New Product Complaint Database Thrills Consumer Groups, Horrifies Manufacturers

[The Straight Story]

New Product Complaint Database Thrills Consumer Groups, Horrifies Manufacturers

For the first time ever, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) plans to make public thousands of complaints it receives from Americans about harmful products. Consumer advocates have hailed the decision to create a Web-based database containing the information, while many businesses are lobbying to disrupt the effort.

The CPSC has collected complaints from consumers for years, but until now, citizens had to file a public records request to see the information. Once the database is launched on March 11 at SaferProducts.gov, the same materials will be only an Internet search away.

And that has companies very nervous.

“We’re not opposed to a database,” Rosario Palmieri, vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, told The Washington Post. “We’re opposed to a database that’s full of inaccurate information.”

Palmieri and other business representatives claim competitors could use the database to fill it with erroneous complaints to drive customers away from certain products

http://www.allgov.com/Top_Stories/ViewNews/New_Product_Complaint_Database_Thrills_Consumer_Groups_Horrifies_Manufacturers_110112

[stray cat]

1. This would be great if they can prevent it's misuse by companies for or against

[One_Life_To_Give]

2. Prefer the RAPEX myself

RAPEX is a European Union database. But products cited there have been tested by National Labs and are subject of actions, such as removal from the market. http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/dyna/rapex/rapex_archives_en.cfm

[DCKit]

6. What an apt name for consumer abuse database. RAPEX. nt

[CanSocDem]

3. Well, that's encouraging...

The American consumer is growing a backbone.

.

[nebenaube]

4. Hey

Employers claim a need to see one's facebook (et. al.) page. They want background information on potential employees; so why shouldn't consumers have the same type of information to base their decisions upon?

[zipplewrath]

5. I understand their angst

Of course, their solution would be to not provide any data base at all. But I've visited many websites that supposedly provide customer feedback and much of it needs a strong filter. Absurd claims or obvious cheerleading abound. I suspect the database needs to be made available, but there also needs to be strong filtering, or at least some "context" generated for the complaints. Truth is, it might be useful to create, or allow the creation of, organizations like CU to process and organize the complaints for general consumption.

[Sinistrous]

7. Absolutely.

I visited several of these comment sites recently before some major appliance buys, and I was amazed by the comments from people who obviously had not read the owner's manual or who evidently were just too stupid to operate a toaster. There were also complaints from people with unreasonable expectations for an item.

[zipplewrath]

10. Several favorite comments

Go to almost any comment site for any kind of business, and it will take you about 1 minute to find someone complaining that some employee was "rude". It is the most subjective comment anyone can make.

Go to any hotel site, and there will be complaints that it "wasn't a 4 star". Well, fine but exactly what were you expecting that wasn't there. My other favorite hotel complaint is that it is "too expensive". Well, they told you how expensive before you booked. Furthermore, hotel prices are pretty well established by "the market". Yes, hotel prices are insanely high in central London. I'm not sure that is particularly pertinent to a comment about a PARTICULAR hotel.

I also love the comments about airlines because they lost luggage, delayed/canceled a flight, didn't give an expected upgrade, etc. AS if any of it is particular to an airline. Truth is, a large part of an airlines reputation is established by the AIRPORT. Depending upon the number of flights, and the size of the airport, the customers experience can vary wildly. (I also love the complaint that starts with, "Okay, I was late, but.....").

And judging from online comment sites, there isn't a decent customer support service anywhere. Look, when you order something by mail, one of the things you'd better understand is it may not work. Yes, they'll take it back, they might even send a replacement, but it is going to be a hassle. They won't fix it in your house, they probably can't anyway. If you want to avoid the hassle, go to a store in your community. THEY'LL take it back with no more hassle than you bought it from the beginning. (FWIW, a few of the big box retailers have on line purchasing, and you can often return it to a local brick and mortar store if needed. You won't get a new one, but you can often get a refund).

[BzaDem]

8. Gasp! The horrors of transparency!

:sarcasm:

If a company doesn't like complaints, it should respond to the complaints. Not attempt to censor them.

[PoliticAverse]

9. How do you guard against...

An unscrupulous, large company that finances an effort to badmouth a smaller competitor's products?

[mdmc]

11. ..