Planetfeedback.com--Everyone's complaint Department
Written: Oct 27 '00 (Updated Oct 27 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easily write and deliver complaint letters
Cons: Some aspects are hard to navigate
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| bdolcourt's Full Review: Archived Web Services Reviews |
In my travels between Boston and New York, it was inevitable that I would actually stay in Connecticut. I had what would be called a “less than stellar” experience at a hotel that should have been reasonably nice. After detailing my complaint to my cousin, he told me that I should complain at Planetfeedback.com.
What is it?
Planetfeedback.com is a gateway to every company’s complaint department. They promise to deliver a complaint, complement, suggestion or comment to any company, regardless of size and location.
After registering, I selected “complaint”, and entered the name of the hotel. Planetfeedback returned a list of all matching results. If your specific company isn’t on the list, they will still deliver it, you just need to provide more information. Since it was associated with a national chain, the CEO and delivery address came up immediately. I then got to choose with which part of the hotel process I was dissatisfied, how dissatisfied I was, if I planned to return, and would I inform others of my experience. The choices are all based on drop down boxes and check boxes. The site then generates a form based on the answers. All I had to do was fill in my specific complaint and what I wanted them to do about it. Next to each form element, Planetfeedback provides suggestions and guidelines for how to write a better explanation of my complaint. I entered no more than 4 lines of text.
After completing the form, the site spell checks the letter and shows it to you for final approval. It is really simple. You can edit any part of the letter that you want after it is prepared, but before it is sent. Click send and it is gone. They send you a copy of the letter and will notify you if they receive any reply.
What else does it do?
Since people send all sorts of letters through the site, they aggregate the data. You can look up how a company rates, based on the number and types of complaints, complements, suggestions and comments. You can immediately tell where a company is strong and weak. It also rates the company with in its industry. It isn’t as specific as Epinions, but it serves a different purpose.
Planetfeedback also maintains a record of which companies you complain to and the how satisfied you were by the results. This information also goes into the data aggregation.
There is a section that includes news and ratings: professional stories on issues related to customer satisfaction, such as Internet lotteries, using frequent flyer miles, electronics buying guides, etc.
Finally, there is a selection of letters to companies which authors have chosen to share. They are available by company and the letters often detail the specific complaints or complements.
Anything you didn’t like?
It can be kind of difficult to look up a specific company’s rating. The top five and bottom within an industry are readily apparent. Middle of the road companies are a little harder to access. They have revised the interface to make it easier, however the only simple way is from start page. It would be nice if there were ways to back into specific company information.
The form-based system generates simple complaint letters based on pull down and check boxes. The letters are fairly rigid. I had a complaint about several aspects of my hotel stay (the room and housekeeping). The form is only set up to address specific aspects, such as the room or housekeeping. The letter is easily edited, but it would be nice if the letter format could be a little more flexible.
The news and ratings section can be helpful, however they only display the current top four or five stories per industry. There does not appear to be a way to get older stories. The stories also do not appear to be updated that often: one of the three top stories under HMOs is dated August 29.
Did it work?
Two weeks after I submitted my complaint, I got a letter of apology and a free room night at the hotel in question (I had requested a partial refund). It came to me directly through the mail and not through Planetfeedback. While I was dissatisfied enough that I might not use the free room, Planetfeedback did its job.
The site is very easy to use for writing a clear, concise letter of complaint and it gets results. The whole complaint process took me less than 10 minutes and I didn’t spend a dime. It actually worked and I got a free room-night. Next time I have a complaint about something, I’m going to start at Planetfeedback.com!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bdolcourt
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Member: Bram Dolcourt
Location: Valhalla, NY
Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 35 members
About Me:
After graduating in Chemistry from Brandeis and a short EMS career, I'm a Medical Student.
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