Q : Are there many chronic complainers to companies in the US?
A: Maybe? It’s possible, but it wouldn’t really do them any good, and it’s not something we hear about on the news. Most companies in the US don’t really pay much attention to what consumers have to say, and if a person was complaining about ridiculous things regularly, they would be much more likely to face backlash from their family and friends than to get any kind of response from the company.
In most cases these days, companies don’t respond to complaints unless there is media attention. In the past it was very easy to find a customer service phone number, but these days many companies go to great lengths to make sure there is no easy to find phone number for you to call with your complaint – the hope is that if you have to wait for return emails, or jump through hoops to get to a “live chat”, you will instead give up and go away. This usually works.
It’s not a massive problem, but I seem to hear more stories of restaurant complainers than people who complain to companies. These people will pretend there is something (anything!) wrong with their food in order to get it for free. I don’t think there are many, many people doing this, but most of society finds their behavior so ridiculous that when we hear a story about it happening, it quickly spreads over social media platforms. In these kinds of situations, more often than not, the complainer ends up being mocked by others.
(和訳)
Q: 米国には企業へのクレーマーはたくさんいる？
A: そうね、いるかもしれないわね。だけどあまり彼らにいいことはないわね。ニュースでも話題にならないし。米国のたいていの会社は消費者の言うことに耳を傾けないわ。どうでもいいことにずっとクレームをする人は、その会社よりも家族や友人から反発されると思うわ。
最近では、企業はメディアが注目しなければクレームに対応しないわね。かつては、お客さまサービスの電話番号がとても簡単に見つかったけど、最近では多くの企業が客がクレーム電話をかける番号になかなかたどりつけないようにしているわ。メールの返信を待つか、ライブチャットに入らないなら、あきらめてもらえるようにね。これはたいていうまくいっているわね。
すごく大きな問題ではないけど、企業よりレストランへのクレーマーの話の方をよく聞くわ。この人たちはただにしてもらおうとして料理にケチをつけるの。これをやる人は多くはないけど、みんな彼らの行動はおかしいと思っているので、そういった事件はSNSですぐに広まるわ。こういうことは、たいてい他の人からばかにされるのがオチね。
