Consumers are mad as hell and aren't gonna take it anymore

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Consumers Are Mad as Hell and Aren't Gonna Take It Anymore

Podcast: The Indicator from Planet Money (NPR)
Date: August 12, 2026
Hosts: Waylon Wong & Adrienne Ma
Guests: Scott Bretzman (CEO, Customer Care Measurement and Consulting), Forrest Morgeson (University of Michigan), Heather Timmons (The Guardian)

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Main Theme / Purpose

This episode explores the growing frustration and “rage” among American consumers. The hosts and guests examine why consumer anger is at an all-time high, its economic impacts, what businesses and governments are (or aren’t) doing about it, and the evolving role of journalism in championing consumer rights.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The State of Consumer Rage

• Rage as the Zeitgeist:

  • A recent survey found that two-thirds of Americans who experienced a product or service problem felt “rage” over it ([00:14]), highlighting a sharp rise in consumer frustration.

• Consumer Complaints at Record Highs:

  • The University of Michigan’s latest American Customer Satisfaction Index shows both satisfaction slipping and complaints soaring to unprecedented levels ([01:46]).

Why Should We Care?

• Economic Engine:
  • “Consumer spending is the engine of our economy. It’s two-thirds of GDP.” – Waylon Wong ([03:03])
• The Ultimate Boycott:
  • “If consumers get disappointed enough with what they're consuming, they can say, I’m just going to stop buying.” – Forrest Morgeson ([03:14])

Why Is Rage Rising Now?

1. Higher Consumer Expectations

• Proliferation of online reviews (YouTube, TikTok, etc.) means customers are more informed, raising their standards and expectations ([04:27]).

2. Changing Consumption Habits

• Tech Products:

  • Confusion over complex gadgets (smartphones to “cat feeders with mind reading capability”) worsens rage, as tech can’t be easily fixed ([05:20], [05:31]).
  • “Technologies... are a big part of consumer problems, often not because the technology doesn’t work, because people don’t know how to use it and they can’t get help.” – Scott Bretzman ([05:20])

• Shift to Services:

  • Rise in purchases of intangible, subjective services (like DoorDash or on-demand dog walking) means more opportunities for disappointment ([06:01]).
  • “There’s so many things that can go wrong with a service and a product.” – Scott Bretzman ([06:01])

3. Corporate Behavior

• Companies leaning into “profit-taking,” resulting in sneakier fees, diminished customer service, and “skinflation” (paying more for less) ([06:17], [06:59]).
• Market consolidation gives consumers fewer alternatives, compounding frustration ([06:59]).

4. Historical Comparison

• In the earlier days (50 years ago), only about a third reported consumer issues, now 77% do – more than double past rates ([04:54]).

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Who’s to Blame: Companies or Customers?

• “It can be a blend of both.” – Forrest Morgeson ([04:25])
• While technology and changing purchasing habits are factors, companies’ focus on profit and reduced consumer choice are significant contributors ([06:49]).

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Responses & Remedies

Role of Government & Regulation

• Federal Response:

  • Agencies such as the FTC are still active, but diminished in size and power following government staff cuts ([07:44], [08:07]).
  • “That agency itself... is not big enough to battle against companies and lobbyists and trade groups, et cetera, that are on the other side.” – Heather Timmons ([08:07])

• State & Local Initiatives:

  • Laws like NYC's ban on “junk fees” and click-to-cancel rules aim to make consumer life easier ([08:16]).
  • When large states like NY and CA pass consumer-friendly rules, national companies are forced to adapt ([08:31]).

Journalism & Consumer Advocacy

• Heather Timmons laments the decline in consumer-focused local journalism – “Are you getting ripped off? We're here to help. Channel 5 is on your side.” – and credits nonprofits and some citizen journalists as filling in the gaps ([08:52], [09:12]).

• Example: A citizen in Georgia weighing Walmart meat to expose underweight packages ([09:20]).

• Big Business Coverage Mostly for Investors:

  • “It’s sort of time for us to bring [consumer rights coverage] back.” – Heather Timmons ([09:40])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Scott Bretzman (on his own consumer rage):

  • “If you talk to any of my children or people in my family, I guess they would probably say that I’m embarrassingly a rageful kind of consumer.” ([00:54])
  • Describing his ongoing tuxedo rental dispute: “Each answer I get is more confusing than the last one I got.” ([01:15])

• Forrest Morgeson (on business priorities):

  • “If your number one focus is on squeezing as much profit as you can out of your company, you’re not going to be as focused on the things that you need to do to make customers happy.” ([06:49])

• Heather Timmons (on journalism):

  • “So much of the big business coverage that we see right now really is for investors, but it’s not at all focused on how is this company treating its customers.” ([09:40])

