CLICK AND DOUBLE CLICK: WEB CAN HELP ENSURE SOMEONE'S LISTENING

Is anyone listening to you? Many people are frustrated by the fact they have a complaint or compliment, but there's no one really listening.

Well, the Internet may be able to lend a helping hand. Granted, most Web pages aren't sophisticated enough to make the communication audible. But a number of sites are geared toward listening to consumer input.

Warning: The fact e-mail is so easy to send may lessen its effectiveness. I know many Congressional offices are flooded with e-mail opinions. Many may put more stock in the old-fashioned letter with a postage stamp.

Do you have a complaint? Then start with the site that specializes in them: eComplaints.

ecomplaints.com

eComplaints bills itself as "your chance to fight back."

eComplaints notifies the company about each specific complaint and then compiles the information on how they can better serve consumers. Their pledge: "You have the chance to have some real impact on those big companies that never seem to get it right." Both faulty goods and poor service are fair game.

Participants must fill out a short form, and then the Web site e-mails the complaints to whoever is responsible at the relevant company. The complaint is posted on the site, without the personal information, and the company is invited to post a reply. The individual complaining can then rate the company's reply. Of course all of this is searchable by other consumers.

The founder's frustration with her wireless phone service was the spark that led her to found the company in 1998.

The top complaint area is travel, followed by retail and phone/communication services.

Airline complaints are common, so much so that eComplaints launched a related Web site.

www.airlinecomplaints.com

They list three reasons to register a complaint at the Web site:

• To increase your chance of being heard by the airlines.
• To publicize your experience and let others know.
• To let government know if changes should be made.

You can also check out the Stats page. Delta Airlines has the most complaints at the site, followed by American Airlines.

You can file a complaint about an unsafe product online at the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

www.cpsc.gov/index.html

Click on "Report Unsafe Product" button to access online forms to report an injury, file a complaint about an unsafe product or give feedback. There are also forms geared to health care professionals and businesses.

If the Consumer Product Safety Commission receives enough complaints or reports of injury, they will order the recall of a product.

They list the specific products they have jurisdiction over, and link to Web sites of other federal agencies.

The Web site is secure, which provides privacy to those filling out the forms.

You can also click back to the main Web site, which includes recall news. You can also search recalls by product or by company.

Perhaps one of the better known places to voice a complaint is the Better Business Bureau. They also have an online site for easier access.

www.betterbusinessbureau.com

A number of BBBs maintain their data online as part of a national information database. You can also read a number of publications online that address such topics as automobiles, giving to charity and consumer and business alerts.

When you submit a complaint online, it is forwarded to the appropriate BBB based on the zip code of the company involved. The BBB forwards your complaint to the company involved and most complaints are generally resolved.

The BBB doesn't process anonymous complaints.

You can also read their Business and Consumer Tips of the Week.

The folks at Harris Poll are also interested in your opinion.

vr.harrispollonline.com/register

You can give your opinions conveniently and privately online. The site points out that policy makers, business leaders and the media rely on the Harris Poll to produce accurate, reliable information on a wide range of topics. The company has surveyed millions of people from more than 90 companies for than 40 years.

How do you benefit? Well participants get a chance at winning a cruise. But perhaps more important, you have a chance to be heard and make a difference, say the Harris pollsters. From time to time, participants get to see the results in advance of national media publications so they can scoop their friends.

Surveys take between 5 and 25 minutes to fill out. You don't have to fill out the survey every time you receive an invitation.

www.diaryproject.com

Sometimes teen-agers don't feel people are listening. They might enjoy a site that has been online for several years: The Diary Project. It lets kids write about issues important to them and allows them to share them with other teen-agers.

The site currently has more than 18,400 entries. They are filed in 24 categories such as relationships, religion, loss, feelings, stress, school, etc. It's free, but participants must register for their own password to post. You can comment on any of the entries.

This non-profit organization encourages teens to write about their day-to-day experiences growing up, just as they would their own journal. Information is shared anonymously.

www.yack.com

If you want to be heard, there's always someone to listen in an Internet chat room. For a great list of chat and live events, click over to Yack.com, which bills itself as the Internet Program Guide. It points out that companies are cashing in on the concept of community with specialty sites dedicated to all kinds of subjects.

You can find chat sites by category or take a look at the day's top events. It's fun.

See you in Cyberspace.

Joni Adams is managing editor of the Southeast Missourian. You can e-mail her at click@semissourian.com.