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Why Are Retail Customers So Angry?

Forty-three percent of Americans have publicly voiced their displeasure about their most serious product and service problem, up from 35 percent in 2015, according to the 2023 National Customer Rage Survey.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. adults from Customer Care Measurement & Consulting (CCMC) in collaboration with Arizona State University, found nine percent had taken action to settle a score against a company through measures such as pestering or public shaming in person or online, up from only three percent in 2020.

Seventy-four percent had experienced a product or service problem in the past year, more than doubling since 1976.

One reason for the rise in angry outbursts is that “customer uncivility is on the rise.” While half of respondents view less aggressive forms of behavior (i.e., yelling, ranting, arguing, giving ultimatums, and social media character assassination) as uncivil, the other half view these behaviors as either “civil” or say that it “depends on the circumstances.”

CCMC said in its release, “The social contract about the norms for individually protesting against businesses’ belief systems and values appears to be in flux.”

A second reason was human customer service reps being increasingly replaced by FAQs and chatbots. Top frustrations stemming from this included “being forced to listen to long messages before you’re permitted to speak to a representative” and “figuring out how or where to contact the company.

A poll conducted for The Wall Street Journal late last year found that about half of respondents had searched a company’s website “extensively” for a phone number in the last year, with 41 percent saying no number was available.

Finally, the CCMC study noted that the ease of online outreach makes complaining easier. Social media was found to have unseated the telephone as the primary complaint channel at 50 percent, increasing from five percent in 2013. Thirty-two percent of complainants posted information about their most serious problem on social media — more than double those who posted in 2020.

“Most people now are using a computer, they’re using some form of social media at this point, there’s a democratization of complaining,” CCMC CEO Scott Broetzmann recently told the Journal.

BrainTrust

"Retail has struggled with pandemic-related shutdowns, supply chain disruptions, and significant inflation. It is a recipe for customer anger and misbehavior."

Dion Kenney

COO, Mondofora


"Let’s just start with never being able to speak with a human. That alone goes a long way towards creating brand perception. Not all problems can be solved by a machine."

Lee Peterson

EVP Thought Leadership, Marketing, WD Partners


"Service is an anger generating activity in and of itself–good luck to the customer, your menu options have changed and not for the better."

Peter Charness

Retail Strategy - UST Global


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What are the primary reasons customer anger at companies is climbing? Do retailers and brands have a financial incentive to address the causes of this customer dissatisfaction?

Poll

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Lee Peterson
Member
11 months ago

Let’s just start with never being able to speak with a human. That alone goes a long way towards creating brand perception. Not all problems can be solved by a machine.

Richard Hernandez
Active Member
Reply to  Lee Peterson
11 months ago

You hit the nail on the head. The biggest beef, online or over the phone, is that people want to talk to a human. Apologetic messages for a long wait with elevator music do not help.

Perry Kramer
Member
Reply to  Lee Peterson
11 months ago

I could not agree more. I recently spent 20 minutes trying to find the option in the IVR at Hertz to speak to a person. I finally gave up and sent an e-mail at which point I was four times more annoyed and disappointed than I was at the beginning of the process.

Dion Kenney
11 months ago

General incivility has been on the rise for a while. We are both less patient with inconveniences and more extreme in our reactions, which makes for extremely volatile behavior in the face of multiple and continual stressors. Retail has struggled with pandemic-related shutdowns, supply chain disruptions, and significant inflation. It is a recipe for customer anger and misbehavior.

Bob Amster
Trusted Member
11 months ago

I believe that as a society we are more anxious and shorter on patience. That is one factor. Many companies have made it purposely difficult for a consumer to speak to a helpful human, hiding behind carefully crafted IVR. That is another factor. It appears incongruous with many expressed opinions, on this forum and elsewhere, about companies’ customer service desks endeavoring to be more available and elevating the customer experience. We repeatedly discuss the existence of a trend towards improving the customer experience and yet, a significant percentage of the consuming public is dissatisfied with their product and service experiences. One of the two trends (an improvement in customer experience and an increase in dissatisfaction) is not what we think it is.

Ken Morris
Trusted Member
11 months ago

I think there’s a number of reasons for the outbursts. The rise of narcissistic behavior is directly related to the lack of civility being demonstrated by our elected officials and the resultant polarization of the population. Many people want to be the next Karen or Ken on social media. Retailers are feeding into this frustration by making it impossible to talk to a person. So the “digital moat” is a big culprit. First, no phone number. Then, no person. Let’s leverage our sophisticated telecommunications technology to make sales associates available to speak to customers. What a concept! 

As for the percentage experiencing a product or service problem “more than doubling since 1976,” that’s like comparing the Jetsons to the Flintstones. I have no idea how they came up with that number, and I have no way to complain about it to anyone, either!