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Timeline of Important Segments

• 00:14 – Stats on consumer rage and survey attribution
• 03:03 – Economic significance of consumer rage
• 03:14 – Forrest Morgeson on the power of disgruntled consumers
• 04:27 – How online content has raised expectations
• 05:20 – Technology frustration as a source of complaints
• 06:01 – Rise of services and increased opportunities for problems
• 06:49 – Corporate profit focus and its consequences for consumers
• 07:44 – Federal regulatory agency challenges
• 08:16 – State and local regulations (NY, CA, junk fees, click-to-cancel)
• 08:52 – Decline and revival of consumer advocacy journalism
• 09:20 – Citizen journalist weighing Walmart meat
• 09:40 – Need for renewed focus on customer treatment in business news

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Tone and Language

The episode keeps a breezy, wry, and relatable tone, mixing personal gripes, hard data, and policy insight, with hosts and guests sharing a mix of exasperation, humor, and practical advice.

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Conclusion

This fast-paced episode highlights a nation of consumers growing increasingly mad, digs into why that’s happening, and discusses what—if anything—companies, regulators, and journalists can do to restore satisfaction and trust.

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Transcript

[Forrest Morgeson]

Npr.

[Adrienne Ma]

If you were to pick one word that succinctly captures the zeitgeist of American consumers right now, it might be rage.

[Waylon Wong]

Last year in a survey of American consumers, two thirds of those who experienced a problem with the product or service said they felt rage about it.

[Adrienne Ma]

Who amongst us, Waylon, who amongst? I'm just saying, by the way, that survey was done by a company called Customer Care Measurement and Consulting. Scott Bretzman is the CEO there.

[Scott Bretzman]

We're about a quarter century old and our primary competency is helping companies listen to the voice of the customer and take action on the feedback that they get.

[Adrienne Ma]

I see. And where would you put yourself on the consumer rage scale?

[Scott Bretzman]

I'm laughing because first of all, I've never been asked that question before in 25 years. If you talk to any of my children or people in my family, I guess they would probably say that I'm embarrassingly a rageful kind of consumer.

[Waylon Wong]

Scott says his current beef is with a tuxedo rental company over a mistaken charge.

[Scott Bretzman]

That particular dispute has been going on for over a month right now, and each answer I get is more confusing than the last one I got.

[Adrienne Ma]

It's the kind of situation that makes Scott, a normally mild mannered number nerd, want to hulk out.

[Waylon Wong]

Yeah, he's ripping off that Rendell tuxedo like. And maybe a lot of us feel this way. In fact, a new survey out this week from the University of Michigan says consumer complaints have reached record highs. This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Waylon Wong.

[Adrienne Ma]

And I'm Adrienne Ma. Today on the show. So what's eating the American consumer and what can we do about it?

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[Waylon Wong]

Why should we care about consumer rage? Well, besides raising our collective blood pressure, consumer spending is the engine of our economy. It's 2/3 of GDP.

[Forrest Morgeson]

If consumers get disappointed enough with what they're consuming, they can say, I'm just going to stop buying.

[Adrienne Ma]

This is Forrest Morgeson, research director emeritus for the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index. It's a survey that's been tracking consumer happiness and disappointment for over three decades.

[Forrest Morgeson]

We measure across about 45 different consumer industries the satisfaction of consumers who have actually purchased and consumed goods and services over the last X number of years.

[Waylon Wong]

So they'll ask people, how satisfied are you with your streaming service, the car you bought, or the beer you drink? Their most recent report came out this week and the headline for us says is that customer satisfaction has not only continued a two year slide, but also customer complaints have reached record highs.

[Forrest Morgeson]

These are customers that are actually contacting the companies with which they do business and saying, hey, you know, I've got a problem with the product or service you sold me. And there's some effort involved in that. Right. So to see those at record highs

[Adrienne Ma]

is, ooh, consumer anger is bubbling right now. Is the problem the company's or the customer?

[Forrest Morgeson]

And that's a great question. It can be a blend of both.

[Waylon Wong]

Forrest says consumers today are definitely better informed than they used to be. For every new product, there are Probably a thousand YouTubers and TikTokers dissecting everything they love or hate about it. And this has probably raised consumer expectations over time.

[Adrienne Ma]

In the consumer rage study we mentioned earlier, 77% of people said they experienced a problem with a product or service in the I want to talk to

[Waylon Wong]

the other 23% and find out where they're shopping for the rest of us.

[Adrienne Ma]

You know, 77% is more than double the rate of consumers who reported problems in a similar survey 50 years ago.

