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beth_parker's Blog

by beth_parker from washington, dc

Last Post 10 minutes Ago


Four times a year the University of Michigan releases the American Customer Satisfaction Index. They rank industries and specific businesses for how good a job they do pleasing their customers.  The latest rankings are out today. The airline and cable industries get the worst rankings from customers. What's your consumer gripe?
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Member Comments Total Comments: 16
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Y3Y3 read my blog view my photos
May 20, 2008 | 5:37 PM

1. Administrative types surrounding politicians
2. Banking personnel (Slow, non-caring, lazy)
3. Retail sales/floor help - have they ever SHOPPED at the store they work at? Do they know where anything is? Are they able to answer technical questions, and can you understand them?
4. Parents who are afraid to discipline their kids in front of others for fear of a busy body sticking their nose in to another families' business.
5. All Oil Companies - Obviou$ rea$on

Starrman1 read my blog view my photos
May 20, 2008 | 7:17 PM

Y3Y3, you left out,
DMV/MVA employees.
And 100 percent agreement with your whole list, ESPECIALLY number 4

jadeddude read my blog
May 20, 2008 | 7:51 PM

Home owner associations that think their God and the rules don't apply to them cause their on the board! People who illegally convert their home into multiple apts. for money,and pretend they didn't know it was against the law.They have a name for them SLUM LORDs!Loudoun Co. for raising my property taxes 18% and my house depreciated 20%. Who the Fuc_ is running things up there!!!

BigSmooov read my blog
May 21, 2008 | 10:17 AM

Jadeddude...property value decrease but property taxes increase? Wow!

I'm not suprised about the cable company and the airline company!

That's why I don't blame that old lady for brining a hammer to the cable office! I don't think anyone blamed her. They are awful.

Gizmo76 read my blog view my photos
May 21, 2008 | 10:38 AM

The owners of parking meters!

my2cent read my blog
May 21, 2008 | 2:03 PM

I would have to say my consumer complaint is against the fast food industry. The service can be lousy and many of the workers have this attitude that my presence coming into that establishment is a major inconvenience.

litehouse08
May 21, 2008 | 2:12 PM

-Cable Companies (rates and cust. serv. stinks)
-Parents who are afraid to disciplin.
-Oil companies. (Lying, money grubbing thieves
-You Tube industry. (for letting these teens put these fight videos on line. No just teens (anyone)They need to be held accountable when things go wrong.

AveMaria22 read my blog
May 22, 2008 | 9:07 PM

Today I was at Sam's and purchased a tomato plant and a pepper plant...both already loaded with tomatoes and peppers. I searched the plant and pot of the pepper plant, but no bar code. I thought the huge grouping of both "would most likely" have the same price, so I took both inside to pay. A woman turned the pepper pot and said, "There's no bar code." Interested in how she might handle this, I said, "I know." She tried to stare me down. I stared back. She repeated, "There's no price on this." I repeated, "I know." We studied each other. I broke first, by saying, "Maybe you'd better call the manager to ask the price." She stared at me. She repeated, "There is no price on this plant. You should go get another with a price on it." I said, "Nope, can't do. There isn't another like it...the others are jalapeno plants and I don't want a jalapeno plant." She stared at me. I pointed at my pepper plant, and said, "I want THIS pepper plant." Finally, she said, "Well, GUESS at the price." My son who had been silent said, "Well, the jalapenos are $15.88 for the large ones." The woman rung up $15.88. The sales clerk hated me. I didn't care...I ALWAYS walk away from an unmarked item...but now THIS time.

AveMaria22 read my blog
May 22, 2008 | 9:09 PM

uh oh...error...last line...should be "...but NOT THIS time."

AveMaria22 read my blog
May 22, 2008 | 9:46 PM

The thing that irritates me most are crying and noisy kids in a restaurant...the little boogers ALWAYS find me..the entire family is ALWAYS seated at a table beside me, and, little Johnny or Mary proceeds to scream while mommie and daddy seem to be deaf to the screaming. In the meantime, I have ordered a meal which I am swallowing in gulps and am filled with abject misery. I arrive home with indigestion and wish I had had the courage to tell the idiot parents that they are inconsiderate twits for bringing their rotten kid(s) to a restaurant and allowing them to ruin everyone's meal. When my son was small I established rules of behavior...it was simple. If you misbehave, you will be removed from the restaurant, store or shop...and you will never set foot in one until you are old enough to drive yourself there. I was lucky...When my son was 4 I caught him staring at a screamer in the grocery store. He turned, walked up to me and asked what was wrong with "that kid." I said, "Well he is having a tantrum. What do you think I would do if you behaved like that?" He said, "Oh..I'd be dead!" I turned so that he could not see my smile. It was humorous that he considered a screaming tantrum in a store grounds for such big time trouble. He was always a little gentleman. Only once in a restaurant, at age 2, did he leave his chair to lean his back over the seat of the chair, speaking to himself, said, "Help, I can git up...Then..git...up!" I think he had been studying the commercial on TV. He understood my "look" whereupon he climbed back into his chair and became the perfect gent

