The 5 Companies People Are Convinced Actually Hate Their Customers
What happened to customer service?
Frame Stock Footage | Shutterstock If there's one thing that can drive a person crazy it's having to deal with a company's disregard for their customers, especially when they have concerns about services or products.
Whether it's having to call the internet company for the millionth time because there's an outage and no one seems bothered to fix the issue or attempting to get a refund that's long overdue but somehow, the company is making you jump through extra hoops — we've all been there.
In the subreddit r/AskReddit, users were encouraged to share the companies they believe hate their consumers, and needless to say, Reddit came through.
These were the 5 most often mentioned companies people are convinced actually hate their customers:
1. Ticketmaster
"Ticketmaster feels like it has a special place in the 'We dislike our customers' club. Between the skyrocketing prices, insane fees, and the whole debacle of popular shows selling out in minutes (thanks, bots), it's like they’ve mastered the art of frustration," one person wrote.
Unfortunately, Ticketmaster has gotten quite a bad rap, likely exacerbated by the rush to buy tickets for Taylor Swift's tour following the release of her album "Midnights."
Fans attempting to buy tickets were met with absurd wait times, and some people were even unable to score tickets at all.
According to AP News, the Justice Department ended up suing Ticketmaster, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America. The antitrust lawsuit was brought with 30 state and district attorneys general who sought to dismantle the monopoly they claimed was squeezing out smaller promoters, hurting artists, and drowning ticket buyers in fees.
2. Etsy
Most of Reddit agreed that Etsy, an e-commerce company where individuals can sell homemade or vintage items to buyers, was making it increasingly difficult to peddle goods on the popular site. One person admitted that they "gave up" selling after 10 years because the platform cared more about their buyers than the people selling products.
"You can't speak to a human anymore and now you have to pay to set up an account. The amount of scam messages you get is crazy and it's all just people reselling Chinese beads and stuff as 'handmade' these days," they said. "They find some way to scrape a few more pennies off the seller, and now you have to pay them to advertise your products, which is the whole point of them existing in the first place."
3. Any healthcare provider
"Every single U.S. health insurance provider devotes millions of dollars and work hours every year to making sure that their customers die at a profitable rate," one person ranted.
Anna Subbotina | Canva Pro
Their complaint is definitely valid, considering how far behind America is in terms of providing affordable and accessible healthcare to its citizens.
In fact, Americans spend more money on healthcare on a per capita basis than people in any other developed nation, yet almost half say they've struggled recently to pay for medical treatment or prescription drugs, according to a study from Gallup and West Health. About 45% of those polled by the organizations said they'd recently had to skip treatment or medicine either because of cost or lack of easy access. Of those, about 8% said they also wouldn't have access to affordable care if they required it today.
It's disheartening that people with debilitating diseases or illnesses are either forced to suffer or have to shell out money they don't have just to receive treatment. That kind of reality is a direct reflection of the dystopian society that we seem to be living in.
4. Airbnb
"They are 100% behind the "hosts" who sell on their site. They actively hate the people who actually rent their offerings. Complain about anything and Airbnb will treat you like a criminal," one person observed.
It seems the company is more than aware of the universal complaints made against them after its CEO, Brian Chesky, addressed the backlash that they've been getting on social media. The company acknowledged the hosts' ever-increasing expenses, including home insurance, property taxes, and the cost of labor for cleaning and maintenance, which have only climbed thanks to inflation. Then there are the complaints from customers booking on their platform, with people upset over pictures not looking like they did on the listing, hidden cameras, and extreme demands/expectations from hosts.
Chesky has been vocal about listening and attempting to fix customers' top complaints. In its 2023 fall update, Airbnb rolled out a site layout letting customers see the total price, including cleaning fees, when browsing listings.
5. Netflix
Honestly, any streaming service could be under the umbrella of companies that don't care about their customers, especially based on the way most of them keep increasing their subscription prices only to force customers to endure commercials. "They were great back when all they did was mail DVDs. But they’ve changed a lot and they’ve had a lot of downs and downs. And what they do to the customers is very aggravating. And sometimes seems malicious," one person noted about Netflix.
Netflix has indeed been the recipient of much criticism from its users. Many people have argued that the quality of content on the streaming service has decreased significantly over the last few years, their increased prices, and the fact that they've now restricted the number of accounts per household in an attempt to crack down on password sharing.
The sad reality is that customer service is no longer a priority for companies because their earnings haven't suffered as a result. With limited options and an economy that favors commerce over consumer, there's not much recourse for the lowly customer. Speaking up certainly never hurts, but the best way to teach these corporations a true lesson is to always shop small and shop local when and if you can.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.