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Are you a 'customer' when somebody gives you something?

July 26, 2010

TaxGrrrl passes on a strange survey result:

The Michigan Business School’s American Customer Satisfaction Index included Facebook in its regular survey of consumer satisfaction with companies this year. The results weren’t pretty. Facebook pulled a rank of 64 out of 100, which puts it in the bottom 5% of all private sector companies. What other companies pulled scores that low? Not even the IRS – their e-filers ranked them higher overall than Facebook.

Let's see: Facebook provides a service that nobody has to use or pay for. It puts you in contact with long-lost friends and folks with common interests. If you don't like it,you can avoid using Facebook easily just by not using Facebook. In contrast, the IRS takes your money, and they'll put you in jail if you don't pay up. The only "service" the IRS offers is too take money from some people and give it to others. And the IRS ranks higher? Their survey sample must have been overweighted on earned-income tax credit recipients and ethanol producers.