I don't think that Ralph Nader ever wanted to "get even" as in the book "Get Even: The Complete Book Of Dirty Tricks " , even though he probably believes that many companies have played "dirty tricks" on the consumer. As he is an attorney, I feel he wants justice, and corrections to the consumer problems he exposes.
But, I just viewed an ABC 20/20 webcast entitled "Customers Get Even". While the title is mostly "News Link Bait", it may send the wrong message to some viewers who are more into revenge than justice, in my opinion. In all fairness to 20/20 though, Ben Popken of the Consumerist said on this webcast that this is "audio visual consumer revenge". I like the Consumerist overall, but to get consumers thinking in terms of "revenge" is dangerous and bad for consumers.
20/20's transcript of that webcast entitled "Viral Video: Consumer Revenge" at first, showed legitimate consumer generated complaint content, and then said: "But wait a second. This isn't exactly Consumer Reports. There are no editors checking to see whether complaints are valid. Anyone can say anything." Then it showed a young male consumer who was upset with a water cooler dispensing slowly as seen in this online video: "Don't buy GE's GXCF20E Water Dispenser". 20/20 said that the manufacturer said that he did not read the instructions. That is a half-truth as the Consumerist shows in "GXCF20E Water Cooler Of Infamy". That young male consumer, Jacob Lodwick, says in the comments section: "I need cold water in my office. I buy a water cooler and subscribe to Poland Spring. Why on EARTH should I, as a consumer, have to deal with compatibility issues?"
The whole truth is that, in their promotional materials and advertising, a conspicuous disclaimer by GE was, and is, needed that says: "Attention! - Water Cooler Works Best with Bottled Water Containers That Have a 'Center Plug' in the Cap". However, ABC's 20/20 did not use their high paid editors "to see whether complaints (Jakob Lodwick's in this case) are valid. Anyone (20/20 this time) can say anything." So, in this instance, 20/20 appears to be "the pot calling the kettle black"!
Continue Reading to see a 10/25/06 UPDATE on the GXCF20E "Loading the Dispenser" instructions.
10/25/06 UPDATE: GE has changed their "Loading the Dispenser" instructions to say: "Place the bottle on top of the dispenser as shown, aligning the dispensing valve probe to the center of the water bottle cap (vs."aligning the center plug with the probe"). Press down until the probe penetrates the bottle cap (vs. "Press down until the probe pushes the center plug out of the cap and into the water bottle"), allowing the bottle to rest on the support collar." This is seen on the bottom of page 4 of their "Use and Care Manual". Clearly, GE is admitting that their instructions needed improving by changing them. However, I wonder how easy and "user friendly" it is to "Press down until the probe penetrates.." a somewhat THICK SOLID CAP ON A HEAVY WATER BOTTLE!
I wish more sellers and buyers would have common sense "Integrity" (most looked up word for 2005 in Merriam-Webster), then more people wouldn't be trying to figure out its definition. How does "Integrity" apply to consumer generated online complaints? Here is a good example of "Good Faith" in dealing with a fast food retailer called McDonald's. Morgan Spurlock did more than just create a viral video, he did a film documentary called "Super Size Me". His documented research was very well done and fair, as he even admitted that few people would actually only eat McD's food all the time. Also, at the end, he gave McDonalds credit in an update for trying to make their overall menu more healthy, even though they didn't admit it was because of him.
The bottom line is this. Now that the consumer is more in control (as the President of the Association of National Advertisers just said), and noted in Max Kalehoff's "ANA: Consumer Is In Control", then what is good for the goose is good for the gander. By that, I mean that CONTROL/POWER IS MORE OF A RESPONSIBILITY THAN A PRIVILEGE! Therefore, the consumer must research and document well before complaining online, and then add a dated "UPDATE" to what was initially published if the seller has partially or totally corrected the problem (or has constantly ignored a valid complaint). The seller must have more good faith in his dealings with the consumer. But, I'd like to see more well researched and documented, valid consumer online complaints, as too many sellers still don't get what is in the Cluetrain Manifesto, or in Concurrence Marketing.
I recently posted a relevant comment to this in Rohit Bhargava's (Vice President of Interactive Marketing for Ogilvy Public Relations) "The Dark Side of Social Media And 5 Ways to Avoid It". In it I say: "You, and WOMMA say it yourselves, "..consumers are willing and often happy to support marketing and even become brand ambassadors for something they believe in." The key is to get them to "believe in" the long term truth that the seller has "changed its evil ways". Or, the seller should convince the consumer that there was a misunderstanding on his part, if that's really true."
11/5/06 UPDATE: See my next post "GE's GXCF20E Water Dispenser Disinformation & Misinformation " for further clarification.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia - Ralph Nader.
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