Numerous Sites Let Outraged Consumers Grouse With a Mouse
Some people complain. On the Internet, some people make complaining a hobby. In the new economy, complaining is becoming a business.
For years, the Internet has been a tool for unsatisfied and disgruntled customers to vent about their arrogant cable company, that lemon that they bought from the car dealer and the Internet service provider that didn’t provide.
Web sites have sprung up as platforms for venting against corporations of all kinds, instead of a site targeting one specific company.
Numerous sites, such as the Complaint Station (https://www.thecomplaintstation.com), Small Business Marketing Systems (https://www.bitchaboutit.com), Complainet.com Inc. (https://www.complainet.com) and BuyerPower.com (https://www.buyerpower.com), give consumers a place to vent their frustrations while the companies earn money through advertising.
So perhaps it was just a matter of time before the concept would be taken a step farther, with businesses trying to make money by actually doing something with the complaints.
Palo Alto-based Ugripe.com (https://www.ugripe.com) capitalizes on the barriers corporations erect that make it difficult for customers to file a grievance and the Internet’s power to break down those barriers. Complain to Ugripe.com, and they will, for free, go to the corporation and try to resolve the situation for you.
“The Internet is great for consumer opinion; it’s a mouthpiece for consumers,” said co-founder Michael Chen. “It’s also an opportunity for forward-thinking companies to really get access to customer feedback and better retain loyal customers.”
Complaining to a corporation is often a hassle. It takes time and effort to find the phone number or address for the aggrieving company. And then try finding the right person to complain to.
But the companies often say they would like to hear those complaints and have a chance to make amends, rather than have their customers suffer in silence or, worse yet, tell their friends.
The firm, which launched its Web site in October, submits a complaint to a company on behalf of the customer. If the customer does not receive what he or she feels is a satisfactory response within 20 business days, Ugripe.com will aggregate that complaint with others against the same company and approach the company as a group.
Ugripe.com may notify that customer of special deals or promotions being offered by competing companies.
Ugripe.com hopes to make its money through advertising, promotions and selling market research about customers’ gripes. It also invites corporations to directly respond to the complaints via the site, although no companies have yet agreed to participate.
The company’s launch comes three months after Complain.com Inc. (https://www.complain.com) debuted its fee-based service that, for $19.95, will write “a professional letter of complaint” along with envelopes addressed to the offending company’s executives, ready for a customer to sign and send.
Most of Complain.com’s customers have already tried directly calling the company, to no avail, said Priscilla Harriman, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based firm’s customer-care executive. A letter bearing Complain.com’s logo, she said, often can have a stronger impact.
“People find it very difficult for themselves to sit down and write a letter. They are often very annoyed and just want to vent,” Harriman said. “But we condense that into a form that we feel would have an effect on the company concerned. We don’t have a poison-pen attitude because that often will not be effective. We have a positive but firm tone.”
While the complaint referral services may be valuable, it is unclear whether they can be successful.
“With the clutter of sites out there on the Web, will people remember this one site for this special purpose? It’s hard to say,” said Blaine Mathieu, an analyst with Dataquest, who likes the concept but feels that the firms will have to team up with other high-traffic Web sites to succeed.
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Plucked From the Gripe Vine A sample of the bad, the worse and even some good comments from Internet complaint sites:
Ugripe.com
I went to the bagel shop in Boston for a snack during work. As I placed my order for a bagel, the cashier sneezed into his hand. He then reached into the bin with the same hand, without washing it, and handed the bagel to me. I was horrified.
--Ashley
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I went to a popular restaurant in Key West. The service was so bad that all of the customers were beginning to talk to each other about it. They were so slow! The waiter would come by, take an order, and then disappear for 20 minutes at a time. When he finally brought out our dinners, both of the entrees were wrong. On top of that, the busboy kept drifting through, and when we or other customers would call him over, he got belligerent. Honestly, he scared me. My dinner date and I came to the conclusion that we had to come up with the cash to cover the bill, because there was no way either of us trusted them with our credit cards!
--Mary Jo
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Complaint Station
When my daughter was born in February of ‘99, I started buying formula from Wal-Mart because it was $2.79 a can. Well they decided to change it to a SuperWal-Mart, and then suddenly the price went up to $4.79 a can. When you have a child, it really hits you hard when you are spending the same on 1 can of formula as you once did for 2. That is wrong!!!!! I will never shop there again. And if anyone reads this and knows how I could contact the president, I sure will.
--Amber
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BuyerPower.com
In September I was on the Internet when I saw an order form for an action figure. The action figure was $7.50 each. I sent in for two of them on September 23rd. The check cleared on October 17th 1997. The action figure was only supposed to take 6-8 weeks to deliver so it was supposed to be on my doorstep around the middle of December. It has been almost 20 weeks since I sent in for it and I have not yet gotten it. I have called Hasbro’s complaint number about 5 times and they have ignored me because I am a kid. What should I do?
--Dan
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My wife and I recently went into the Men’s Warehouse in Valencia to purchase a suit. This was on a Sunday, at approximately 5:00 p.m. Upon picking the suit, I spoke with the manager about tailoring. I needed the suit to be tailored and finished that very night, since I needed to wear it for my son’s funeral the next day. The manager and tailor not only worked hard to get this done for me, but they stayed past the closing time of the store in order to get it right. My wife and I walked out of that store extremely pleased. Men’s Warehouse will get all of my future business and the recommendation to all of my friends.
--Rodney
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Times staff writer Jonathan Gaw can be reached at jonathan.gaw@latimes.com.
