Rage. That’s what consumers are feeling right now. A new survey (https://theacsi.com/news-and-resources/press-releases/2026/08/11/press-release-national-acsi-q2-2026/) found consumer complaints hit a record high this year. Another (https://customercaremc.com/2025-national-customer-rage-study/) from last year found a huge share of consumers felt ‘rage’ with a product or service problem. Just think about the modern consumer experience: hidden fees, ballooning customer support wait times (perpetually experiencing higher call volumes than usual) … shrinkflation! Argh!! What’s going on?
On today’s show, unpacking consumer rage. And Heather Timmons, who covers consumer rights for The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/heather-timmons) , talks about what we might do about it.
Fact checking by Sierra Juarez (https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez) .
Your Next Listen
— Petty! Econ! Grievances! (https://www.npr.org/2026/07/27/nx-s1-5907115/petty-econ-grievances)
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