Hell Hath no Fury like a Customer Scorned
Before going on holiday, I had to buy a new mobile phone as my one was on its way out. I didn't want to spend too much but wanted to be able to make and take calls, text and if another tree decides to land on my car, I can take a half-decent image to give to the insurance company.
So I went online and looked at the cheap phone shops. I won't name them, but I bought a Sony Ericsson phone which had the best price in comparison and did what I wanted so I ordered it.
Four days passed and after 3 days of annoying the postman, I thought to myself "Where is it?" So that morning I rang them up on their 0870 number. I was told it was about to be released from the warehouse as stock was low. I should get it soon and they'll let me know when.
The following afternoon and I got thinking "Am I going to get this phone by Saturday when I go on holiday?" So I rang again. This time I got told: "We're out of stock and we don't know when we're getting any more". In which case I told them to cancel the order. I was informed that the payment may have gone through, whereas I told them to cancel it. They also said that they'll send me an envelope in case the phone arrives.
On asking to explain this weird occurrence, the very bored operator snorted that I might still get the phone even though I've cancelled the order. When she asked me in a very saccharine voice "Is there anything else I can do for you today?" I replied "Yes. Get some customer service training" and put the phone down.
It turns out that this is just one in a number of stories about this company's shoddy customer service, faulty (if existent stock) and generally rubbish existence. No product/service can please everybody, but it's an absolute nuisance when a company fails to deliver and leaves the customer out of pocket, minus the goods and very annoyed.
The internet is fast and available to many, which in the case of a retaliating customer, can be a problem to any company's online reputation. So where should you look and what can you do about it?
In the earlier days of the web, where domain names were abundant and so was time, the annoyed customer used to take the time and trouble to set up an anti-website. They would normally involve a similar logo and design but would have "sucks" on the end of the company name or a variation of the name.
The only example I can find that still exists is Microsuck.com However, I have a feeling that their days are numbered because of the similarity in logo and design to their corporate nemesis. However they aren't just an anti-site, they also list alternatives to Microsoft products as do MS Boycott.
Most of the anti-sites are no longer there so they have probably been told to pack up or face a very long, messy and expensive legal battle, especially if the company/product is a registered trademark.
So other than the threat of legal battles, another method of preventing this was (and probably still is) to buy any variation of your company name that could be vulnerable. www.yourcompanysucks.com or any variation on your company name for example, www.queasyjet.com The secret here is thinking of them before the disgruntled customer does.
Then you can either keep them and divert them to a separate page stating its your property or set up a permanent redirect to the main site, like EasyJet does for www.queasyjet.com I'm undecided if that's such a good idea, but at least in adopting this method, the names are put to good use.
In this modern age, the internet is now a great source for information and research. Therefore, my first of port of call was to share my experience online, to prevent any other hapless consumer making the same mistake that I did.
Review forums such as Reviewcentre.com have reviews on everything from wedding planners to holidays, and movie reviews to mobile phones. I wish I had read the offending company's web reviews prior to using them in the first place as they were all saying the same thing!
It is easy to sign up as a contributor and within 5 minutes I was writing up my experience. This option is definitely easy for the person that has little time, but wants to hit the company where it hurts.
Another point of attack can be in the local communities in which your product/service is associated. There are many forums, blogs and social networks out there for each community: Plumbing, Nursing, Engineering, you name it. Although on these 3, malicious posts ("eg X Product is f-----g c--p and the c--t MD sucks c--k") are removed quickly and the user banned, but what happens when recommendations are needed?
On the TIP and WPW forums which I moderate for, I have been asked often to recommend reputable companies for software and hosting. I do so, but as any recommendation is based on one's experiences, I also make sure that I disclose who not to go to as well.
So in theory, its better to have an ex-customer that is an angry bad-mouther sounding off, than a professional who shares their experiences in their niche community as they are more likely to be taken seriously.
On that same note, heaven help you if your ex-customer has a blog with a loyal following! HineSight's article on why Microsoft suck is a prime example of this: both the article and the accompanying 15 comments. On another note, social networking site Digg.com has 3 pages worth of results for the key phrase "Microsoft sucks"
Another 5 minute job, although slightly more involved, is setting up an online petition. PetitionOnline and UK based Go Petition are just a couple of the many places you can create an e-petition for.
The company I attacked in a couple of my earlier articles have had a petition set up against them The Victims of Iomart and RapidRank petition which demonstrates the damage caused when scorned customers get together (377 of them at time of publishing). In this example, I urge you to read Comment number 124 made by Mickey who apparently works for the offending company. Whilst he was getting cocky, with the petitioners, he was also signing his name on a petition against his company. A clever fellow? Not particularly.
So what can you do to keep abreast of what's being said online about your company?
To conclude with, no company is perfect. As a whole the human race are known to whinge more than praise and armed with the internet and online communities, this has been made easier for the consumers and more damning for the companies. But with a bit of know-how, you can limit the damage.
If you do have an ongoing problem with a company, then check out HowToComplain.com that provides a free, independent service to get your complaint resolved.
So I went online and looked at the cheap phone shops. I won't name them, but I bought a Sony Ericsson phone which had the best price in comparison and did what I wanted so I ordered it.
Four days passed and after 3 days of annoying the postman, I thought to myself "Where is it?" So that morning I rang them up on their 0870 number. I was told it was about to be released from the warehouse as stock was low. I should get it soon and they'll let me know when.
