HOW TO HANDLE……….I-HATE-YOUR-COMPANY.COM !

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Date: Friday September 5, 2008 03:51:14 pm
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    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122057760688302147.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
    How to Handle ‘IHateYourCompany.com’
    Some Firms Buy Up Negative Domain Names To Avert ‘Gripe Sites’
    In
    recent years, disgruntled consumers have launched hundreds of Web sites
    to air their grievances — from starbucked.com and ihatestarbucks.com
    to boycottwalmart.org and againstthewal.com.Are companies fighting
    back? A new study finds that some have been much more aggressive than
    others. Xerox, for example, has bought or registered about 20
    unflattering domain names, including xeroxstinks.com,
    xeroxcorporationsucks.com and ihatexerox.net. But other companies, such
    as Dell, have taken a more hands-off approach. DellisEvil.com,
    MyDellSux.com and IHateDell.info are for sale, but the computer maker
    says it has no interest in buying them. (Those sites currently host no
    content.)The Internet has become a mecca for disgruntled consumers,
    creating new challenges for companies accustomed to controlling their
    message tightly. While companies can’t pull down a negative YouTube
    video or erase a critical Twitter post, they have more power when it
    comes to domain names.That doesn’t mean, however, that they should snap
    up every domain with a vaguely negative-sounding name and then let them
    gather dust, according to Internet-strategy consultants.Rather,
    companies should register or buy just the sites that get the most
    traffic, says Josh Bourne, managing partner of FairWinds Partners, the
    Internet strategy consulting firm that conducted the study.

    Xerox
    says it is selective in deciding which pejorative domain names to buy.
    Those it now owns make up less than half a percent of the company’s
    domain portfolio. But the company has a watch list of domains it would
    like to buy: While it owns ihatexerox.net and ihatexerox.org, someone
    else owns ihatexerox.com. If that domain became available, Xerox likely
    would buy it, says Rebecca Berkich, who manages domains for Xerox.

    Once
    they are in control of these domains, companies should maintain those
    sites, and use them as a vehicle to solicit feedback from customers,
    Internet consultants say. Otherwise, angry customers will visit the
    sites and, when they find them blank, simply will find another site on
    which to complain about the company.In its study, FairWinds looked at a
    subset of the so-called gripe sites: those that end in the phrase
    “sucks.com.” There are some 20,000 domains on the Internet that fit
    that description, according to FairWinds. (Only 2,000 domains end in
    the phrase “stinks.com.”)Of the companies surveyed, 35% own the domain
    name for their brand followed by the word “sucks.” They include
    Wal-Mart Stores, Coca-Cola, Toys”R”Us, Target and Whole Foods Market,
    according to FairWinds. Some 45% of these domains have yet to be
    registered by anyone. (FairWinds based its analysis on 1,058 domain
    names for companies on the Global 500 and Fortune 500 lists.)

    The
    study found that the majority of companies that do own these domain
    names publish no content on them. Only a few marketers have started to
    use the domains to try to tackle customer grievances. For instance, a
    Web surfer visiting the Web site Loewssucks.com (a reference to the AMC
    Theatres chain) sees a guest-satisfaction survey. Visitors to
    Southwestsucks.com are directed to the customer-service page on
    Southwest Airlines’ site, where they can submit official complaints.

    Starbucks
    says that for all the gripe sites that exist, it has just as many fan
    sites. “We appreciate that our customers and partners [employees] take
    the time to share their thoughts about Starbucks. This feedback — good
    and bad — ultimately makes us a better company,” a spokeswoman said in
    a statement.While some of the gripe sites that remain in the hands of
    critics have fizzled, others have grown bigger. Take
    BankofAmericaSucks.com, which was started by former Bank of America
    customer Jonathan Speigner nearly five years ago after a dispute with
    the bank over a car loan. It now is home to thousands of postings, and
    it calls itself the “Official Bank of America consumer opinion site.”

    Consumers
    continue to post complaints on the site. One recent post from a user
    named “Ripped_off” says: “BOA does not care about customers….BOA is a
    disgrace to banking. I can pretty much relate to every complaint I’ve
    seen on this site and others.” The site is mentioned in numerous blogs
    and newspaper articles, and appears among the top 15 results on a
    Google search for “Bank of America.”

    Even though Mr. Speigner’s
    dispute with the bank over the loan is long settled, the
    information-technology director at an Atlanta technology company says
    he keeps up the Web site because it continues to draw traffic.Bank of
    America says it sometimes visits the site to solicit feedback and
    address consumer concerns. “We are always listening to our customers,”
    says Jim Pierpoint, a vice president of corporate communications at
    Bank of America. Bank of America notes it also devotes an area of its
    own site to customer service.

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