For anyone who has a customer service bee in their bonnet there are the Money Mail/This is Money Wooden Spoon awards. You can cast your vote for the company you believe provides the worst customer service in Britain.But what happens if your problem isn’t resolved?
Well there seems to be a growing army of disgruntled customers assembling online. Consumers fed up with how companies treat them are taking their grievances to the world wide web.
So how are people doing this? They’re voicing their concerns on Twitter, writing blogs, even filming videos and posting them on YouTube.
For example, frustrated web developer Ad Taylor created his own website to publicise that he and his girlfriend, Zoe Baker, have been waiting for two months for 02 to connect their broadband and phone.
Ad and Zoe have taken their plight online and I've also forwarded their complaint to the O2 press office. It's such a shame that it often takes these extreme measures just to see some action. But O2 isn't the only company who are racking up complaints - most people have some kind of customer service problem.
Other websites, such as www.firstcrapitalconnect.co.uk and www.btcomplaint.com have sprung up on the internet to give other angry consumers the chance to complain or highlight companies they’ve had a poor customer service experience with.
However the notion of consumers using the internet to voice bugbears and get immediate action is not new.
In 2007, Patrick Askins got a personal response and apology from BT's chairman Sir Christopher Bland after he uploaded a YouTube video which explained his own 'customer service hell'.
Back in November last year, I wrote about how consumers use Twitter to solve complaints. One in three people affected by bad service are now turning to the internet to share their problems 'virally', according to research by consulting firm, Convergys.
We’ve also had an influx of readers using the This is Money message boards to chat about their problems and every time a company is mentioned in the subject line of the post it is immediately searchable on Google. That gives our forum great power if you want to stick it to the company annoying you.
This does not sit well with companies who are savvy enough to know protecting your online reputation is key to a successful online presence.
Louise Doherty, head of digital at online communications agency Rabbit, highlighted this as a growing trend. She said: 'A brand's online reputation is just as important as traditional press as consumers use online tools and forums to inform their purchases. Arguably, an angry blog post or website is actually worse for business than a bad print article as it can easily be shared, can affect a company's reputation in search engines and is permanent.'
Useful if you are not being listened to by a company
