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New Federal Website Can Snare Companies

Jay McIntosh -- Furniture Today, July 19, 2011

AHFA As part of a group exercise, Richard Tomkins of Cresent Fine Furniture explains how he and some fellow AHFA members would respond to a product complaint on SaferProduct.gov.ASHEVILLE, N.C. - There's a new federally sponsored website aimed at making consumer products safer, but it also can pose a danger for manufacturers and retailers, a consultant told American Home Furnishings Alliance members meeting here.
     SaferProducts.gov, which went online in March, is the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's online forum where consumers can file reports on products they've been injured by, or ones they just consider dangerous, according to Meghan Gross of Boston- based MSL Boston.
     It's one more way dissatisfied customers can complain online about products and potentially harm a brand's reputation and equity, Gross said.
     Fortunately, the site also offers a way for companies to respond to any reports of harm or risk. A good response can help limit the damage from a complaint, and can address a problem even before it gets posted on the site, she said.
     Created by Congress in 2008, SaferProducts.gov is like a federal yelp.com or other consumer complaint sites - with a couple important differences, Gross said. For one, consumers have to disclose their email addresses to the CPSC in order to make a report, so there's no anonymous posting.
     And if a company is registered on the site - and manufacturers and retailers ought to register, she said - the government will give the company five days to respond to a report before it's posted online. After it's posted, a company has another 10 days to post a response if it cares to.
     But don't wait that long to act, Gross suggests.
     "That 15 days is a great amount of time for the discussion to spiral out of control," she said. Consumers can spread criticism of products rapidly on social media sites, and "once your news is out there, good or bad, it gets magnified," she added.
     What's good about social media is that it's possible for a company to reply to a complaint quickly, starting a dialog that could lead to a resolution or at least an investigation of a complaint, Gross said.
     To enable a quick response, it's important to develop a crisis plan before anything happens, she added - "When you're in a tense situation, you don't want your PR and legal teams butting heads."
     It's also important for companies to monitor what's said about their brands in social media, and to participle actively in social media in order to respond to comments quickly, Gross said. Also, have regular media briefings with key trade and business reporters in your markets.
     Manufacturers and importers also should keep safety track records and testing results for their products handy for quick reference in case anything is recalled or questioned. These should include products no longer on the market, since they can be a source of complaints as well, said Gross.
     More than 100 reports and some responses on home furnishings products are already on SaferProducts.gov. To view them on the site, do an "advanced search" on the term furniture and check "reports," not recalls.

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Product safety website can pose danger to companies

Jul 15, 2011

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