Sometimes even elite status doesn't save a traveler from having bad experiences with a travel company's web site. As a Hilton Diamond member, I have access to a nifty phone number that is usually answered in seconds. Stay dozens of nights a year in the same hotel chain, and you can get that too.
But what I don't understand is why Hilton's online reservations and comment systems have been broken for months. Yes, Hilton corporate staff knows about the issue.
Today was the epitome of poor customer service.
After receiving an email asking me to comment on my stay at $439/night in New York for 4 nights, I clicked on the appropriate button. Imagine my surprise, when I had to fill out a complaint form. Having designed enough customer service systems over two decades, I was not pleased with this development, but I dutifully completed the information and then wrote my comment.
Their system reported an error twice when I clicked the submit button. I scanned the email only to find the expected "Do not reply to this email" message. Seems I wasn't so important despite the opening paragraph. So I went to the main Hilton site and clicked the contact button.
Yep, another crash.
The web is working fine on the two computers on my desk. Hilton, however, has been up and down for a year to the point where Diamond call center employees have had to give me special URLs to check my reservation.
Seems like Paris isn't the only dysfunctional Hilton.
Consumer Help Web warned consumers about lead in a child's bracelet nearly two years ago. One of the earliest very public recalls linked to products produced in China, toxic levels of lead in the bracelet were linked to a child's death. The bracelets were sold for two years at a price between $33 and $50.
Now the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced that Reebook will pay a record $1 million penalty related to the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA).
As part of the settlement, Reebok denied any wrongdoing or violating federal law despite the company's recall of 300,00 of the bracelets that the consumer watchdog group claimed had too much lead.
A new Carfax.com study shows that the number of "salvaged" cars checked by the company's customers increased 50% in five years.
This is big news and worth any consumer's time.
A salvaged car is one that has essentially been damaged to a point related to its value. That percentage varies from state to state and the calculation methods used vary from company to company. It obviously benefits some companies, such as an insurance company, to avoid declaring the car as a salvage vehicle and instead repair the vehicle.
But even when cars and light trucks were reported to the state as salvaged, they were often transported to other states where reporting requirements or other technicalities allowed someone to sell the car without disclosing the extensive damage. This practice is called "title washing", and while still seen today, companies like Carfax that pioneered the concept of national vehicle history, have surely cut down on the number of such vehicles.
Those salvage cars are out there, however, and the volume surprised Carfax, which eats, breathes and sleeps vehicle history information.
"This problem is more widespread than we previously thought," said Larry Gamache, Carfax's communications director in a statement. "Based on our data, the number one concern consumers should have right now, even above flood damage, is unknowingly buying a used car that was badly damaged in an accident. Buying a salvaged car may not be a bad investment, but you must make sure you're aware of any prior damage and, more importantly, see that the proper repairs were made.
The most common complaints against Washington businesses remained largely unchanged from 2006 to 2007 according to Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna.
Complaints against communications companies, collections agencies, stores, auto sales, and contractors continue to occupy the top spots among companies Washington consumers complain about. Although many common complaint categories remain in the Top 20 for years regardless of state, Washington did see some interesting surprises.
Landlord/tenant disputes jumped from position 21 to #7, and cable networks moved up six spots from #16 to #10. Despite the mortgage crisis that may be triggering a nationwide recession, complaints about mortgage lenders only showed a slight increase and remained outside the top 10 categories.
Consumer Help Web sees similar complaint patterns from our clients. Auto and communication companies are among the top issues year in and year out. Maryland is another state where this trend is almost repeated. After winning a $1700 credit for a Maryland consumer on his phone bill, Consumer Help Web also helped a customer there recently with an auto manufacturer issue. The consumer, M. Wilson of Hagerstown, Maryland, later wrote us,
Toyota corrected the problem with my navigation system free of charge last week. The system has been working fine ever since. All that I can say is thanks. I always get results when I contact your service.
Now that National Consumer Protection Week is over, many media outlets will stop covering so many stories about consumer advocacy and customer service problems. Companies like Consumer Help Web continue reporting on issues in this blog and as we resolve complaints year-round from consumers who can't get a company to respond to them.
After the US Department of Agriculture's surprise beef recall in February, we wrote about Consumer Help Web's disapproval of the process. On February 18, we chastised the federal agency, pointing out that "consumers have no way of knowing if tainted beef is in their freezer."
