According to a study by Forbes magazine, Southwest Airlines is America’s most reliable airline. There are some interesting learnings in this report, one of which is that discount carriers actually rank first in reliability compared to some of their larger competitors. Here’s what else we learned from reading this report.
- Southwest is the most reliable airline, Continental came in second, JetBlue came in third, Air Tran received a fourth place ranking and Alaska Airlines was fifth.
- For each of the years we studied, Southwest’s flights were punctual more than 80 percent of the time; the average was 76.8 percent.
- In terms of canceled flights, Southwest reigns yet again. The carrier canceled an average of 0.65 percent of its flights over the five-year period, compared with the worst airline, American, which canceled an average of 2.4 percent.
- AirTran, another budget carrier, had the fewest reports of mishandled baggage — a contentious issue now that airlines are charging as much as $50 to check regular-sized luggage. In 2007, AirTran had about four reports of mishandled baggage per 1,000 customers. The worst-ranking airline, US Airways, had 8.5.
We just ran across an article in Indiana’s KPCNews.com. Here are the top six businesses that spark frequent consumer complaints to the Better Business Bureau, according to KPCNews.com. Vonage leads the way.
1. Vonage advertises “Get unlimited local and long distance calling for only $24.99 a month.” The BBB strongly suggests that consumers read the very lengthy terms and conditions before signing up. Of the 8,920 complaints that have been filed against this company, 1,763 were regarding service issues and 2,233 were from consumers requesting refunds.
2. Epic Financial Management is advertising its debt negotiation services on Indiana TV. The company states, “… our financial advisers have been helping people rid themselves of debt for over 10 years.” The BBB could find no evidence of this company operating for more than three years. Complaints to the BBB generally are that Epic failed to perform as agreed, and that creditors continued to call. This California company has the BBB’s lowest rating.
3. The Gaia Movement is one of over 20 names used by this charity. The organization is putting out large, green containers in Indianapolis and Anderson that resemble trash recycling bins. Signs on the bins indicate that the resale of the clothing is used to educate and finance environmental projects around the world. According to Gaia’s 2006 IRS 990, 28% of the revenue generated from the resold clothing is spent on programs. The BBB recommends at least 65%.
4. Cosco/Dorel Juvenile Group manufactures children’s car seats, strollers, toys, etc. Recent complaints concern their battery-operated riding toy vehicles breaking down, not holding a charge and inability to repair in a timely fashion. So far 67 complaints have been filed. They have the BBB’s lowest rating.
5. Dependable Locksmith, 24-Hour Emergency Locksmith, Millennium Locksmith, Speedway Locksmith, and USA Total Security are just a few of the 17 names used by this New York-based company. In 2006 the Ohio Attorney General sued them for false advertising, unauthorized repairs and other business practices that violated consumer protection laws and rules. They want you to think they are a locally based company when they aren’t. So far 310 complaints have been filed against this company. They have the BBB’s lowest rating.
6. Greatest Kept Secrets, “an exclusive organization,” is sending letters that say, “We’ve discovered something special about you.” This “secret society” is made up of “some of the world’s most famous and powerful people.” The secrets include how to lose weight, win at gambling, become a millionaire, be successful in business, eliminate all addictions, have the power to cure and know what others are thinking. It’s free now, but what you will end up paying later?
The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) has released its Top 10 Consumer Complaints List for 2007. This national list of consumer complaints is a compilation of reports provided by offices of the Attorneys General and is tallied by NAAG’s Consumer Protection Project.
The results are as follows:
1. Debt Collection
2. Auto Sales
3. Home Repair/Construction
4. Telecommunications/Slamming/Cramming
5. Automotive (General)
6. Telemarketing/Do-Not-Call
7. Financial/Investments
8. Retail Sales
9. Internet Goods and Services
10. Contests/Sweepstakes/Prize Promotion
On a per passenger basis, the number of consumer complaints registered by the Department of 
Transportation about JetBlue more than tripled compared to the same month (August) last year. According to a Wall Street Journal blog entry, the raw number of consumer complaints is tiny - 46 - compared to the 2.1 million passenger who flew on Jet Blue in August. But what’s interesting is that that increase runs counter to the trend among other carriers, where overall complaints are down as capacity cuts have decreased operational constraints. The bigger you get, the harder it is to keep your customers happy.
Download the latest Department of Transportation Air_Travel_Consumer_Report.
Just a few months ago, some airlines started charging for checked baggage. From there on, charges for any kind of baggage have continued to go up. Many airlines now charge for any kind of checked baggage, and many now have started increasing their prices for both oversized and overweight baggage. newsday.com just published an article that lists the different carriers prices for baggage, which I thought some of you might find to be helpful before venturing out on your next flight.
We have been flooded with emails, comments, questions and some great feedback from all of you. Thank you so much for participating in our conversation. With all the questions that we have been receiving and answering individually, we decided to post some of the more popular ones. Here’s our first one:
What are the most common mistakes people make when they write complaint letters?
Mistake #1: Angry letters don’t work. Nobody likes to deal with someone “screaming” at them… even in print.
Mistake #2: The writer doesn’t clearly state the problem, or how they want to be compensated for their troubles.
Mistake #3: The letter fails to make a “human connection;” the best complaint letters express disappointment… they’re personal.
To give our readers an opportunity of a sneak preview of How To Complain For Fun And Profit, we have made available a free download of one of our favorite chapters - Living in a Sitcom. Click on the image below to begin downloading the pdf file. Enjoy.
(pdf download - 2.4mb)
I wrote this book because I’m basically a lazy guy.
Almost all my family, friends and business colleagues know that I have a strong sense of right and wrong… that I tend to root for the underdog… and that when something doesn’t turn out the way it’s supposed to, I get upset and want to do something about it.
They also know that I write complaint letters, and that my letters nearly always work.
So whenever something bad would happen to THEM, they’d ask me to write a complaint letter for them. And I’d always do it. (After all, how do you say “no” to your kids? Your close friends? Your employees? Your boss?)
As a result, I found myself writing at least one complaint letter a week for somebody or other. One week I agreed to write six of them!
I finally decided it would be easier to teach people how to write their own effective complaint letters than to do it for them. Hence the book.
When my friend Mario called one day and said “Hey, how about selling your “How to Complain” book on the internet,” I jumped at it. After all, part of the title is (and always was) “… for fun and PROFIT!”
I also figured it would be great to create a “Community of Complainers;” an online site where people from all over the world could post complaints and possibly get good ideas about how to “get back at ‘em.” So we’ve created this blog to do just that.
So fire away!
Bruce “Mr. Indignity” Silverman
