An important potential input from customer contact personnel to management is consumer complaints. Many researchers and consumer affairs personnel would agree that consumer complaints provide organizations with the opportunity to satisfy unhappy customers and prevent brand switching and unfavorable word-of-mouth communications. While effective handling of customer complaints is obviously in the consumer interest, consumer complaints can also offer benefits far beyond the individual complainant. If the organization disseminates information about complaints to decision makers who can take steps to eliminate or reduce the cause of the dissatisfaction, consumer interests will also be served.