Customer Comment Card Leads To Trouble

When times are tough, customers dole out their dollars carefully. So companies work hard to get inside their heads

What will make them a loyal customer? What turns them off?

Customer service surveys are designed to answer those questions. But consumer reporter Michelle Buckman found., one survey turned into a customer service nightmare.

It started out pretty routine. A customer walks into this gas station in west chester to rent a u-haul.

But that's when things started to go downhill..

Charles Carter says the manager wasn't pleasant.

"It was like i was a complete inconvenience on him."

Carter says he chalked it up to poor customer service and went on his way. The next day he received this email from U-haul.

"It asked how did we do, how can we improve?"

The customer service survey is like many you've seen.

"Would you recommended this location to a friend? i obviously said no and then i typed in my comment here."

Carter admits his comment used foul language to describe the manager.

"Normally when you fill out a survey you think that it's anonymous or at least for corporate use."

but turns out, Carter's comments weren't completely anonymous and were not for internal use only.
They appeared on U-haul's Web site, along with other customer reviews.

Carter's comments were posted word for word, along with his first name and last initial. And it didn't take long for the manager to notice them.

Carter then got a phone message from the manager using obscene language and challenging Carter to meet the manager.

"Who would just do that, treating a customer rudely is one thing but threatening him! I'm thinking he's got my personal information, what's he gonna do with this?"

Carter filed a police report then called U-haul. He says an assistant regional supervisor told him, publishing reviews online was corporate policy.

The email from U-haul did say "please take a moment to let us and other customers know how we did" but Carter never imagined his words would show up online.

So what happens when you fill out a customer service survey? Does the company have the right to do what they want with it?

"I think most of us believe when we respond to these things that we're protected and in fact we're not necessarily protected," says Ron Hill, senior associate dean of the business school at Villanova University.

"You give up your rights," Hill says. "When you respond to that, unless it explicitly states what it's used for, you have now given that information over."

Look to see whether the company's privacy policy is attached to the survey and read it before filling it out.
If the policy doesn't tell you how your words will be used, assume they'll be made public.

"You have to be very careful to recognize that most things on the Internet can be shared with virtually everybody."

But the dean says companies should ensure that your comments can't be traced back to you.

"Every firm wants to get immediate feedback and the only way they're gonna do that is if customers believe their privacy is protected," Hill says.

U-haul says "we have had tremendous success so far with this program with candid, helpful responses from our customers."

But it hopes to "improve the review process."

As for that manager?

He was more polite when Fox 29 showed up.

"He did insult me badly in the Internet in writing," the manager said.

"But your response as a business-owner and representing U-haul, do you think that was the right response?" we asked.

"No it is not," the manager said.

He also said he was "trying to answer him back" but denied making any threats.

"No it's not at all, just I'd like to talk to him man to man, why he got upset, why he had to leave this message."

The manager says, "he did cross the line and and I crossed the line in responding back to him, I understand that."

as for Carter, U-haul smoothed things over with him but he still has a message for them...

"They need to make some policy changes, they need to protect their consumer. You don't really know what your information is being used for."

U-haul tells Fox 29 they will no longer allow that West Chester gas station to offer U-haul services and thanked us for bringing this incident to their attention.

Carter did file a police report but did not press charges.