to when they feel like complaining. The site refers to all court cases as “letters” and features companies’ responses to many court cases. In this way, the site turns out to be looking to foster a discussion between the client and the company, rather than just a diatribe session. Of course, there’s a little bit of that too.
Favorite complaint: “Saturday, May 1, around 8:15 p. m. His fiancée has a 7 month old baby at home and they were enjoying a rare night out when my husband and I called her to check on the baby. She answered the phone quietly and after seeing that there was no problem, she told us that she was in the movie and was not asked to speak at that time before quickly hanging up. A few minutes later, she called back to tell us that they had been asked to leave because she had answered her phone for the film.
I immediately called to speak with the branch manager. . . He told me that consumers had to turn off their phones completely when entering the cinema. I retaliated because my daughter has a bathroom at home and can’t be expected to. so Mr. XXXXXX then told me that he would have made an exception before the movie if she had asked him. Not knowing how he intended to know how to do this, I asked him where it was shown in the cinema. He said it was posted in 3 other places. It didn’t seem plausible, so after a few more questions, he admitted that there was nothing about managers making exceptions to this ‘zero tolerance’ rule.
MedidoUp. com
Not on good terms with a specific company?Well, MeasuredUp. com necessarily acts as an intermediary between you and the corporations you hate. Large corporations such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Orbitz and Best Buy have registered with MeasuredUp to respond to customer court cases on the site. Think of this as a way to talk to representatives on the phone. (It’s also worth noting that there are thousands of posts on this site that are positive, which doesn’t seem to be the case on the other sites we’ve mentioned. )
Favorite complaint: [About a Carvel in Connecticut] “They’re rude in this store and use the Hershey’s chocolate they can. They put it in Fudgey the Whale cakes, in ice cream and sell it in boxes if you need to buy fudge carvel. They don’t tell you it’s Hershey. . . They pass him off as Fudge Carvel. I saw Hershey’s container, questioned them, and they denied it. It tastes the same as Hershey’s, but if I were to look for Hershey’s, I’d buy Hershey’s!”
Unless this message was written through an annoying child (which is indeed a possibility), anything tells me that they probably just got rid of the ice cream together.
Exam sites
In addition to the above, there are many review sites that you can use as a promotion point to complain about companies. Genuine real estate. And Amazon is a smart forum in general, as many businesses are susceptible to ratings from their customers on the site.
How corporations respond to visitor complaints
While the web can be a boon for frustrated consumers, it can end up being a serious liability for businesses. But there is a way for business owners to take advantage of this. If you stay connected to the forums we’ve discussed here, in the end, you have direct access to your visitor base and can work to replace their opinions. Inc Magazine recommends that companies be careful not to take court cases personally and try to respond to court cases seriously and treat the visitor “as an individual. “
Similarly, the Wall Street Journal notes that consumers care less about their original visitor service experience than the company’s attempts to catch up. Consumers are fragile creatures. More than anything else, we just need our court cases to be taken seriously and dealt with calmly and of course we possibly offer a small refund from time to time.
MainStreet. com also aims to give customers a position to express their opinions. Check out our latest customer outrage features in the cable and cellular industries and feel free to contact us if a company has done you a disservice.
—For a complete credit report, the Credit Center BankingMyWay. com.