i'm kelly evans for becky quick. the new way to get airlines and other businesses to listen to your complaints. you need a smartphone but it's not for making calls. finding forgotten funds. tracking down money you may not even know about. talking to kids about money. it's never too young to start, but what exactly should you say? what if everything you knew about yourself was wrong? cnbc anchor and my friend bill griffeth found out the shocking truth after a dna test, and designer zac posen has a new project you might see on a different kind of runway. "on the money" starts right now. this is "on the money," your money, your life, your future.

we begin with social media. facebook and twitter aren't just for sharing photos. people are now using social networks to send complaints directly to companies, but are they being heard? reporter phil lebeau has this week's cover story. >> reporter: it happens thousands of times every day. travelers rant online about an airline because their flight is delayed or they have had had a bad experience. >> i don't think they can listen to us, because there's so many people who are flying and complaining at the same time. >> i don't think that the airlines are listening to the complaints. >> reporter: fact is, airlines are watching and often responding to what you put on social media. southwest airlines has a team tracking twitter, facebook and other online sites 24 hours a day, and when customers vent about a problem, southwest reaches out to them. >> the approach is really how can we help? wait a minute, we hate to hear that. what's going on? give us some information and let's see what we can do to straighten this out.

>> reporter: social media teams help customers by rebooking and keeping them calmer by relaying the latest information when a problem pops up, like in july when southwest cancelled over 2,000 flights due to a computer outage, and even though every major airline tracks and answers customers online, some do it better than others. for example, southwest answers almost half of the customers who mention the airline on social media, the best among airlines in north america. meanwhile, alaska is the fastest, answering social media posts within three minutes, according to a group which works with airlines like alaska and tracks the industry with millions of travelers. >> if you know you can tweet a company and get a response and have your issue resolved literally within minutes, that's a phenomenal experience, and if you can do that, you will every single time. >> reporter: so if you're at an airport and run into a delay, what's the best approach if you

do go to social media? do not scream, stomp or use expletives to yell at the airline. instead, calmly say what your issue is. you'll quickly get a response. kelly, a lot of people believe that the easiest way to get a response is to scream. i'm mad and i need help right away! and what we're hearing back from the airlines is take a deep breath. you're more likely to get a response if you calmly explain what the issue is. >> phil, thank you so much. phil lebeau. not just airline complaints customers are sending out on social media. jay baer is a digital marketing expert and author of "hug your haters, how to embrace complaints and keep your customers." thanks for joining us, jay. >> thanks so much, kelly. great to be here. >> when someone uses social media to complain about a company are they just venting or do they want a response? >> i did a lot of research for the book, about 50-50.

kelly, half the time people contact businesses and social media they expect a response. they are in fact using it as a replacement for the traditional telephone and e-mail and half the time people are just complaining about the company, not necessarily at the company. they don't necessarily expect or anticipate a response but businesses can still interact with customers and it blows people's minds. when you complain about a business and not expecting a result and get one, that has had a huge impact. >> how effective is this, jay? are companies doing this because it's good publicity or are they actually addressing the issue? >> it's less expensive to interact with customers on social media than e-mail or telephone which is why airlines have gravitated towards this channel. if you get a phone call back, e-mail back, you're like i expected that to happen. if you get a tweet back, you're like, wow, that's really terrific. today social media is becoming a spectator sport. it's not just about your interaction with the customer. lots of other customers can see that interaction, and that has an impact on how other people

think about your business. >> and beyond airlines what other categories are customers contacting? >> just about every kind of company has customers using social media and ratings and review sites to try to interact, punish or praise those brands. certainly retail, certainly hospitality, restaurants, financial services, hospitals and health care. >> is it safe, jay, to do this, to basically broadcast, as you mentioned, in this public forum where you might be or what airline flight you might be getting on. is there a more private way to contact companies and get the same outcome? >> that's a terrific question. the best practice is to use social media to initiate the conversation, but you should never as a consumer divulge any personally identifiable information in a social media setting, but as soon as you get into the details of your scenario, do that using the private messaging function available on each of those social platforms so a twitter direct message, facebook message or even instagram direct message. all of those are the best places to talk about your actual

situation, flight number, certainly your account number or anything along those lines. >> and if this is where companies are putting their resources what happens if you're not comfortable with social media, never really gotten it or taken to it or maybe like me you have chosen to step away from it? >> maybe you've bailed out. >> what do you do? >> well, kelly, i think here's the situation. you are welcome to continue to use the telephone and the e-mail, but here's the thing. certainly there are some people who are not comfortable with social media yet, and i understand that, but technology never goes backwards, so if you play this game out into the future, two years, three years down the road, companies that have, quote/unquote call centers, won't be very busy because all of this will shift to social media whether we like it or not. >> all right. i guess i better get with the program. >> jay, thank you for joining us. >> thanks. >> that's jay baer. now here's a look at what's making news as we head into a new week "on the money." nearly one in five americans will be getting a very small raise from the government this year.

