Firms roasted on website

Companies with poor customer service take note - your sins are about to be broadcast on a website that seeks victories for unhappy customers.

The website, Not Good Enough (see link below), is being launched in New Zealand this week after two successful years in Australia, where it has become a household name.

Similar to the Fair Go television show, the site has helped thousands of Australians - and publicly shamed hundreds of companies - by airing customer complaints and then seeking a company response.

Founder Fiona Stewart said the success of the site could be attributed to the fact that customer complaints were published on the internet for everyone to see, rather than being quietly handled - and often ignored - in private. "We prefer not to say it is a site where we bag companies, but naming and shaming is part of it."
Dr Stewart said some companies chose to respond to complaints on the site privately while others logged on and resolved the issues in the public domain.

Customers have ended up with discounts, free vouchers and gifts from the stores they publicly complained about.

Dr Stewart said most large companies frequently visited the site so they were usually well-informed about customer complaints.

Fearing the bad publicity, many companies had improved their customer service greatly since the website began in 2002.

The most frequent complaints are to do with telecoms, banks and cars.