What you need to know about the new direct marketing guidance note
Nadine Mather and Chloë Loubser
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When angry customers fight back
The Internet has given consumers a powerful voice to level their complaints when a company does them wrong, and the firm that's unresponsive may have to deal with bad - and potentially very costly - publicity as a result. The sword can cut both ways, though. Complaining customers may face legal risks too, if they're not careful to distinguish opinion from fact.
After Best Buy lost the laptop Raelyn Campbell had brought in for repair, the D.C. resident filed a lawsuit demanding US$54 million from the company. That eye-popping claim - and the publicity it engendered - was the culmination of a long blog campaign during which Campbell related her frustration with Best Buy's evasive behavior and enlisted friends and family to contact the retailer on her behalf.
Most disputes between a customer and a company don't escalate to the fever pitch that Campbell's battle with Best Buy reached. However, the actions she took prior to filing the massive lawsuit - calling attention to her complaints through persistent blogging - are not unusual. Empowered with Web 2.0 technologies, customers are taking to the Web in increasing numbers to vent about deceptive practices, products that don't work the way they're advertised, and shoddy service.
Blogs, in particular, have been a great equalizer - especially if they're well-trafficked.
There's a flip side, though, to this trend. At what point might a customer cross the line and end up on the wrong side of a lawsuit?