foxfan333 read my blog
May 25, 2008 | 8:30 PM

1. People at stores/ businesses that do not know how to speak OR understand English. Seriously.

2. MVA , and the driving test people. My son and his friends swear that people have to be mean in order to administer a driving test!

3. Overpowering smells at the high end gentleman clothes shops in the mall-do you think that I really want to go into a store that I can smell 10 stores away?

4. Screaming children who are NOT taken out of a performance/ grocery store etc. I admit I took my youngest out of a grocery store, left the cart with food behind and told someone before I left. I was able to remain calm, and felt empowered being in control of my child. I had learned it was an earache without a fever. Go figure.

5. Mispalced sale tags.

AveMaria22 read my blog
May 26, 2008 | 8:52 PM

An incident came to mind as I read foxfan333. Back about 8 years ago I sat in a McDonald's drive thru line behind a car with two elderly men. The driver placed his order...loud and clear in english. A woman's voice thick with an Indian accent at the other end of the speaker system cut him off and began to repeat an order he had NOT placed. The elderly man said, "No...no.." and repeated his order. The woman, again, cut him off in mid order, repeating an incorrect order. Beginning to tire of the repetition, the elderly man raised his voice and said, "No. Please do not say anything until I finish with my order." He proceeded to place his order and was, again, cut off. Finally, the elderly man said, "Shut the F*%k up and let me place my order, PLEASE!" Whereupon the woman said, "You will not be served..get out of line right now." I thought the elderly man was going to have a heart attack. He was screaming at the woman by this time and did leave the line. I left the line as well, went home and called the McDonalds and filed a complaint. THEN I called the national headquarters and filed a complaint about this employee who was waaaaaay out of line to the elderly gentlemen. If I could hear him loud and clear, there was no excuse for the employee NOT to hear him. I have not been back to that McDonalds since...some things are just a matter of principle.

AveMaria22 read my blog
May 27, 2008 | 1:24 PM

It is interesting that DMVs, both in Md. and Va. seem to be "bad places to be." I recall a trip to renew my drivers license...the DMV on Gallows Rd. There was a long line that snaked around inside the building and continued outside. It moved very slowly and the temperature was about 95 degrees. Just as the people ahead of me moved inside, the door was pulled shut by a fairfax policeman. I whimpered to my son who stood beside me in the wilting heat. The cop slammed the door open and, furiously, said, "When I tell you to Get back I mean it! Don't you touch this door until I open it!" Perplexed, I turned to the people behind me and said,"Gosh...what's THAT all about?" One of the men spoke very softly and said, "Somebody needs to teach him some manners... nobody's touching the door." We stood in the withering heat while the line inside diminished to only one or two people...when we could have been inside in the air conditioning..while this little weasel proved what he was..a NOTHING. Hmmmm. To discover that Md. has the same rudeness, well....it must be that the DMVs have to take the dregs from the regular police force.

cort1963 read my blog
May 27, 2008 | 1:54 PM

Hispanics who believe they are a "race" of people. They are a cultural heritage, races are much better defined by physical characteristics NOT language and culture!

Maybe that is why there are White Hispanics and Black Hispanics? Because they are confused about their roots and need to be boosted by other races to help them define themselves?

Makes me wonder, after all these years...

motheroffive
May 27, 2008 | 3:17 PM

1. The cable company
2. The phone company
3. Most customer service types, in retail, fast food, DMV, banking and many other types of jobs
It is really sad to see how unimportant customer service is now a day for any and all types of jobs. I dont agree with the customer is always right if the customer is not right but dont start out being completely wrong and try and make the customer feel like they are over exaggerating the situation.

GrandmaM read my blog view my photos
May 27, 2008 | 9:29 PM

Health insurers who find any excuse to deny coverage for people who are too misinformed to assert their rights. It's not that the companies are careless---these insurers behave badly on purpose. For profit.

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beth_parker

At age 9 I decided I wanted to be a reporter and here I am. I've been at Fox5 for 8 years. Covering all kinds of news - investigations, features, you name it. I've had the privilege of meeting a lot of fascinating people. Many have been kind enough to share their stories with me. In the news business, every day is a new adventure!

Member Since: 8/28/2006