There Is A Place Where Businesses Can Review Bad Customers
The recent Lawsuit against Jane Perez by Chris Dietz, owner of Dietz Development, has certainly sparked a lot of conversation and opinion on the internet. I first posted a blog about the Angie’s List and Yelp reviews lawsuit just yesterday and the comments started pouring in right away. Most were from contractors who expressed their gratitude to Dietz for what he is doing. Many of these same contractors shared stories of how they too felt they were abused and taken advantage of by unreasonable and what many referred to as “crazy” clients. One common theme I have picked up in the comments on my site and others is the desire for a web site where business owners can post reviews about bad customers. So I did some research to see what’s out there and I found two:
It appears that Rate My Customers is a free service, but Bad Consumers does charge a fee after a six month free trial.
I am not recommending or encouraging business owners use either of these services. My purpose here is to make my readers aware of what’s out there because they asked.
Here are a few things you can do at these sites:
- Post reviews about problem customers and or consumers
- Tell problem customers and consumers you will post a review about them if they do not work things out with you.
- Read about what other businesses have posted about consumers and customers before you decide to do business with them or not.
- Help other businesses avoid the “Customer from Hell”
- The data base of info at Rate My Consumers can only be searched in alphabetic order by name. On Bad Consumers you can search by name and zip code.
Success Stories might make you feel good about leveling the playing field
Rate My Customers offers a few “Success Stories” from business that used their site. Here are a couple of examples:
" After seeing my previous post at this website, Mr. C____ contacted us and offered to settle his debt. We were happy to mitigate late and finance fees and he paid when he said he would. "
“Thanks for your site; the minute this woman saw her name listed on your site she called us and offered to work it out. We finally got paid. Thank You so much!"
“I am a building contractor and was contacted by a person on your "bad customer list" and was concerned about doing business with this person. When I asked him about the complaint that the other contractor reported on your site this person suddenly went crazy and it became obvious to me I did NOT want to business with him. Thanks for your web site, it saved me a big headache I am sure... "
(Click here to take the quick Dietz Lawsuit Survey)
Before You Start Reviewing
I suggest if you want to consider posting a review on either of these sites that you first consider the downstream effects of doing so. You might want to consult with your attorney first rather than after your review generates push back from a consumer. Also, keep in mind, if you are a business and a consumer decides to sue you; as a business you will be considered guilty until you prove your innocence. And, you will have to cover the costs of doing so most likely without the ability to recover your legal costs even if you win.
What do you think?
Would you post a negative review about a consumer or customer? If you would, why would you do it; what’s your purpose?
