Consumer Digest - consumerdigest.net - Business analysis & rating.

Frequently Asked Questions

ConsumerDigest and Consumers: How does ConsumerDigest work?; What happens after the letter is sent?; Why can't I just e-mail you a copy of a letter to forward to a company?; Why should I use your service? Why not go directly to the company?; So if you don't charge me anything, how do you make money?; Why does ConsumerDigest use cookies?
ConsumerDigest and Companies: What's the benefit to companies?; What companies can I communicate with using ConsumerDigest?; Do companies respond to letters sent through ConsumerDigest?; How do I find company contact information on your site?
Registration and MyFeedback: Why do I have to register?; How do I get into MyFeedback? And what is it for?; Why does my letter show up as "In Progress?"; What if I forget my password? How can I find it?; Why won't your site recognize my username (e-mail address)?
Posting Letters: Will you post my letters?
Why is my Shared Letter no longer posted?
Privacy: Will you give my name and e-mail to advertisers and other companies without my permission?
ConsumerDigest and Consumers
How does ConsumerDigest work?

You come to us with consumer feedback that you want to give -- a complaint, a compliment, a question or a suggestion. We gather some information from you, such as what company you dealt with, what kind of feedback you want to give, and how strong your feelings are. Based on your answers, we give you an appropriate business letter which you can then edit however you want. Once you review and approve it, we get it to the best contact at the company by e-mail, fax or snail mail.

If your letter is sent by us, we also give you the option of sending a copy of it to other people, including friends, family members, and elected officials. Sending your letter to others increases your influence, since companies realize that you're spreading the word about their products and services. As with all other ConsumerDigest services, you get to decide whether you want to do that or not.
If your company's contact information is not in our database, you get a professional-looking business letter to print and send by mail. -top-

If you print and send the letter yourself, you can return to My Feedback and rate your satisfaction with the company's response to the letter. If you're happy, we'll consider the matter resolved. If you haven't heard back, you can write and mail another letter or re-print and mail the letter that's stored in My Feedback.
-top-

Why can't I just e-mail you a copy of a letter to forward to a company?
When you send a letter through our site, we're better able to log, track and follow up with you and the company. You can store your letters on our site, too. All you have to do is sign up as a registered user and take advantage of the My Feedback feature. All in all, the feedback process is a lot easier when you write directly to the company using our site rather than e-mailing us a copy of what you've written.
For companies we have no information about, we give you the tools to write and print a professional-looking letter to mail.
-top-

Why should I use your service? Why not go directly to the company?
We're all for people giving feedback any way they want to. But studies show that for every 25 people who want to give consumer feedback, only one ends up following through. That tells us that giving feedback isn't easy, and we want to help you with that.
That's why we do most of the work for you and why we follow up to make sure the right people hear your feedback. Letters sent by us cost you nothing, and those you send by mail cost only the price of a single stamp. In the end, you increase the chances that your feedback will make a difference.
-top-

So if you don't charge me anything, how do you make money?
When you give feedback, we remove your personal data -- your name, for example, and your e-mail address -- from the details of your feedback, such as whether you're filing a complaint about food or a suggestion about customer service. We don't do anything with your personal data unless you specifically ask us to. We then take the feedback information supplied by you, by the person who generates a letter after you, and the one after that, and the one after that. We compile all your experiences, lump them together, evaluate what they mean (complaints, questions, concerns, late baggage, time of day, etc.) and create what's called aggregated data. It's a lot of information on specific topics, and it's information that is valuable to companies.

We do sell the anonymously pooled and analyzed information to the companies you're writing about in your letters so they can see how they stack up compared to others in their industry. It's important that they know this stuff. Are their cashiers rude or competent? Do their stores stock the items you want? Do they promise one thing and provide another? Are their planes on time? Are their employees well trained, or is their customer service more of a disservice?
-top-

Why does ConsumerDigest use cookies?
The use of cookies is a common practice on highly interactive Web sites such as ConsumerDigest to customize and enhance a user's experience. Our site uses cookies to make your experience at our site specific to you. We also use cookies to keep track of how you found out about our site (i.e., what link to ConsumerDigest you may have clicked on at another site).

We use a minimal amount of cookies; however, since they are updated as you navigate throughout our site, it may appear as though we use more. Your browser interprets these updates as new cookies. If you set your browser to reject cookies, you will not be able to use ConsumerDigest.
-top-

ConsumerDigest and Companies

What's the benefit to companies?
Companies spend tons of time and money trying to figure out how to make customers happy. They can learn some of their best lessons from existing customers who have something to say. If companies don't know what's going on out on the front lines of business and customer interaction, they don't know what to change, or why, or how.

