customerservice

While thousands of Americans unleash their anger at big banks in protests around the country, many more are registering their dissatisfaction from their keyboards. In the wake of last week's news that Bank of America is adding a new $5 fee for debit card use, online-only banks saw waves of new customers coming through their virtual doors.

The power of customer satisfaction is on the rise, as sites like Angie's List and Yelp grow ever more popular. According to a recent survey, 70% of Americans are willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies that provide "excellent" customer service. That's up significantly from 2010.

Poor customer service is one of the primary reasons people tend to shun certain companies and even whole industries. 24/7 Wall St. identified the U.S. industries with the most complaints, as well as the troubles people have with them. If customer service is important to success, those we identified could be in trouble.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index's annual report on airlines showed Southwest still on top of the rankings, and far ahead of No. 2 Continental. Southwest even improved its score, a rare bright spot in an industry that came in last overall in customer satisfaction among those the ACSI rates.

GM brought in trainers from the Ritz-Carlton to show dealers how to better connect with customers. The brand has long struggled with the perception that Cadillacs are only for older consumers.

I never did know when to leave well enough alone. This past summer I had largely stopped getting credit card offers in the mail, having "opted out" earlier in the year. But Bank of America offers continued to get through. I'd held a platinum Visa card with BofA for more than 15 years, so I...

If you're going to do a consumer wrong, try not to do wrong to their beloved dog. There is no shortage of customer service horror stories. Service providers, government agencies, airlines, restaurants and hotels all raise our ire at one time or another. Retailers really catch a lot of flack...

Pssst! ... Want to know a secret? Banks actually have two customer-service departments. The one all of you are probably familiar with is regular customer service. But financial institutions also have what's called "executive customer service" - and these guys (and gals) can perform magic. The...

The Federal Communications Commission last Friday asked Verizon Wireless why it recently doubled the fees it charges customers when they break their contracts on "smart" phones. In November, the carrier increased the maximum early contract termination fee for smart phones from $175 to $350. Like...

Dear WalletPop: I'm writing to let you know of a battle that I've been fighting since late June. I am owed a credit of $275 for an overpayment on my AT&T Dish Network account. Neither AT&T nor Dish disputes that I am owed the money; however, due to massive, persistent communication...