Consumers use Web to complain
By LISA HOFFMAN
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE -- 06/14/2001
Tomeka Calmee was outraged at a Memphis dry cleaner that ruined her grandmother's silk suit, then wouldn't take responsibility for the damage.
Kathy Noben was steamed that her fitness club in Costa Mesa, Calif., wouldn't provide large size "aqua dumbells" for use in the pool.
And in Australia, Adrian Alcock was at his wit's end after trying for four months to get a key part for his ,000 laptop Toshiba computer, only to be repeatedly told the shipping problem would be "resolved in two weeks."
"Heck, I wish I bought a couple of dishwashers for all the use that laptop has been," Alcock wrote in a message of complaint.
What these annoyed consumers have in common — aside from aggravation — is that they took their complaints online for all the world to see. They, and tens of thousands of other peeved patrons, have flocked to an array of complaint venues that have sprung up in recent months on the Internet. Virtually all of them are free to users.
Some of the sites will forward complaints to the allegedly errant companies, while others serve mostly as a global soapbox from which you can get your gripe off your chest.
At Planetfeedback.com, one of the most extensive gripe sites, report cards for industries and individual companies calculate the number and type of complaints received from site users and compare them to the ratings of competitors.
None of the sites promise results, and consumer advocates say aggreived customers should still complain directly to company officials rather than expecting an Internet posting to do the trick alone.
Most sites provide e-mail and postal addresses, as well as telephone numbers, relieving consumers from having to hunt up such information.
Some of the sites intend to try to sell the feedback they get about firms to the companies themselves, industry associations and other interested parties. Consumer advocates say users should check a site's privacy policy to determine what, if any, information about them could be revealed.
And several sites have discovered an unexpected desire on the part of many consumers for a venue to give firms or their employees a hearty pat on the back. uGetHeard.com, for instance, now offers a choice of filing a complaint or "sending applause."
"Look up uGetHeard's file on American Airlines and you will find both. Jack Erdos, for example, took the airline to task for a series of delays in flying from New York to Fort Lauderdale. But there also was the testimonial from Annette Thompson who gave American kudos for graciously allowing a church group to bring extra luggage to deliver to a Haitian orphanage.
Here are some of the Internet sites:
Planetfeedback.com — helps consumers write complaints, delivers them automatically via e-mail, fax, or regular post. Rates companies and their responses to problems. Promises to follow up on complaints.
uGetHeard.com — lists 5,000 companies, automatically sends complaints, promises follow-up. Site claims a 90 percent resolution rate.
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Mythreecents.com — helps consumers write letters and distributes them. Offers forum for adding your opinion and experiences to others' "reviews" of companies.
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Bitchaboutit.com — concentrates on complaints, including about government services and public servants. Largely a site to vent frustration.
Complaints.com — another venting venue. Has searchable database and page after page of complaints in dozens of categories. Won't send your complaint to a company unless you request it and provide the firm's e-mail address.
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