Americans want revenge on companies for bad service

Now is not the time to mess with the American consumer.

Per The Wall Street Journal, the National Customer Rage Survey indicates more people than ever are pissed off at companies. New results show 74% of consumers had a problem with a company’s product or service in the past year — up from 66% in 2020, 56% in 2017, and 32% in 1976, the first time a similar survey was released.

People are angry because…

… of a decline in quality across the economy.

• Between 2018 and 2022, the American Customer Satisfaction Index fell from ~77 to 73 on a scale of 0-100, the lowest level since the early 2000s. Industries like fast food, gas stations, and hotels saw declines in satisfaction.

A rising number of frustrated consumers are letting companies hear about it: 43% of Rage Survey respondents said they raised their voice when sharing their complaints with a company, up from 35% in 2017.

They get even louder when they find out they’re talking to a robot. Rage Survey respondents described “being forced to listen to long messages” before speaking to a human as one of their biggest beefs.

Revenge levels are up, too

Per the Rage Survey, 9% of Americans, up from 3% in 2020, have sought revenge against a company by publicly complaining online or in person. That’s still down from a 17% average between 2003 and 2017.

All that anger can be expensive. In 2020, researchers behind the National Consumer Rage Survey estimated that bad customer service could cost corporations $494B.