VW is #2 Worst-Rated Companies

Jim B.

All car companies faired poorly...the best being a C+.

VW certainly has problems to work on as far as quality and customer relations (at least here in the US), but sites like that really tell you nothing. I mean who is going to take the time to write to such a web site? People with complaints or people with nothing better to do. The site indicates 90% of the people who wrote about all car companies had complaints. Everyone I know who has a Honda seems happy, yet this site shows more people, percentage wise, had issues with their customer service than with VW's. It isn't a true cross section of owners, and therefore just another meaningless set of numbers that seems to be what passes for statistics these days. They also don't tell you what their sample size is...did they base these ratings on 10,000 responses or 50? If the latter, I would say the margin of error makes it a dead heat for all cars.

Good grief, BBC America is on the list, too. Someone doesn't like their programming, fer cryin' out loud, so now they're on the "bad companies" list. The internet is a great place for cranks to hang out and gripe about things -- there's no editor to get tired of their constant complaining and reject it.

Exactly true about any survey on the internet. Almost any survey (on or off the internet) can be manipulated, either by the party doing the survey or by the respondents.

A few months back the American Family Association (right-wing, Christian organization) posted a survey on their web site concerning the anti-gay marriage amendment. They said they were going to send the results to the news media and congress; obviously quite sure that the results would show how America was against gay marriages. Well, it didn't work out as planned; e-mails circulated among groups against the amendment (in favor of gay marriage) who flooded the web survey. When they took it down, it showed that apparently over 94% favored legalizing gay marriages. Needless to say, they never sent the result anywhere.