Dish Network Named Most Frustrating Company. What Can Customers Do?

We’ve come to expect frustrating treatment and “shady” dealing from big business. Practices like endless phone hold times, rude service representatives, and confusing pricing or contracts.

And beyond the bad customer service there’s also the downright illegal — like verbal promises from sales reps that won’t be honored, or ”stuffing” mystery fees and services onto a bill.

That’s why we at FairShake set out to rank which companies have reputations for the most frustrating service. We used Google’s data to see how many users were searching for terms like “Dish Network lawsuit” or “Wells Fargo complaint.”

What you’ll find below are our overall “winners,” followed by our top-5 for the cable industry.

The “Bottom” 11 most frustrating companies for customers

Based on Google Search Data

1. DISH Network

   DISH has been called “The Meanest Company in America,” and it tops our list as well as a source of continued customer frustration. A lawsuit decided earlier this year found DISH liable for telemarketing to numbers on the Do Not Call List, with penalties of up to $1200 per person.

2. Uber

   Uber was once Silicon Valley’s darling. But the sheen has long since come off, as the company faces concerns over fairness to drivers, passenger safety, and an aggressive corporate culture.

3. Wells Fargo

   Another obvious one: Wells Fargo’s pricey advertising campaign trumpeting the bank’s new, “Re-established” approach hasn’t succeeded in winning over those looking for relief from the 2016 revelation of massive fraud against customers.

4. Lularoe

   A below the radar pick, LuLaRoe is a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) company claiming $1 billion in revenues. A number of the company’s “consultants” have launched a potential class action based on shady business practices. It will be interesting to see if the case works, since LuLaRoe has tried to keep any disputes within the arbitration system.

5. HerbaLife

   Same as above, Herbalife’s problems seem to stem from its network of resellers for its supplements and other products. MLM companies very much want you to know that they are not technically pyramid schemes.

6. Bank of America

   The original Bank of America was founded in a quiet San Francisco neighborhood but moved to the Financial District after the earthquake of 1906. Was it fated from that move to become one of the largest and least-liked banks in the country? Who knows.

7. American Airlines

   The top airline on our list. Air travel is complex, and so airlines might produce the widest range of complaints on this whole list. (American, if you’re listening, you still owe me 33,000 miles back!)

8. AT&T

   AT&T is one of our top targets at FairShake, given the number of shady billing practices we hear about from AT&T customers. (File a Claim Against AT&T here)

9. DoTerra

   Another MLM. What does this one sell? Essential oils. How do we know they’re essential? Because they’re expensive I guess.

10. Lyft

    The “nicer Uber,” Lyft still sees its fair share of dissatisfied customers.

11. Equifax

    A bonus pick, since we couldn’t stop at 10 and not mention Equifax. Credit bureaus are strange beasts: they know everything about you, but they work for other big companies and not for you. Equifax’s leak of data on 143 million Americans will hold a legendary place in the annals of data snafus. At least until the next one.

Rankings by Industry

We ranked the 5 worst companies for our metrics across key industries (100 = index for most negative within an industry). Check it out below:

Cable, Internet, Wireless

1. DISH Network 100
2. AT&T & DirecTV 36 – file a claim
3. Charter Spectrum 12
4. Comcast 11 – file a claim
5. T-Mobile 10

Have a complaint with another company? Tell us about it here and we’ll let you know if and when it’s something we can process for you.