Consumer backlash

Empowered consumers are forcing some of America’s largest corporations, from Apple to Bank of America, to make radical changes to products or policies.

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In December 2011, Verizon announced it would begin charging its customers a $2 convenience fee to make one-time bill payments online or by phone. They backpedaled within days and decided not to implement the fee, citing consumer backlash as the reason behind the reversal.

/ Bloomberg

Netflix Inc.'s streaming service is displayed on a computer monitor along with Netflix envelopes. Netflix Inc., the mail-order and online film-rental service, fell the most it has in almost three years after cutting its forecast for U.S. subscribers in the third quarter. This fall, Netflix bungled a spin off its DVD mail service, Qwikster. After consumer complaints, the company on Oct. 10 killed the new service without ever launching it.

Jin Lee / Bloomberg

After a torrent of criticism from consumers and even President Obama, Bank of America on Nov. 1 followed Wells Fargo and other banks in announcing it would drop its $5 fee for debit card users. Demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street movement gather in front of a Bank of America Corp. branch in New York, U.S., on Oct. 28, 2011. Protesters gathered on the steps of the New York Public Library about 1 p.m. before splitting off into two groups to march past the offices of Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ramin Talaie / Bloomberg

Apple Inc.'s iPhone 4 and a rubberized protective case called a Bumper, are held for a photo. Then-chief executive officer Steve Jobs said the company knew that the iPhone 4 can lose reception when held a certain way and didn't think it would be a big issue. He offered customers a case to fix the antenna flaw.

George Frey / Bloomberg

In a TV commercial and Web video campaign in 2010, the Domino's pizza chain admits that its pizza is pretty terrible. " 'Worst excuse for pizza I ever had,' " a company executive says grimly, quoting a customer's comment. " 'Totally devoid of flavor.' " Domino's very public admission of its own awfulness might represent the most elaborate mea culpa ad in history, according to The Washington Post's Paul Farhi.

Jason Alden / Bloomberg

After Tropicana changed the design of its cartons in 2009, consumers complained it was ugly and generic so the juice maker reverted back to its old design. Here, Tropicana orange juice sits on display in an Associated Supermarket in New York in March 2004.

Daniel Acker / Bloomberg

The Gap Inc. logo is seen on a store window in San Francisco on Aug. 11, 2011. In October 2010, Gap pulled back on a redesign of its renowned logo just days after it was unveiled after it was ridiculed by consumers and graphic artists.

David Paul Morris / Bloomberg

Cans of Coca-Cola Classic are displayed in an Associated Supermarket in New York, Oct. 20, 2005. The Coke Classic label was introduced in 2005, after the failed launch of New Coke, which was an attempt at a new formula. Consumers disliked the taste of New Coke so much that the company reintroduced the old formula and sold it under the Coca-Cola Classic label.

Ramin Talaie / Bloomberg

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Business

Consumer backlash

Empowered consumers are forcing some of America’s largest corporations, from Apple to Bank of America, to make radical changes to products or policies.

Featured Photo Galleries