We collect real feedback from real consumers and package it so that businesses know exactly what people are saying and how business is being conducted in the real world, day in and day out. That way, they know what they have to do to improve, and you benefit when they do.
-top-

What companies can I communicate with using ConsumerDigest?
Our Home Page contains a fairly extensive list of industries. They were chosen because they tend to draw the greatest amount of consumer feedback. In each industry, we hope you'll find the company you're interested in contacting.
You can also type in the name of your company under the "company search" field on the home page and see if it's in our database.
If the company you're looking for isn't listed on our site, you can still write your feedback letter. Click on "Write a Letter" under "Write It Anyway." Just give us all the details you know about the company -- its name, where it's located, things like that -- and we'll give you a printable, professional-looking business letter that you can send to the company by postal mail. We're committed to making feedback easy to give and send.
-top-

Do companies respond to letters sent through ConsumerDigest?
Most companies want happy customers, so most companies will respond to your letter and the issues you raise. We at ConsumerDigest have a resolution system in place to increase the chances of a positive outcome to your letter, but ultimately it is up to the company to decide what your business is worth to them.

Some companies also pass along special offers and deals through ConsumerDigest. We let you decide whether you want to hear about offers or whether you'd like to be left alone. The decision is always up to you.
-top-

How do I find company contact information on your site?
To look up name and address information, go to our homepage and look for the light purple box on the side that says "Company Search." Then enter the name of the company to search our listings. If the company is found, it will be listed right away. Choose the type of feedback you have, make sure the company name is checked, choose a topic and click "continue." On the very next page, you'll find the company name, address, phone numbers and Web site address.
-top-

Registration and My Feedback

Why do I have to register?
There are advantages to becoming a registered ConsumerDigest user. You have access to My Feedback, which gives you an easy way to store letters you've already sent -- in case you need them in the future -- and to resend letters. My Feedback lets you track responses from companies and store information on them. Registration also ensures that all users agree to our Terms & Conditions.
And ConsumerDigest is easier to use once you register. Registration allows us to include your name and address in the letter, just as you would if you were writing a letter offline. That gives the company every opportunity to respond to your feedback, which is what we all want. We give that information only to the company you're writing to -- not to anyone else. The more contact information you provide (name, address, telephone number, order number), the easier is it for the company to contact you, especially if you print and mail the letter yourself. (If you post your electronic letter publicly on our Web site, please remember to remove sensitive personal information first).
-top-

How do I get into My Feedback? And what is it for?
To get into My Feedback, just go to the tabs at the top right of our homepage and click on the one that says "My Feedback." Follow the login instructions on the page that appears. The My Feedback area contains all of the letters you have written, and it includes spaces for you to enter the date you receive a response. Also, there is a space to rate your satisfaction level with the response to each letter.

If you have not already registered with our site, please go to http://www.ConsumerDigest.net/my_feedback/register to get into the registration area.
-top-

Why does my letter show up as "In Progress"?
When your letter status shows "In Progress," that means we're working behind the scenes to e-mail or fax the electronic letter you've written. As soon as the letter is sent, the status will change in My Feedback. Then you'll know your letter has been delivered!
-top-

What if I forget my password? How can I find it?
For your convenience, we've created a space on our Web site where you can enter your e-mail address and we'll mail your password right to you. This automatic function keeps your password secure.

You can find it at: http://www.ConsumerDigest.net/recall_password
-top-

Why won't your site recognize my username (e-mail address)?
It's possible you registered using a different e-mail address. If you'd like to search under an alternate e-mail address, just go to My Feedback, click on "Forgot Password", and enter your alternate e-mail address in the user blank.
-top-

Posting Letters

Will you post my letters?
You can decide whether to post your letter in our Shared Letters section. We think consumers can learn from and be entertained by each others' letters. Sharing your letter amplifies your voice and raises the stakes for the company to respond. But in keeping with our commitment to privacy, we'll never publish yours unless we get your OK first. (Sorry! This function isn't available for letters sent to companies that are not in our database).

In two simple steps, you can post the letter yourself. First, at the end of the letter-writing process, check the box at the bottom of the page under "Shared Letters." Read the information carefully and make sure you agree with it. Then click "Continue" to the next page, where you enter your first name, last initial and city. You'll also be asked to provide a subject line (similar to a headline) for your letter. Please edit the letter here to remove any personal information you don't want others to see. Take out things like credit card and bank account numbers, last names, street addresses, phone numbers, PINS/passwords, Social Security numbers or other information that identifies you personally. Once you go through these steps and send your letter, it is automatically posted to the Shared Letters section.

If you share your letter, it's also eligible to appear on our Home Page under "15 Minutes of Fame." ConsumerDigest determines which letters are featured there.
Why is my Shared Letter no longer posted?
Because of the volume of letters our users choose to share, and because older letters tend to be of less interest than newer ones, we limite the number of Shared Letters posted under each company to the 100 most recent written to that company. We believe this gives our users and extensive list of letters to view while keeping the Shared Letters section fresh and relevant.
-top-
Privacy

Will you give my name and e-mail to advertisers and other companies without my permission?
The quick answer: NEVER. We decided early on that we would respect our users' privacy as though it were our own, and that's a guiding principle of our business.

Your personal information remains private. We do offer you the chance to sign up for promotional offers, special deals and other things that some companies sponsor. But sign-ups are on an opt-in basis only, which means that we assume you don't want to participate unless you tell us otherwise. Please see our privacy policy and our privacy pledges throughout the site for more on our unwavering commitment to privacy.
-top-

® Powered & Hosted by Planetonline.com

Links

LinksToYou