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Scott Bretzman

Scott Bretzman

Co-founder, President & CEO of Customer Care Measurement & Consulting, which conducts the National Customer Rage Survey; appeared on The Indicator from Planet Money and Studio 2 discussing consumer rage.

Nov 4, 2026

18:47
Are we really angrier? Are we simply complaining more openly? Tell me what you found.
18:53
It's surprising.
18:54
Less has changed in terms of customers being angrier or the percentage of customers that complain.
19:01
And much of the data and insights that I'll share come from, as you cite, the National Customer Rage Survey, which now has 25 years of trending data and it tells the story of what it's like to have a problem with a product or service and complain in America.
19:18
I'd say that we've learned the level of customer rage is held steady for the most part within five or 10 percentage points over the 25 year period.
19:31
Somewhere between two thirds and a little less than three quarters of Americans will report that they experienced customer rage in association with some kind of problem with a product or service.
19:42
The real issue is the deterioration of quality of product and service.

8 MINS LATER

28:17
Like sort of how do things tend to escalate? And what have you found as far as like the rage that people see and how it kind of goes up, up, up when they don't get satisfaction?
18:47
Are we really angrier? Are we simply complaining more openly? Tell me what you found.
18:53
It's surprising.
18:54
Less has changed in terms of customers being angrier or the percentage of customers that complain.
19:01
And much of the data and insights that I'll share come from, as you cite, the National Customer Rage Survey, which now has 25 years of trending data and it tells the story of what it's like to have a problem with a product or service and complain in America.
19:18
I'd say that we've learned the level of customer rage is held steady for the most part within five or 10 percentage points over the 25 year period.
19:31
Somewhere between two thirds and a little less than three quarters of Americans will report that they experienced customer rage in association with some kind of problem with a product or service.
19:42
The real issue is the deterioration of quality of product and service.

8 MINS LATER

28:17
Like sort of how do things tend to escalate? And what have you found as far as like the rage that people see and how it kind of goes up, up, up when they don't get satisfaction?

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