Rage Survey Says More Than Half of Us Are Angry Customers

I’ve been dealing with a certain company for decades. I have, for the most part, had great service. Whenever I had an issue I would call and it would be resolved or explained to my satisfaction.

A few weeks ago I called to resolve an issue and was placed on hold several times over the course of about 25 minutes. Finally, they told me that they examined my bill and couldn’t find an issue, so they needed to transfer to the next “tier.” Ok, no problem. After speaking with them for about 3 minutes they told me what the issue was and that it was located in the upper right-hand corner of my bill. I then surmised that the first person was only there to wear me down, and, in my opinion, waste my time unnecessarily. I then became an unhappy customer immediately. Years of satisfaction down the drain.

Apparently, there are a lot of unhappy customers out there, and I became one of them.

This year’s National Customer Rage Survey, an independent study that’s conducted by Customer Care Measurement & Consulting found that we are more often unhappy than happy with customer service.

The study polled 1,000 consumers and found that 74% complained about an unsatisfactory product or service last year. That's up from 66% in 2020, which is the last time the poll was taken.

The survey also showed 63% felt some sort of "customer rage" regarding the problem. About 1 in 10 have gone so far as to say they've sought “revenge” which is three times more than the last study.

Revenge can mean a lot of things, but the poll says that a couple of the more popular tactics are threatening employees or tearing down the company on social media.

About 80% say they don’t mind calling, texting, or emailing a company to complain, and the number one frustration is having to weed through recorded messages to get to speak to an actual person.

As you would assume, customer service reps are taking all the hits. In fact, 50% of respondents had no problem yelling at customer service people, and 25% of angry customers believe "more hostile forms of bad behavior," like threats and humiliation, were actually "civil."

52% say it’s worth it because they've gotten "something" for all their complaining. That means nearly half get nothing.

The study also says that while it may be frustrating for consumers, it's very costly to companies. The report claims that more than $887 billion of revenue is at risk due to "ineffective complaint handling."

It seems like it would benefit the company to try a little harder to satisfy their customers, but apparently, they're not going to.

During a red-carpet interview with Ashley Graham at the Oscars Sunday (March 12), Hugh Grant gave the model nothing to work with. After shrugging with his hand on his hip when Graham called the 62-year-old actor a "veteran of the Oscars," he kept his standoffish attitude throughout the remainder of the interview.

"What's your favorite thing about coming to the Oscars?" asks Graham, keeping up a cheerful manner. Grant blinks a few times before replying, "Um... Well, um..." Laughing at her question, the Love Actually star finally came up with the words. "It's fascinating. The whole of humanity is here. It's vanity fair." Slightly taken aback at his response, Graham tried to play along with Grant.

In an attempt to continue the interview, Graham then asks Grant who he's most excited to see. The actor just says, "No one in particular." Things get even more awkward when Graham asks about what he wore for the evening and Grant goes, "Just my suit." Grant says he couldn't remember the name of the tailor for his tuxedo.

Finally, she went on to ask about his experience filming his cameo in the recent Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. "Well, I'm barely in it. I'm in it for about 3 seconds," he responded. When Graham asked if he had fun doing the film, he responded, "Almost."

Take a look below at what Twitter had to say of the exchanges. But suffice to say, sometimes it's best to not do interviews if you don't feel like being interviewed!