70 million social security recipients and federal retirees will get a monthly increase of 0.3%, that translates into about $4 a month. many recipients will end up spending the increase on higher medical premiums. the dow up two days in a row, down by thursday and the nasdaq followed suit and markets were mixed on friday. the housing market looked like it stabilized after a two-month slide and sales of previously owned homes rose 2.2% from august, well above expectations. the median price of an existing home sold in september, $234,200. facebook never wants to you

leave. the social media giant has rolled out new features to try to make the site for of an all-purpose destination. now you can buy movie tics, order food and book appointments straight from the facebook app. facebook has 1.7 billion users world wilde. up next we're "on the money." forgotten cash with your name on it. a simple search can find unclaimed funds that belong to you and if you find it you keep it. and kids and your wallet. tips on teaching the next generation on how to be wise spenders and savers and now a look at how the stock market ended the week.

there could be some money waiting for you in your name in a account you don't even know about. every state has millions of dollars in unclaimed funds, and there's an easy way to find out if any of that cash belongs to you. reporter dina gusovsy has more. >> unclaimed funds. >> reporter: angela shows us how

she became $13,000 richer. the catch, it was her own money she was getting back. >> a lot of it was small commission checks. a utility refund. >> angela, who was able to easily complete the process despite being legally blind is not alone. according to the latest figures from the national association of unclaimed property administrators over $40 billion is sitting in state unclaimed property programs nationwide waiting to be returned to their rightful owners. each state has an office where they can search for money. in new york alone the state's comptroller's office pays out $1 million a day and that's nothing compared to how much money they still have. >> now that's up to $14.5 billion. >> billion with a "b. >> 35 million accounts with a value of 14.5 billion. >> reporter: the main source of funds is from banks. >> typically it involves someone who has moved, and the bank or the financial institution, the insurance company, the utility where there was a security

deposit does not have the up-to-date contact information. >> banks are not required to keep the records over a certain number of years and it usually varies between five to seven years if the account is dormant. the bank is required under federal law to turn the money over to state and the state keeps the money in case someone does claim it one day. >> the system then will prompt you for the information that's needed so that it can verify. if you apply online, you can get the money in a matter of days. >> one financial adviser tells his clients to bookmark that website and make a habit out of checking state offices. >> i think it's a good exercise. i would say the majority of my clients have found something lying out there in unclaimed property. most in the order of $50 to $100 and some more.

>> a couple thousand dollars, it could actually make a difference in someone's life. >> i think my grandson is going have one great birthday party. >> always make sure if you move you tell all your financial relationships what your new contact information, address and phone number will be and when searching online for missing money, don't just put in your own name, friends and family, organizations you may have been a part of. that's another way you could be entitled to the money. >> i'll have to go take a look. thank you, dina. dina gusovsky. whether you find money, save it, spend it, making wise decisions is crucial and when should parents sit down and have kids, the money talk? joining us now is ellen sabin, the author of "nickels, dimes and dollars, a wise kids' guide to money matters." ellen, thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> how early should you start when teaching kids about their money? >> as early as possible. you know, it's interesting. parents often wait until the teenage years to talk about money, but truly introducing kids to the concept of money and

finance and responsibility only has the ability to get them confident about money issues. >> in your book you provide lessons and examples of ways to do that. what are some of them? >> essentially the idea that money is there to serve of you. so by creating habits that allow children to see responsible thinking, planning, sharing, work ethic, those sorts of things, children are then being introduced in an early age to the concept that money, that they can be the boss of their money to make it serve them in the future. >> what happens if their kids were a little bit older and you haven't done this? do you have advice for parents of kids who may be older than 6 or 7? >> never too late to learn about financial issues and the thing about my book, which is an activity book, we see high school kids mentoring younger kids from the book and still learning the concepts that are basic to financial literacy, the idea of, you know, again, work ethic, being thrifty, sharing,

saving for the future. not taking that marshmallow now. another important tip is -- is being smart about spending. the whole idea about wants versus needs. you can teach that at any age to a -- to an elementary school kid, a high school kid, a college kid. what are your wants versus your needs? >> sure. and what happens if you have a financial difficulty in the family? how open should you be with your kids whether they are young or older about that when it's really happening? >> i think those are amazing teaching moments. sitting down at the table and saying -- a conversation about, gee, i'm really glad that years ago i thought about putting money away and saving it because now i lost my job, but we can do this. letting them see your thought process about the fact that money is a tool to have the life that you want is a great opportunity. >> all i know is my dad talked so much about 401(k)s around the

dinner table by the time i was old enough to understand it i at least knew it was important, and i can thank him now for that. ellen, thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> ellen sabin. >> next how a simple dna test complicated this anchor's life and designing for delta and this latest update comes with the help of a celebrity fashion designer.

