I know that forums can be populated by 'negative' topics

Not "can be": are. People always ask around about problems but hardly ever bother to mention things working the way they should. Think about it: is anyone ever likely to post: "My Yeti has been completely problem-free since I got it 12 months ago. Has anyone else seen this, and what do you suggest I do about it?"

It's generally recognised in marketing circles that people are overwhelmingly more likely to tell their friends when things go wrong with a product or service, than when it works properly. (Dragging my memory for the figures I was given way back when I worked in sales support, I think it was something like six to ten times more likely.) That was in the old, pre-internet days. Nowadays when everyone is online the effect is magnified in two ways. Firstly, it's easier for people to post that they've got a problem. Previously, you didn't get to moan to your pals about it until you met up in the pub, or at a party or whatever. Whinging is easier and faster these days: sit down at your PC, type away for a few minutes, hit "post" and the bad word goes out. Secondly, more people see it. In t'olden days you might tell two or three pals, maybe up to a dozen or so over time or in a busy social situation. If you come on here at 2am and post a thread entitled "My Yeti is a pile of ****" then I'd estimate that the number of people reading the thread will easily reach three figures within 24 hours.

The other thing to bear in mind is that things always have an innate tendency to go wrong. What the provider does to put it right is equally if not more important than the initial occurrence of the problem. I find one-off such-and-such a thing went wrong with my car/PVR/TV/bike/oven/boiler posts much less noteworthy than complaints about poor customer service from specific retailers, or threads identifying fault trends about which inadequate action is taken.

Edited 17 January, 201214 yr by ejstubbs

Well said. :thumbup: