Online Rants: Customers and Employees

The Internet has become the repository for millions of people's feelings, and for whatever reason, ranting about poor customer service is one that gets a lot of traffic.

Here are some sites that you can use to complain about companies if you feel like they've done you wrong:

Rip Off Report is a site where a disgruntled customer can let off some steam about a poor customer service experience, and the company can offer to write a rebuttal to provide another side to the story. Almost a quarter of a million reports have been "filed" on the site. Deadbeat dads are fair game, and get a LOT of traffic. This site mostly focuses on people who were ripped off by unscrupulous companies and businesspeople.

Some examples:

• Texan tanning salon mogul ripped off hundreds
• Ryder rents out dangerous moving trucks (includes rebuttals and supportive posts)

Planet Feedback is focused more on good and poor customer service experiences, and it allows you to both email the company your feedback and/or allow other visitors to the site to read it and comment on it. There are a lot of "rude employees" complaints and cellphone carrier bashing.

Here are a few examples:

• Rude & Dirty at Chuck E. Cheese
• I'll Never Shop at Borders Again!

The employees get their revenge at this blog, which is really, really funny sometimes. This blog has entries from a bunch of minimum wage-earning people who have to deal with difficult, rude or stupid customers. Having worked at Taco Bell for a couple of years in high school, I can completely sympathize.

Here's an example:

Me: "Welcome to McDonald's how can I help you?"

Customer: "Yeah, I'd like 5 Big Macs"

Me: *they are about $4 each after tax* "That'll be *about $20*"

Customer: "No. That's wrong. They're supposed to be $1 each."

Me: "Ma'am that sale ended yesterday, I'm sorry. Would you just like one?"

Customer: "NO, I WANT FIVE!"

Me: *gives total again*

Customer: "I want five, and I want to pay $5! That's FINAL!"

Me: "I'm sorry, but we ended that sale yesterday."

Customer: "Then why do you still have a sign out here?"

Me: "I took all those signs down personally, ma'am. There is no sign for a $1 Big Mac."

Customer: "I'm sitting here looking at it! It's right next to the bacon egg and cheese biscuit!"

Me: *confused* "I'm sorry, but I think you're reading the sausage biscuits are 2 for $2. The Big Macs went off sale yesterday."

Customer: "Well, it's only been one day. Can't you give them to me for $1 anyway?"

Me: "I can't override the prices in my register. They've already been changed back."

Customer: "FINE THEN! I'm going to Burger King! THEY MAKE BETTER BIG MACS ANYWAY!!!!!!" *burns rubber and flips me off*

Full rant and more here.