To make matters worse, USDA officials have told a Congressional committee that they are not allowed to nor do they intend to disclose the names of food distributors who may have received tainted meat products from Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company.
This position did not sit well with Congressional leaders, especially after a USDA spokesperson referred to the information as "proprietary". We join our voice with Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), who candidly told USDA officials that information regarding safety hazards American consumers face are not "proprietary".
We understand the need for rules to help protect the interests of businesses and their employees (who are also consumers) when a company is under investigation. But three weeks after a so-called "recall", consumers still can't identify the products. We find that inexcusable.
As struggling U.S. air carriers try to reach profitability by scaling back services, consumers will soon be missing another staple -- the paper ticket.
The association most of the world's airlines belong to has reached consensus that its members will stop issuing paper tickets for travel as of June 1, 2008. Checking in for a flight from a PC, mobile phone or airport kiosk has become the norm for many frequent travelers, but this is no longer simply an option for frequent, tech-savvy travelers.
Consumer Help Web receives many complaints from travelers who don't often travel for business and might only take several flights in their entire lives. The familiar processes frequent travelers grumble about are unknown to those consumers.
Many start standing in line the moment they reach the airport, unaware of luggage weight limits, how to operate check-in kiosks or security checkpoint procedures. If a consumer flies once every few years, the rules constantly change, and they often miss a connection, are forced to abandon a keepsake at security or waste time standing in at least one too many lines.
Airlines are like many physicians in such cases. Accustomed to seeing a crush of humanity and horrible situations, the average consumer's frustration seems minimal and not worthy of effort. When Consumer Help Web contacts airlines (or cruise ships or even bus lines), even our team is sometimes greeted with a perfunctory offer of extra frequent-flier miles for our customer or a coupon for a future trip. Since neither are very valuable for consumers who don't travel by very often, we have learned to excel at guiding our consumer customers to an appropriate resolution they want to receive.
Meanwhile, we love technology, but we're not sure there was enough time to phase-in the "no paper ticket" rule. Tell us what you think below.
As Deborah Majoras plans to leave her leadership role at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) this spring, she leaves the Bush administration with yet another big consumer hole to quickly fill.
Majoras, an attorney in private practice before her appointment, will join Procter & Gamble as their General Counsel, a consumer affairs move that is as high voltage as a company can make. Fending off consumer complaints and lawsuits is much easier when your inhouse attorney was in charge of the federal watchdog agency.
Consumer Help Web often resolves many complaints that later make their way to the FTC and other agencies. We've long proposed that government agencies should survey private companies and law firms about consumer issues, just as they do with local and state agencies. Giving details is not as important as sharing that we have just resolved 3 complaints this months on a particular wireless carrier or company that was leaving consumers in the lurch.
Majoras' leaving reminds me of cases the agency brought under her tenure like CortiSlim. The FTC took action against the weight loss industry in 2007 after years of complaints. Fortunately for consumer, ConsumerHelpWeb.com was helping consumers three years earlier against that very same company.
Just one example of how our complaint resolution service works fast:
In June 2004, Al Di Grazia of Hayward, California wrote us about the very same issues with CortiSlim the FTC later investigated. We immediately contacted the company's senior executives, and Mr. Di Grazia's complaint was quickly resolved. He even received a check in that time for more than $100. Mr. Di Grazia wrote us days after we resolved his complaint against CortiSlim:
I was not getting anywhere with the other company. After contacting Consumer Help Web, I received my full refund in less than one week. I wanted to let you know that you are great.
There is a place and need for FTC enforcement and combined recalls from federal agencies. There is also a place for consumer advocates like ConsumerHelpWeb.com who can quickly get things done and help those agencies identify trends months, if not years, before they are known and acted upon.
We appreciate Ms. Majoras' past service and while we understand the allure of a private sector paycheck, we remain hopeful that as government agencies collate data and build cases that they will look to the trenches of consumer affairs where action is being taken much earlier.
Sometimes even elite status doesn't save a traveler from having bad experiences with a travel company's web site. As a Hilton Diamond member, I have access to a nifty phone number that is usually answered in seconds. Stay dozens of nights a year in the same hotel chain, and you can get that too.