[Waylon Wong]

Scott Bretzman, the guy behind that study and remember the guy who's really mad at the tuxedo rental place, says this doesn't necessarily mean consumers are more rage prone or that products are generally worse than previous generations. Rather, it's a reflection of how our consumption habits have changed. Take technology.

[Scott Bretzman]

Technologies, of course, are a big part of consumer problems, often not because the technology doesn't work, because people don't know how to use it and they can't get help using it.

[Adrienne Ma]

Yeah, unlike in past decades, so many of our products today, from smartphones to cat feeders they come with microchips and laser sensors and mind reading capability. And when they break, they often can't be fixed with a wad of duct tape.

[Waylon Wong]

Well, there goes my only DIY solution to any problem. Another way consumption has changed is that our spending has increasingly shifted from goods to services, many of which didn't exist that long ago. Think everything from doordash to on demand

[Scott Bretzman]

dog walking services are much more slippery, much more subjective, much easier to experience a problem with for a variety of reasons, whether it's the quality of the service or the attitude of the person delivering it. There's so many things that can go wrong with a service and a product.

[Adrienne Ma]

Now these macro factors are not necessarily the company's fault, but that doesn't let them off the hook either. Forrest Morgeson of Michigan says companies in recent years have contributed to consumer unrest by leaning into what he calls a profit taking mindset. And you can actually see this in the numbers. Corporations share of the economic pie has been growing. So get this. Before the pandemic, corporate profits made up about 13% of what economists call the national income. Today the number is closer to 17%, a record high.

[Forrest Morgeson]

If your number one focus is on squeezing as much profit as you can out of your company, you're not going to be as focused on the things that you need to do to make customers happy.

[Waylon Wong]

For companies, that might translate into hitting consumers with sneaky fees, making them navigate a customer service gauntlet or. Or just giving them less for more. Skinflation, our old villain. And all this is happening at a time when some major industries, from airlines to entertainment, have consolidated, leaving consumers with fewer choices. Given all that, you could see why a lot of customers these days feel just a little cranky.

[Adrienne Ma]

So what might be done about all this? Heather Timmons, who writes for the Guardian newspaper, has some thoughts.

[Heather Timmons]

I am the Guardian's consumer rage correspondent.

[Adrienne Ma]

Consumer rage correspondent? Why?

[Heather Timmons]

We made that up. I'm the consumer rights correspondent.

[Waylon Wong]

I think we can say that. She says the US Government could play more of a role in regulating big business. But she says during President Trump's second term, hundreds of people at agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were laid off. Now, Heather says the Federal Trade Commission is still doing some good work, going after things like Facebook scams and problems at StubHub and Instacart.

[Heather Timmons]

But that agency itself, you know, is not big enough to battle against companies and lobbyists and trade groups, et cetera, that are on the other side.

[Adrienne Ma]

Heather says some state and local governments are trying to pass new consumer protections, though. New York City, for instance, recently proposed a broad ban on so called junk fees. It also issued a new click to cancel rule, which is supposed to make it easier for people to stop their subscriptions.

[Heather Timmons]

We're seeing the same thing happen in California. When you get those two big economies together, New York and California, and they start passing rules, companies just have to listen because of the actual size of them and the amount of consumers that they cover.

[Waylon Wong]

One more thing Heather says she'd like to see is the media paying more attention to the problems of everyday consumers.

[Heather Timmons]

For me, one of the things that seems to be missing is that type of journalism that I feel like I grew up with and maybe you grew up with, which was just like, are you getting ripped off? We're here to help. Channel 5 is on your side and there's it being part of the regular fabric of the journalism industry just disappeared when we lost all the local newspapers, she says.

[Adrienne Ma]

There are some nonprofits like consumer reports and ProPublica that are doing good work in this area and even some citizen journalists on social media.

[Heather Timmons]

You know, there's a guy running around Georgia that started weighing meat in his Walmart and as it turns out, like, almost everything is a tiny bit underweight. When you add that up, like, it's fascinating.

[Waylon Wong]

This guy's got a beef with beef. But for Heather, it still doesn't feel like enough, which is why she decided to make consumer rights or consumer rage her beat.

[Heather Timmons]

And so much of the big business coverage that we see right now really is for investors, but it's not at all focused on how is this company treating its customers. It's sort of time for us to bring that back.

[Adrienne Ma]

Speaking of bringing that back, we did an episode a couple weeks ago about petty economic grievances. Thanks to everyone who wrote in and keep those gripes coming. If you have any rageful consumer tales of woe, let us know. Email [e-mail] this episode was produced by

[Waylon Wong]

Vito Emanuel and engineered by Sina Lofredo. It was fact checked by Sierra Juarez. Cagan Cannon is our editor, and the indicator is a production of npr.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

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