Peter Charness
Trusted Member
11 months ago

Interacting with retailers or service providers has become a source of frustration in and of itself. Need to correct a billing issue with a healthcare provider? Plan to spend two hours trying to get through the labyrinth of not very helpful people getting to the bottom of the case. Have a problem with your cell phone bill or service and prefer not to wait for 20 minutes to get to a barely audible, hard-to-understand service representative? Try to find the online chat. Product warranty or support issues? Plan for three hours working your way through the retailer to the manufacturer. Service is an anger generating activity in and of itself–good luck to the customer, your menu options have changed and not for the better.

Jeff Sward
Noble Member
11 months ago

Is it the actual anger that is increasing, or the expression of that anger? Does social media provide an avenue for expression that more people are getting comfortable using? What about satisfaction or even delight with services and products? Is that expression seeing a noticeable change in trend? Nextdoor is an app that provides a great opportunity to talk about local products and services. I see a lot of great reviews, both positive and negative, where I otherwise would have no visibility. More data on anger does not necessarily mean more anger. It’s the curtain being pulled back on actual performance and the consequences of that performance. Transparency wins the day.

Gary Sankary
Noble Member
Reply to  Jeff Sward
11 months ago

You make a good point — being able to hide behind screens doesn’t help people contain their anger.

Dave Bruno
Active Member
11 months ago

There are so many reasons for customers to be upset: low product quality, limited inventory and frequent stock-outs, poor service experiences combined with limited or difficult access to a human being, and the hassle of online returns, to name a few. When you combine those legitimate frustrations with the (disappointingly high) potential for clicks, shares and likes of uncivil behaviors, you have a recipe for more frequent — and exaggerated — expressions of discontent.

Lisa Goller
Trusted Member
11 months ago

Impatience, frustration and high-profile tantrums make some customers feel entitled to let ‘er rip. Consumers now expect speed. The pandemic was a chronic source of global stress. Viral coverage of volatile political and business leaders has made fury trendy.

The origin of this rage lies beyond retail. While companies can’t cure it, those who train their teams to stay calm, compassionate and constructive when customers vent could turn explosive episodes into loyalty-building moments.

Gary Sankary
Noble Member
11 months ago

Let’s see: I have an issue with a product, I try to get help, I have to navigate endless menus online, all designed to keep me from ever talking to a human. Or I go into the store and find out that because I didn’t pay extra for a service plan, the defective item I was sold is not covered… I could go on all day.

Many companies have been so quick to adopt technology they claim promotes customer service but, in fact, it is there to reduce costs by eliminating interactions–and the customers see right through that. They get frustrated because they aren’t being heard. When you don’t respect your customers, they aren’t going to respect you or your teams. That’s human nature, honestly.

Paula Rosenblum
Noble Member
11 months ago

Of course customer incivility is on the rise. The state of remote customer service is simply infuriating. As Lee said, taking to a bot is crazy-making most of the time, as is talking to people who speak English just well enough to read scripts for various scenarios you might report. Anything even close to off-the-script problems is met with confusion.

I cannot tell a lie. I can be very uncivil on phone calls. Most of the time, I’m not convinced I’m talking to a human anyway, and often ask questions to “prove” it to myself.

We spend so much time talking about CX and deliver very little. In fact, I’m so grateful when I have a good experience that I fall all over myself thanking the responsible party.

So the question really should be “what can we do to really and truly improve the customer experience?” Otherwise, to be honest, “Buy local” from independent retailers is sounding better and better to me.

Mohammad Ahsen
Active Member
11 months ago

Customers are fed up with poor service, long wait times, product availability problems, sales team availability problems, and product quality issues and increasingly seek “revenge” over it. The growing trend of human customer service reps being replaced by FAQs and chatbots and customers being forced to listen to long messages is leading to frustration. I agree with Dion Kenney that “[People] are both less patient with inconveniences and more extreme in our reactions.”

The primary incentive for brands and retailers to resolve the causes of customer anger is that resolving it leads to brand loyalty, profitability and a stronger brand perception.

Zel Bianco
Zel Bianco
Active Member
11 months ago

Those service providers or retailers who put customer service and support as a “need to have” versus a “nice to have” will win in the marketplace and in the minds of their customers. Think of companies like L.L.Bean and some others that over the years, without deviating from their core beliefs, have maintained their good standing with consumers. Those that do not, especially those that are online-only and never ever have a customer service number to call, will eventually go away due to customer frustration and anger.

Nicola Kinsella
Active Member
11 months ago

We live in an “on-demand” society enabled by technology, so we don’t have the patience we used to have. And thanks to social media, we have more visibility into the complaints of others on a daily basis. This gives us social validation that this type of dialog is acceptable to society.

As retailers and brands craft their customer service strategies they need to keep these factors in mind, and address them with their tech strategy, process strategy, and in training. Otherwise they’ve have teams of burned out staff in addition to grumpy customers. That should be financial incentive enough.

Dick Seesel
Trusted Member
11 months ago

“Customers behaving badly” is akin to other post-pandemic problems like reckless driving and disruptive airline passengers. I’m not willing to draw a causative line, but these are hard trends to ignore.

