Alterantive view

cavework

I have been a member on here for many years and read this board with interest.
I have read valid complaints and TBH stupid complaints..
What some may not understand is that businesses have to deal with all complaints and that this costs money. The stupid idiotic complaints along with the genuine ones..
The cost of dealing with the idiots who TBH didn't want to pay full price for the item from the start or for the service they have agreed .These then complain about anything to get a price reduction or and are looking for compensation after delivery.
This is then reflected in the price these mostly larger businesses have to pass onto their future customers.
I am wondering if MSE is actually encouraging customers to try and get a price reduction using these tactics no matter how this effects others. perhaps this is not about the quality of service , perhaps this is just about trying to get something for less than the agreed original price? Then future customers are paying for this? and so the cycle continues..not MSE

teddysmum

This section is for people to have a moan or say they are happy about something and is in no way official, so it costs the businesses nothing, unless a genuine bad practice is highlighted.

cavework

But their comments fair or unfair are noted by potential further customers..so could cost the relevant business money..??

Also I have noticed that those who praise a company for their services usually get no response ..This is the Praise ?? vent etc part of MSE?

Bogalot

Few of the regular posters on here will encourage frivolous complaints or compo chasers, quite the opposite in fact.

If your complaint relates to the advice MSE themselves give out, perhaps your post would be better placed on the site feedback page.

cavework

There have been many frivolous complaints on here. I have read them and yes the regular posters do sometimes point out how stupid they are being. But lets be honest ..the praise side of this part of the forum gets very little response.. I have not actually vented about MSE I have asked a question ? Does MSE understand that by helping people to gain a price reduction by complaining the cost of this will be passed onto future consumers|? Please don't avoid the question by directing me to another part of the forum...

London50

I have always found that the regular posters on here give good honest advise, if they believe there is a good reason for a claim/reduction for an item/service they say so and if the claim is stupid they make that quite clear as well.
Over the years I have been using these forums although I may not agree with some replies overall it is IMO far better than " a person down the pub told me" type comments some posters try.
Anyone that cares to read the OP question/comment then the answers should have no problem understanding that a genuine claim will be advised correctly and the others given the facts of life and are advised to move on.

agrinnall

If businesses gave customers a reduction for praising them then you might see it a bit more, although I have both started and contributed to threads offering praise in the past. I find frivolous and plain incorrect complaints annoying and I'm happy to say so, but I have no problem at all supporting people who have a valid complaint. You seem to be suggesting that they should not complain because it will cost other customers more (obviously, as customers pay for every cost incurred by any business), but I'm not sure what you think they should do instead of complaining - perhaps you could enlighten us?

cavework

I must admit that over the years MSE seems to be more about getting your money back ..compensation ..and less about being pleased with the service provided. I have absolutely no problem with people who have received bad service but I admit to being seriously annoyed by those who just want to get a price reduction and will use any way possible to get what they want.. I think this is a fair comment

hollydays

Mse doesnt discourage users for asking for reductions in charity shops.
This is based on what?
Just trying to get things cheaper.
Even if they already reasonable,or dirt cheap, mse makes this an acceptable tactic to try.

mije1983

cavework wrote: »

.the praise side of this part of the forum gets very little response..

That's more to do with human traits than the fault of MSE or other forums. People tend to post/talk to others about bad experiences rather than good.

ARandomMiser

The OP makes a good point and one that has crossed my mind. Who will ultimately pay for things like the endowment scandal or the PPI scandal - not the banks, they will just get the money back (and a bit more) in other ways. It had always crossed my mind that the bank may hand out a few hundred quid but over a period of years they will get that back 10-fold.

In a similar vein we know we pay a significant amount on the likes of car insurance and home insurance to cover other peoples fraudulent claims and also payouts to those that could not be bothered to get insurance ........ or chunks of money are taken out of our pensions every month to fund a compensation scheme .... or supermarkets include an add-on in the price of everything for 'wastage' (which includes shop lifting) ...... or the fact that we pay liability insurance, in multiple cases, just in case someone sues us.

These are not necessarily bad ideas but you have to be aware that the one thing guaranteed is that when money is handed out with one hand there is a plan in place to recover it in the other hand.