Consumer Watchdog: Text detects the gripes

Christina Harvey had been bothered by a toilet seat at the airport for years. Photo / Rob Tucker

The tables were filthy. The queue was half an hour long. The food cold.

Sometimes an experience is so bad you can't help but tell everyone about it - and research shows that in the old days a disgruntled customer might have shared their moan with between nine and 20 acquaintances. But now that grumble could be broadcast to an audience of hundreds, or even hundreds of thousands, thanks to social media and review websites.

Matt Wylie, creator of text-based feedback service Customer Radar, said a friend of his once told the 20,000 followers of her blog to steer clear of a major jewellery chain after she had a bad experience there.

For unhappy punters, "getting even" online can be therapeutic - and it can cause huge damage to a company's bottom line. "If you don't give your customer a voice they turn around and talk to everyone else," Wylie said. But research indicates only one in 25 unhappy customers bother to let the company know directly.

"It's human nature not to want to offend someone and make a big deal, so you just leave. Companies don't know what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong."

Wylie's text system gives customers a way of telling a company exactly how they feel without confrontation.

"They are getting single-minded insights immediately after the customer has the experience," Wylie said.

Electronics chain Noel Leeming launched Customer Radar's text service in 10 stores four weeks ago and has received more than 1000 messages.

Chief executive John Journee said managers were now able to resolve customer-satisfaction issues that they would not have known existed previously.

He said a common text was about warranty repairs being declined because the customer had broken the product.

The software allowed the company to respond. "People feel fobbed off or like they haven't been given a fair hearing. It brings in a sense of justice," Journee said.

Other companies using Customer Radar include Muffin Break and Radius Pharmacy.

ONE TEXT FIXES TOILET TROUBLES

Frequent flyer Christina Harvey, 56, wouldn't dream of marching up to the desk at Auckland Airport and telling them what she thought of the ladies' loos - but the truth was, it had been bothering her for years.

"It's not a difficult thing to fix. The toilet seat in the cubicle I like to use was quite scratched," she said.

Then Auckland Airport launched a text-feedback programme and posted signs on the back of cubicle doors to encourage people to speak their minds.

And that's exactly what Harvey did. "I told them the bathrooms were nice and clean but the toilet seats really needed replacing. I travel between New Plymouth and Auckland a lot and it had been bothering me for years."

The next time she passed through the airport, Harvey was delighted to see sparkling new seats in every cubicle. "The fact they paid attention and did something about it was fantastic. I called them up and told them I think the programme is amazing, you can give really honest feedback. When it's face to face they often just think you're being unreasonable."