At the same time, growing frustration with service providers (like retailers and restaurants) has been fueled by the staffing shortfalls since 2020 at many of those businesses.

Brandon Rael
Active Member
11 months ago

From the perspective of both a consumer and a retail consumer industry consulting strategist, in many cases across the retail landscape there are fundamentally broken processes as companies move from strategy to execution at the store level and on digital platforms.

Companies have preached about being customer-centric and providing experiences that surprise and delight consumers. However when there are heavy friction points and challenges across the entire shopping journey, from discovery to in-store/digital experiences, checkout, and returns, it’s not hard to see why customers are disappointed. Coupled with this, we are in the midst of yet another recession. Post-pandemic supply chain disruptions and relentless inflation lead to increased prices, as well as many customers dealing with job security challenges. So patience is at an all-time low for bad retail experiences.

This is when top retailers and independent retailers could rise to the top of the chart by providing more incentives, being more empathetic, providing meaningful loyalty program benefits, and doing what they can to support their local communities during these challenging times.

Natalie Walkley
11 months ago

Customers want to at least have the perception of being in control of their buying experience. There is a rise in technology that automates aspects of the buying process that historically required a service agent (i.e. returns, exchanges, and the status of an order) and put the customer back in control. A few years ago, I bought a piece of furniture and it came damaged. When I asked for a replacement part for the damaged piece (it was fixable), they said they had to send me an entirely new order. The kicker was they wanted me to leave the damaged piece outside on the street for two weeks and “someone might come by and grab it.” Ultimately we as consumers want to be able to also make post-purchase decisions when it comes to non-happy-path orders.

Shep Hyken
Active Member
11 months ago

Customer expectations are higher than ever. The best brands have taught customers what great service looks like, and when they don’t get it (from any retailer), they are disappointed.

The incentive to address customer dissatisfaction is simple: Do you want the customer’s business (or not)?

Perry Kramer
Member
11 months ago

Unfortunately, the trend will continue to get worse before it gets better. As personalization degrades many see the messages they send as no longer being rude to a person but rather as being rude to a company. The overall retail experience will continue to degrade, (at least for the next few years), and become less personal for an endless number of reasons at every point in the product and customer life cycle. The continued trend to a less personal experience driven by labor shortages, the need to drive down support costs, and the inability to get the right product at the right place will make it even more easy for the consumer to complain and criticize.

Ananda Chakravarty
Active Member
11 months ago

The issue is not just a problem for retail. Customers have seen the light–or at least have seen and come to expect better service from merchants in their own experiences. A bank that provides friendly, exceptional service may now be the comparison point for retailers as well. Effectively, the bar is being placed higher for every service that consumers encounter. When retailers or other vendors don’t perform to this minimum level, the resulting expectations aren’t met, causing “uncivil” actions that can escalate quickly. For retailers and brands good customer service is an ante to play in the game. Those who master it can gain some financial benefits, but only with truly exceptional service. They also will be contributing to raising the bar on expectations.

Warren Thayer
11 months ago

Companies have decided they can ignore their customers and get away with it. It’s cheaper and easier that way. Consumers are increasingly uncivil because they can rarely reach a qualified person, even after long waits on hold and they’re mad as hell. Eventually, I suspect they’ll be mad as hell and “not take it anymore” and seek out providers who offer them a trifle of respect. But this pendulum is swinging very slowly now, if at all.

Ian Percy
Member
11 months ago

With utmost respect and general agreement with the insights presented, I think we have to look deeper than frustration with hour-long holds on the phone though that frustrates the heck out of me.

Way back in 1997 I published my understanding of why I’d spent so much of my life being angry. And there was no shortage of things to be angry about. To be brief, both as individuals and as organizations it may be that we go through six phases before we find the satisfying reason for our existence. They go like this: Innocence. Independence. Institution. Irritation. Insight. Integration. The most critical phase of development is Irritation, the angry, restless phase. We become angry when, on some deep level, we know we have surrendered our true self to the imposed Institutions of our life. Work being one of them.

Unfortunately, seeing what is really going on (Insight) is really hard and many never attain it and become stuck in Irritation about pretty well everything. That seems to be our world today. I know that too well. Irritation/anger/restlessness is the sign that there is something greater waiting for you and/or your organization. It takes Insight to see what that purpose or destiny might be. Even a glimpse of it, gratefully, helps you to make sense of or to Integrate life experiences. Also unfortunately, this is not a linear process where you “arrive” at some nirvana. It is cyclical and neverending. I’m learning to be happy with the glimpses.

Phil Rubin
Member
11 months ago

The non-virtuous circle: It’s a simultaneous equation of retailers and brands often doing an abysmal job of delivering on customer expectations – especially in terms of customer service post-sale — and consumers growing wary and increasingly vocal (and often belligerent). It’s exacerbated by people seeing outrage from elected officials as increasingly socially acceptable, even when it’s utterly lacking in civility.