Now is not the time to mess with the American consumer.
![Americans want revenge on companies for bad service](https://20627419.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/20627419/hubfs/The%20Hustle/Assets/Images/116477441-HS-News-Brief_2023-03-08T004841.786Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=116477441-HS-News-Brief_2023-03-08T004841.786Z.webp)
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.