Shoppers share tales of poor service, products

You're a customer service representative.

An unhappy customer calls to demand redress for some product or service shortcoming. Others call with similar complaints.

It's a troublesome bit of business that would take a lot of time or corporate money to correct.

So, you neglect to return phone calls, ``pass the complaint on'' to the waste basket, or simply decline to make things right.

It's cheap, easy and what's the worst that could happen?

The answer to that question is changing in the days of computer communication.

Consumer tales of corporate bungling, often brushed under the corporate carpet in the word-of-mouth days, are now being broadcast to the world over the Internet.

There are the Official Internet AntiNike Web site, I Hate McDonald's Page, ToysRUs Sucks, GTE Sucks, and Why America Online Sucks.

There are hundreds of such sites where militant consumers are developing corporate-bashing techniques with new potency.

Chuck Cavanaugh developed the Packard Bell is Evil site, one of at least 20 on the Net criticizing the California computer manufacturer for faulty products and unhelpful customer service representatives.

``I would call and sit on hold for three hours,'' recalls the 42-year-old Idaho resident. ``It enraged me. They couldn't help me with my problems and when I asked them to replace the computer they just said, `No.' One of them was so patronizing in his tone, I decided to create the page.''

Another company on the Internet's most-besieged list is Bally Total Fitness.

The international fitness chain is being framed in less than flattering terms by a California photographer who has designed a cheeky Web site called BallySucks (www.compupix.com/ballysucks ).

Drew Faber launched the site after paying $160 (U.S.) to upgrade his membership last year.

He says Bally took his money, but didn't give him the upgrade he asked for.

So, the Net-savvy activist designed a Web site that now features a long, scrolling litany of complaints contributed by hundreds of fuming Bally customers from Toronto to Texas.

``I had no idea so many people hated Bally Fitness when I started this,'' Faber says.

The growing din of teeth-grinding consumers online has raised an increasingly important question in corporate board rooms: How do we respond to online criticism?

Answers differ.

Last month, a message spread on the Internet about a young Toronto woman being raped by a Beck Taxi driver on her way home from work. The rumour was false, but Beck's corporate name was nevertheless soiled.

The rumour was anonymous, however, leaving few options for recourse.

Some companies have attempted pre-emptive strikes against Net criticism.

Chase Manhattan registered Internet domain names such as IHateChase.com, ChaseStinks.com and ChaseSucks.com to avert an online attack from testy clients.

Hamilton-based Philip Services Corp. made an unprecedented legal move last month after becoming the target of fierce online criticism - it got a court order requiring several Internet access providers to identify people who assailed the company over computer lines.

But that's a dodgy step on the free-speech friendly Internet.

An overly aggressive legal response could be a public relations risk, said Sheri Benninghoven, a spokesperson for Packard Bell NEC, which simply monitors its online critics in the hope of making amends.

Bally's response to its Web detractors? Well, the company is suing Faber for trademark infringement since his site includes a large Bally logo with the word ``SUCKS'' emblazoned across it.

But company officials also mine the site for disgruntled clients and extend olive branches to them in hopes of winning back their favour.

All of this is old-fashioned damage control.

And in the days of high-speed transmission, when angry customers can compare notes across continents and lobby over a global medium, the only effective corporate solution is preventive - far-sighted customer service.