To consumers of business services: If you are someone or know someone who has had a bad experience with a business, I strongly encourage you to file complaints with the appropriate agencies, so that they can be aware of businesses with patterns of problems and warn others.

Some general agencies to contact include: Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org or 866-411-2221, the California Attorney General at http://oag.ca.gov/consumers .

Additionally, depending on the type of business, be sure to report your complaint to the agencies within their industry (e.g.: for the auto industry, the Bureau of Automotive Repair at 866-799-3811).

If they do not hear your stories, they cannot identify businesses with patterns of problems, so as to warn others.

Leslie Sheridan lives in Clearlake, Calif.