Ironically enough, NOT complaining DOES help the marketplace. It doesn't help the consumer, or our planet. But yes, it DOES help the marketplace. It also helps economies and societies grow, albeit in rather twisted ways.

When we willingly and willfully argue, "just buy something else," as the best solution to bad products and services, we condone and foster the very thing that drives manufacturers and marketeers, the "disposable" society.

Bad products and services are inherent, and in many ways, necessary to the market system. "Just buy something else" is the Holy Grail of Consumerism. Envy and dissatisfaction are what drives sales, even repeat sales.

Fridges that last 50 years aren't good for the marketplace. But fridges that break down two weeks after the one-year warranty runs out are.

So yes, NOT complaining DOES help the marketplace.

But it also fills legions of landfills the world over. It's a question of priorities.

The problem with complaining isn't whether people should complain or not. People should complain, and have every right to do so. The reason we have to put up with things like DRM, locked-in contracts, poor quality, refill supplies that disappear from the market, etc. is because people don't complain. It's what emboldens the "I'll tell you what you want and you're going to like it and buy it, and buy it, and buy it, and buy it" mindset of companies because we let them get away with it.

That said, the problem with complaining, and why a lot of companies belittle the value of "customer service" is that most people don't know how to complain. Most people do just wind up, not complaining, but whinging and whining without a clue what they're actually complaining about, what they can rightfully expect of the company, how to respectfully voice the anger they feel over their experience of the product or service, and in a timely fashion, or who they should really address their comments to.

We get taught a lot of skills in school but some of the most valuable lessons one needs in life are never taught there; things like reading contracts, talking to your doc, how to discuss and address issues with various levels of government, how to find a good bank manager ... or how to complain properly.

The two year old mindset exists on both sides of this debate, and both sides are infested with them.

There's a steep learning curve required that's unfortunately very one-sided. It's not the responsibility of companies to educate people how to complain effectively. And so long as people continue to buy their products, they're attitude is, and always will be, vindicated.

The onus is definitely on the part of the consumer to self-educate, and most people just don't have the time, or can't be bothered. For those who are concerned, the education is mostly trial and error, which is always extremely frustrating and time-consuming. A few will succeed and find the education to be well worth the effort. But most will fall short of the mark and give in to the mounting dissatisfaction over their results.

You're absolutlely right to defend the "practice" of complaining. But you should qualify it with some equally sage commentary on the need for, and how to invoke, the "art" of complaining from those who complain.

Bad complainers is what gives complaining a bad rep.