Rebecca Smithers, consumer affairs correspondent of The Guardian calls 2007 The year of consumer power and tells us how in the UK and elsewhere new technology enabled media-savvy consumers to change corporate behaviour.
Over the past year, I shared some of my good, bad and ugly consumer experiences.
I was baffled at times for example when being told by a supervisor at ATT Wireless that I could not e-mail their office. Worse even in that case was the fact that even though she promised to call me back, 3 months later, I still have not heard from her or anyone in her office.
In the case of banks, Bank of America for example changed its online services for the better except for the fact that when some functions are not accessible beyond a certain date, there is no on screen information as to why and what the next step should be.
Another issue to me and others I think in a year when many companies claim the Green mantle, is why financial services companies ask you to save trees by giving up paper statements but charge you fee after fee when you need copies of documents.
It might be a good idea for some of them to attend the Customer Service is
the New Marketing Summit in San Francisco on February 4.
Related: Tired of ATM Fees in the US and Abroad plus Giving Customers the Runaround, Is it your company practice? and Tuesday is Green Day