Current Events in April 2024

ConsumerAffairs, the reviews platform whose content and tools give consumers an advantage when making difficult purchases, has named 12 more companies winners of its quarterly Buyer's Choice Awards, based on AI-assisted decoding of consumer reviews in the previous 12 months.

Awards this quarter went to companies serving three high-stakes aspects of homeownership—home safety, pest control, and flooring—and also companies that sell hearing aids, a category that’s grown harder for consumers to navigate due to new OTC offerings. 

"Buying decisions that consumers make during significant life events are what ConsumerAffairs covers, our sole beat," said Zac Carman, CEO of ConsumerAffairs. "Our Buyer's Choice Awards signify the companies that are really good at helping consumers make that one-time investment in something they’ve not had to understand until now."

Each Buyer’s Choice Award is created after rigorous analysis of reviews reveals what aspects of that particular industry’s buying journey are most important to buyers. “The Buyer’s Choice Awards winners are proven by reviews and ratings to fulfill their customers' handful of super-high-priority needs,” Carman said.

These five winners swept their industry’s awards by receiving each award given in their category:

Empire Today won all the flooring awards: Best Customer Service, Best Experience with Staff, Best for Installation, Best Speed of Service and Best Value for Price.  

Orkin Pest Control took home each of the pest control awards: Best Customer Service, Best Experience with Staff, Best Speed of Service and Best Value for Price.

Vivint won each award given in home alarms: Best Customer Service, Best Equipment, Best for Installation and Best Monitoring.

Finally, Hear.com and Starkey Hearing Aids won all of their category awards: Best Customer Service, Best Experience with Staff and Best Value for Price.

Criteria

How did ConsumerAffairs calculate the Buyer's Choice Award winners?

In an era of rampant faked or unhelpful consumer reviews, reviews on ConsumerAffairs must be submitted by a verified reviewer and vetted by a human moderator for authenticity, minimum length and depth of insight. 

The Buyer’s Choice Awards methodology then uses sentence-by-sentence analysis of reviews published in the previous year to calculate satisfaction levels for each aspect. Experienced auditors confirmed the accuracy of the AI-assisted sentiment analysis. 

Each quarter in 2024, ConsumerAffairs will announce Buyer's Choice Awards in new categories and use its website to flag the winning companies with a signature badge designed to guide consumers in need to trusted companies. Winners of each Buyer's Choice Award are limited to three or fewer by the rigorous statistical bar for positive sentiment set by ConsumerAffairs.

Multiple winners

Who are the other multiple winners of 2024 Buyer's Choice Awards?

Flooring: National Floors Direct (four wins: Best Experience with Staff, Best for Installation, Best Speed of Service and Best Value for Price) and LL Flooring (four wins: Best Customer Service, Best Experience with Staff, Best for Installation, and Best Value for Price).

Pest Control: Bulwark Exterminating (three awards: Best Customer Service, Best Experience with Staff and Best Speed of Service) and Hawx Pest Control (one award: Best Value for Price).

Home alarm: ADT (three awards: Best Customer Service, Best Equipment and Best Monitoring) and Vector Security (three awards: Best Customer Service, Best for Installation and Best Monitoring)

Hearing aids: Audicus (two wins: Best Customer Service and Best Experience with Staff)

For more information about the Buyer's Choice Awards and the recognized companies, please visit the awards page. One to three winners for each category will be recognized per industry, with new awards rolling out quarterly throughout 2024.

Able-bodied travelers probably never give it a second thought, but airline passengers who are dependent on wheelchairs count into the millions.

And while mishandled wheelchairs don't quite match up with the number of mishandled baggage, it is a big enough problem that United Airlines has decided that it – maybe alone – can make the situation better.

The airline has just released a new digital sizing tool designed to help its passengers determine the right aircraft for their wheelchair. To show it’s serious about this, United will refund the fare difference if someone has to pay more for an alternative flight with a larger cargo door.

Last year, United and United Express, together carried more than 200,000 checked wheelchairs, but the number of wheelchairs and scooters mishandled per 100 enplaned was 1.09. Comparatively, that metric might not create the headlines that United’s other recent problems (hydraulics, losing a wheel, etc.), but it is about 30% higher than Delta which has the best record in that category.

"The more we know about a customer's device, the more likely their experience will be a good one – from booking and check-in to the flight itself," said Linda Jojo, executive vice president and chief customer Officer for United. "These new tools and policies also set our employees up for success, especially those working on the ramp or at the gate."

How It Works

Anyone flying United who needs to bring a personal wheelchair on their flight can visit the United app or united.com and use the filters on the flight search results page before selecting their flight. 

Step two comes after clicking on the wheelchair filter tab near the upper portion of the screen, when customers enter the specific dimensions of their mobility device. At that point, the search results enter the picture to identify which flight options will accommodate those dimensions and let the customer know whether their wheelchair fits or not. 

But in situations where the size of aircraft cargo hold doors can’t handle a larger motorized wheelchair and the customer has to take a United flight with a higher fare that can accommodate their wheelchair on the same day and between the same origin and destination, the customer may seek a refund of the fare difference.

United to offer loaners when it damages a wheelchair, too

United is adding another plus for wheelchair/scooter users. For anyone who’s flying through George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport and finds that their wheelchair was damaged or delayed while traveling, the airline will provide an appropriate loaner wheelchair. 

The airline understands that wheelchairs tend to be tailor-fit for a person’s size, weight, frame, etc. and is currently testing specialized, adjustable Permobil cushions for loaner wheelchairs at its Houston hub that should improve comfort and stability.

The company said that is also reimbursing customers for transportation expenses should they choose to wait at a location other than the airport.