The following afternoon and I got thinking "Am I going to get this phone by Saturday when I go on holiday?" So I rang again. This time I got told: "We're out of stock and we don't know when we're getting any more". In which case I told them to cancel the order. I was informed that the payment may have gone through, whereas I told them to cancel it. They also said that they'll send me an envelope in case the phone arrives.
On asking to explain this weird occurrence, the very bored operator snorted that I might still get the phone even though I've cancelled the order. When she asked me in a very saccharine voice "Is there anything else I can do for you today?" I replied "Yes. Get some customer service training" and put the phone down.
It turns out that this is just one in a number of stories about this company's shoddy customer service, faulty (if existent stock) and generally rubbish existence. No product/service can please everybody, but it's an absolute nuisance when a company fails to deliver and leaves the customer out of pocket, minus the goods and very annoyed.
The internet is fast and available to many, which in the case of a retaliating customer, can be a problem to any company's online reputation. So where should you look and what can you do about it?
The old anti-website
In the earlier days of the web, where domain names were abundant and so was time, the annoyed customer used to take the time and trouble to set up an anti-website. They would normally involve a similar logo and design but would have "sucks" on the end of the company name or a variation of the name.
The only example I can find that still exists is Microsuck.com However, I have a feeling that their days are numbered because of the similarity in logo and design to their corporate nemesis. However they aren't just an anti-site, they also list alternatives to Microsoft products as do MS Boycott.
Most of the anti-sites are no longer there so they have probably been told to pack up or face a very long, messy and expensive legal battle, especially if the company/product is a registered trademark.
So other than the threat of legal battles, another method of preventing this was (and probably still is) to buy any variation of your company name that could be vulnerable. www.yourcompanysucks.com or any variation on your company name for example, www.queasyjet.com The secret here is thinking of them before the disgruntled customer does.
Then you can either keep them and divert them to a separate page stating its your property or set up a permanent redirect to the main site, like EasyJet does for www.queasyjet.com I'm undecided if that's such a good idea, but at least in adopting this method, the names are put to good use.
Review Forums
In this modern age, the internet is now a great source for information and research. Therefore, my first of port of call was to share my experience online, to prevent any other hapless consumer making the same mistake that I did.
Review forums such as Reviewcentre.com have reviews on everything from wedding planners to holidays, and movie reviews to mobile phones. I wish I had read the offending company's web reviews prior to using them in the first place as they were all saying the same thing!
It is easy to sign up as a contributor and within 5 minutes I was writing up my experience. This option is definitely easy for the person that has little time, but wants to hit the company where it hurts.
Other Forums, Blogs and Social Networks
Another point of attack can be in the local communities in which your product/service is associated. There are many forums, blogs and social networks out there for each community: Plumbing, Nursing, Engineering, you name it. Although on these 3, malicious posts ("eg X Product is f-----g c--p and the c--t MD sucks c--k") are removed quickly and the user banned, but what happens when recommendations are needed?
On the TIP and WPW forums which I moderate for, I have been asked often to recommend reputable companies for software and hosting. I do so, but as any recommendation is based on one's experiences, I also make sure that I disclose who not to go to as well.
So in theory, its better to have an ex-customer that is an angry bad-mouther sounding off, than a professional who shares their experiences in their niche community as they are more likely to be taken seriously.
On that same note, heaven help you if your ex-customer has a blog with a loyal following! HineSight's article on why Microsoft suck is a prime example of this: both the article and the accompanying 15 comments. On another note, social networking site Digg.com has 3 pages worth of results for the key phrase "Microsoft sucks"
Online Petitions
Another 5 minute job, although slightly more involved, is setting up an online petition. PetitionOnline and UK based Go Petition are just a couple of the many places you can create an e-petition for.
The company I attacked in a couple of my earlier articles have had a petition set up against them The Victims of Iomart and RapidRank petition which demonstrates the damage caused when scorned customers get together (377 of them at time of publishing). In this example, I urge you to read Comment number 124 made by Mickey who apparently works for the offending company. Whilst he was getting cocky, with the petitioners, he was also signing his name on a petition against his company. A clever fellow? Not particularly.
So what can you do to keep abreast of what's being said online about your company?
- Google Alerts: Google spiders forums, petition sites, social sites and blogs regularly so why not let Google do the donkey work for you? Sign up for email notifications at Google Alerts for your company name and Google will send you the results and links, each time a page containing your company name is updated or listed. If that’s likely to be a lot you can always opt for daily or weekly alerts.
- Monitor Review sites: If your company/product/service is already set up on review sites then bookmark the site and check it on a regular basis. If the review site has an orange button like
and 
then click it and sign up for feeds, (but none of them did when I looked). - Better customer support: If a customer knows they have no way of resolving their issues then of course, they will naturally sound off elsewhere. At least by having efficient support that's available both online and offline reduces the risk of scorned customers rubbishing your company in cyberspace.
- Encouraging good publicity: You've heard from the dissatisfied customer, what about the satisfied customer? Encourage them to leave good comments about your service. This could be a page on your website dedicated to good testimonials or offer an incentive (eg 10% off next order) if they leave a comment on a review site, or drop your name when it comes to recommendations. In theory the good publicity online can drown out the negative publicity.
To conclude with, no company is perfect. As a whole the human race are known to whinge more than praise and armed with the internet and online communities, this has been made easier for the consumers and more damning for the companies. But with a bit of know-how, you can limit the damage.
If you do have an ongoing problem with a company, then check out HowToComplain.com that provides a free, independent service to get your complaint resolved.
