When Bad Data Damages Customer Trust: A Call for Better Data Governance

Poor data quality isn't just a technical problem—it's a customer trust problem. Companies relying on third-party data without proper governance create real consequences for the people who depend on their services. Here are four examples that illustrate the urgent need for better data stewardship.

Real Estate: When "Available" Means "Scam"

The Problem: Redfin uses MLS data for home sales (reliable), but third-party sources like Rent.com for rentals (unreliable). This creates a false sense of security—users trust Redfin's brand across all listings.

Real Impact: During a recent move to Portland, Oregon, I found what appeared to be a legitimate rental through Redfin. After completing an application, paying fees, and working with someone claiming to be the owner's attorney, we discovered the truth: the property wasn't a rental at all. New owners were moving in while we stood outside with our lease agreement.

Company Response: Redfin provided boilerplate language about not being responsible for third-party data and directed us to report the scam elsewhere. When we filed a police report, they suggested law enforcement could subpoena information about the data source.

The Reality: The data IS their product, regardless of its origin.

Job Search: Where Hope Goes to Die

The Problem: LinkedIn's job search relies heavily on third-party data, creating a broken experience that wastes job seekers' time and emotional energy.

Real Impact: Over 17 months of job searching, I encountered:

- No responses from hiring organizations

- Applications for jobs that no longer existed  

- Requests to perform work tasks from fake companies

- Three-month delays between HR and hiring manager contact

This represents the worst job search experience in nearly 30 years of career activity. The platform has removed human connection from a fundamentally human process.

Emerging Solutions: Companies like Sonora promise better connections between candidates and real opportunities, but current alternatives remain inadequate.

Healthcare: Where Getting Lost Can Be Life-Threatening

The Problem: Hospital and clinic location data comes from multiple sources—Epic medical records, clinic managers, city addressing systems, websites, and Google Business Profiles—but most healthcare organizations lack a single source of truth.

The Gap: Unlike 911 emergency systems that have established processes for integrating multiple data sources, healthcare organizations don't commit to consistent data management across the tools patients use to find care.

Critical Questions: What's your process for adding or removing locations, providers, or services? How do you ensure accuracy across websites, search engines, local search, mapping systems, and social media?

Electric Vehicle Charging: The Wild West of Location Data

The Problem: EV charging station data across current apps and search tools is consistently incomplete and incorrect.

Real Impact: Drivers waste time and money searching for charging stations that don't exist, don't work, or aren't where they're supposed to be. This creates frustration and range anxiety that undermines EV adoption.

The Challenge: If you've found reliable, comprehensive EV charging data for your vehicle, you've discovered something most of the industry is still seeking.

The Path Forward: Three Essential Questions

1. Customer Experience Governance

Do you have processes for gathering and acting on user experiences with your data? Real feedback from real users should drive data quality improvements.

2. Accountability for Third-Party Data

What happens when bad data from your partners damages customer experiences? Disclaimers aren't enough—you need consequences and remediation processes.

3. Commitment to Truth

Are you working toward a single, trusted version of the truth for your data? Both you and your customers need to be able to rely on the information you provide.

Why These Problems Persist

The lack of action on these critical issues stems from a simple reality: companies have few competitive alternatives, so stakeholders aren't suffering, but customers are. This creates a dangerous disconnect. While businesses operate as usual, their users face real consequences: financial losses, wasted time, missed opportunities, and eroded trust.

The Solution Starts Here

The best products solve real problems for real people. Data governance isn't just about technical accuracy—it's about honoring the trust customers place in your platform or product.

When someone uses your service to find a home, a job, healthcare, or essential services, they're depending on you to provide reliable information. That's not a technical responsibility—it's a human one.

The companies that recognize this distinction and act on it will build lasting competitive advantages through the most valuable currency in business: customer trust.