Scammed: how to save your money and find better service in a world of schemes, swindles, and shady deals

A leading consumer advocate reveals how protect your money, time, and integrity from corrupt businesses Once upon a time store prices were simple and fair,businesses stood behind their products with guarantees free of fine print andloopholes, and companies genuinely seemed to care about their valued customers--but those days are long gone. In this groundbreaking exposé, consumer advocate Christopher Elliot reveals the broken relationship between American consumers and businesses and explains how companies came to believe that fooling their customers was a viable, and profitable, business plan. Scammed explores howcompanies control information to mislead, distort the truth, and even outright lie to their consumers. Exposes the various ways companies have led their war against information--from seductive ads, disingenuous fine print, and unconventional promotions that involve seeding discussion forums and blogs with company-friendly comments Offers consumers insider knowledge of the system, reasonable expectations, and a clear understanding of the games businesses play Christopher Elliott is one of the nation's foremost consumer advocates Protect yourself, your time, and your money from the predators of the consumer world. Armed with knowledge, readers will become far more discerning and every business's worst nightmare. ÍNDICE: Prologue: Fenced I Scammed or just a bad deal? Down that road liesmadness You're Not a Victim Confessions of a heretic Preventive medicine How businesses are scamming us How we are letting them What to do about it The newscams Part One: How They Scam Us 1. Reputation Management Avoiding sock puppets How companies manipulate customers How we fall for it Don't fall for a managed reputation 2. I SEO you A scam that wears many hats The SEO pitch SEO gonewild Above the law? 3. Fooled You But everyone's doing it Little white lies Who's to say what's bogus? 4. That's not an ad How they lie But wait! There's more! 5. Lying about your rights Oops, youve already signed it Signing away other rights One word at a time Part Two: How We Scam Ourselves 6. Our own damnedfault Losing your mind A scam-or-be-scammed world? Where's the beef, Taco Bell? A wayward offer from DirecTV That's not the Spirit Customer confessions Chapter 7: Walled Gardens If the customer is always right, why worry? Trapped in the system of it all Do you suffer from Walled Garden Syndrome? Chapter 8: ThePrice Of Loyalty What loyalty programs make us do What makes loyalty programsdangerous The loyalty effect You're complicit Chapter 9: When The Watchdogs Sleep Where have the watchdogs gone? When dogs follow the wrong scent Being a discerningand demandingconsumer Chapter 10: Tired, Confused, And Apathetic Eyeswide shut Decisions, decisions Dereliction of duty Splitting the difference Part Three: How To Fix It Chapter 11: The Enlightened Consumer A thirst for knowledge Getting inside the mind of a business Corporate-speak Getting inside your head Chapter 12: It's Dangerous Out There How to spot a lowercase scam How to spot an uppercase scam How to deflect a clever sales pitch Surviving a scamChapter 13: The I-Cant-Help-Desk How to escape from call center hell Should you chat? The art of the written complaint Elements of a winning style Chapter 14. Turning A No Into A Yes You're right How to turn a no around A few thoughts on the art of persuasion Sue or shame? Chapter 15: Act Now Timing is everything Fixing what's wrong with business Fixing ourselves Who wins? Epilogue Appendix Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments About the Author

• ISBN: 978-1-118-10800-0
• Editorial: John Wiley & Sons
• Encuadernacion: Cartoné
• Páginas: 256
• Fecha Publicación: 30/11/2011
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés