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Facebook Even More Reviled Than the IRS, Study Says

by Amar Toor on July 20, 2010 at 01:35 PM

users rate facebook lower than irs
Everyone hates the IRS. And, when it comes to universal loathsomeness, Facebook ranks even lower. According to results from the 2010 American Customer Survey Index (ACSI), Mark Zuckerberg's social networking goliath scored a 64 out of a possible 100 points, putting it below the IRS (which scored a 79 earlier this year), airlines and cable providers. In a statement, Facebook spokesman Jonny Thaw said the site didn't have much of a chance to look over the survey's methodology, but admitted that "clearly we have room to improve."

Larry Freed, president and CEO of ACSI sponsor ForeSee Results, believes that a lot of Facebook's consumer complaints stem from the site's demographic expansion in recent years. As the network has opened its doors to more age groups, Facebook has been forced to deal with a substantially larger consumer base, many of whom don't take kindly to the company's persistent site renovations. Although the social network's privacy policy remains controversial, Freed tells the Wall Street Journal that many consumers had issues with Facebook's expanded online advertising strategy, as well. "Their monetization strategy is not meeting the expectations of consumers," Freed claims.

News of Facebook's poor showing, strangely enough, arrives as the site prepares to announce its 500 millionth member sometime this week. So, how does Facebook manage to attract users while failing to satisfy them? According to Freed, the company is simply the only game in town. Sure, there are other social networks, he admits, but none seem to offer the same quality of experience that consumers find on Facebook. MySpace, for instance, scored even lower than Facebook in the ACSI report. Until something better comes around, then, it looks like Facebook will continue to enjoy a steadily growing customer base -- even if it's full of unhappy campers. [From: Wall Street Journal and ForeSee Results via: Huffington Post]

Tags: ACSI, advertising, business, CustomerSatisfaction, facebook, FacebookPrivacy, IRS, myspace, SocialNetworking, study, survey, top, web

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