This seems like a thread that is perfect for this forum:
P.S. There is an opportunity below for you to provide input to The Guardian.
P.P.S. This is a long read.
Why are US consumers so angry? It’s not just high prices
American consumers are angry. Nearly 80% of Americans had a service or product problem in 2025, and about two-thirds of those felt "rage" about it, according to the "National Consumer Rage" survey.
Many consumers feel they are constantly fighting against an onslaught of overcharges, customer service hassles, shoddy products and billing mistakes that always seem to go in the company's favor. All of this comes against a background of soaring prices and rising inflation.
There's a stew of factors at work behind the rise in consumer rage: company consolidation, regulatory rollbacks, years of court decisions that limit consumer power, tech-enabled cost cuts, private equity takeovers, Covid-era business model changes, a moribund media and the rise of AI customer service, to name a few. But there is hope, too.
In the coming weeks, the Guardian plans to examine some of the causes behind this rising epidemic of consumer frustration, the impact on Americans' lives, the watchdogs on the beat, and potential solutions. Tell us your personal tales of corporate frustration here, and we'll explore this problem together.
It makes sense when you realize everything is [expletive]. The big corporations have figured out how to give you the minimal acceptable product for the maximum price. My wife and I have largely just withdrawn from the consumer economy. Nothing is worth it any more and if you are unfortunately enough to have to deal with customer service your experience is going to be miserable.
I’m trying to figure out why I don’t have this feeling, at least in terms of my direct experience. Not that I don’t have complaints, and I definitely have more awareness and frustration with aspects further upstream from me. But in terms of day to day interactions with commerce or whatever, it’s largely ok and in many ways feels/works better than how it used to be.
Some of it may be how my buying habits have changed, but I’ll have to think about it.
On the positive side: Free shipping. Most online purchases come with free shipping now, when that wasn't necessarily the case even 10 years ago. That's nice.
On the negative side: "Convenience" fees. Oh, thank you so much for the "convenience" of being able to purchase my ticket online, when that is the only way to purchase it. I will gladly pay you an exorbitant "convenience" fee on top of the stupid "handling" fee on top of the insanely high initial ticket price. And I guess I'll download your stupid app because that's the only way I can access my ticket, though it will eventually be transferred over to my Apple Wallet anyway.
On the neutral, somewhat negative side: Ordering kiosks. I guess I like that I can order from a kiosk rather than having to talk to a person, and at least I know I'll enter in any customizations (i.e. no mayonnaise) correctly. But sometimes I cannot find the food item I want, and other times I just want to dump my order on some unsuspecting minimum wage employee to have them figure out how to order it.
I guess this thread is supposed to be about rage regarding product purchases though. In that vein, the one thing that grinds my gears is purchasing lumber. Treated lumber in particular. You pay an arm and a leg for the stuff now, and it is tough to find a single straight 2x4 in an entire bundle. Treated lumber is sold so wet that even if you install a straight board today, it will dry and curve 6" on you by next month. I have a 6x6 fence post that I set a couple years ago that has bent at least 6" after drying. Really chaps my ass every time I look at it, because I have no feasible way of correcting it.
What's my recourse though? Buy a bunch of lumber and let it dry before installing, end up with a bunch of warped boards that I have no chance of being able to return/exchange (for other wet/warped boards)?