who are you? the question while philosophical is also rooted in science. dna testing is becoming easier and more accessible every day, but the results may uncover truth not everyone is prepared to handle. my colleague, friend and co-anchor on cnbc's "closing bell" bill griffeth took a dna test four years ago at the request of his cousin and the results shocking. in his memoir "the stranger in my genes" bill wrote about the lightning bolt that struck his life. who is the stranger? >> the stranger is my father. i found out very simply that my father was not my father. the man who raised me that i believed was my father was not. >> and when you took the test, it was because you're a genealogy buff, and your cousin himself has an interesting story. >> exactly. he and i are first cousins. the cousin who asked me to take this dna test. i love genealogy because you can go into records and go to graveyards and churches and courthouses and look in the records. he wanted to look into dna.

he's more scientifically minded, so he asked me to take this dna test to -- to see where the differences were in our dna, and -- and, boy, were they different. quick biological lesson, if i may. you're a woman, you have two "x" chrome zones, one from your mother. i'm a male and i have an "x" chromosome from my mother and a "y" chrome zone from my father and it's the "y " we were evaluating. he got his from his father and i got mine from my father presumably and they got it from their father and his father so on down the line. >> it should have matched. >> it never changes so it should have matched. mine came back and science has divided these "y" into haplo groups. mine came back as an i-1. that was the classification from my group. my brother came back from an "r-1. my cousin was an "r," and they

matched, as they should. i didn't match. >> and once you started to sit there and think, wait a minute, if we don't have the same father, well, mom, and your mother is still alive. >> she's 98 years young, and back then it was four years ago i -- i went to her and i presented the dna evidence, and she admitted, to use her word, that she made a mistake when she was younger. >> and your biological father and her husband have both passed away. >> they have, so i would never -- i've never met my biological father. >> and you've never reached out to that family either, have you? >> i have not. i don't want to give too much away because it's in the book, but i've chosen not to reach out to the other family, at least not yet. >> well, what about other people reaching out to you once they have heard your story? >> i'll tell you. if somebody in that family reads the book and figures it out and want to give me a call, i'll pick up the phone, absolutely. i don't want to disrupt their life. they don't deserve this. if my biological father were still alive i would reach out to him but i don't need to disrupt other people's lives.

>> what about other people in the public who have come to you and said that's happened to me, too? >> that's the one surprising thing. i thought my story was unusual if not unique but i've found so many stories have come my way from people i know, don't know, similar stories that have occurred to them or to other people about either taking a dna test or just learning that they were adopted. they don't know. it is unbelievable. dna testing, because it is becoming cheaper, more accessible, the typical dna test test kit now, costs about $99 and that cost is coming down. it's more accessible. more people are going to find more things. >> in fact, you've brought one here. >> would you like to take a dna test? >> the curiosity has gotten the better of me. >> i've been encouraging to you do it for months and glad you're doing it and going to do it on television. >> good to not have coffee. >> probably don't want to drink coffee or many liquids and scrape it good.

take it out. people just tuning in right now watching kelly evans do that and put that in this liquid here and push the button, just lift it up as you push. >> there we go. >> and the cotton swab is in this liquid here that will be preserved and voila you'll have your dna analyzed. >> i said to my parents do i have anything to worry about or would this be okay you with? go ahead, we'd love to find how the more. >> good luck. >> thank you, bill. >> and congratulations with the book. up next "on the money" a look at the news for the week ahead and celeb designer zac posen is putting his skills to work on a different runway, one used by delta airlines.

for more on our show and our guests go to our website otm.cnbc.com and follow us on twitter @onthemoney. here are the stories coming up that may impact your money this week. it will be the busiest week of earnings season. 13 dow components and 159 s&p 500 companies are set to report their profits or losses. on tuesday we'll get one read on housing trades with the case shiller home price index and on wednesday we'll see how many homes sold in september and if you haven't already go to the pumpkin patch or enjoy a pumpkin spice latte. wednesday is also national pumpkin day and basketball fans will be happy. the nba season gets under way and on friday the first read of the third-quarter gdp.

we began with airlines and will end with them, too. sort of a round trip. you may know fashion designer zac posen from the tv show "project runway" and now he has a new venture. courtney reagan tells us if the new style will ever take off. >> reporter: zac posen's latest business endeavor is designing for a different runway. delta's uniforms are getting a makeover. >> to have this opportunity to design for 60,000 people is a huge responsibility. >> reporter: after 18 months brainstorming, research and on-the-job training -- >> and i served, you know, the peanuts and pretzels. >> and lots of input from employees from functionality, fit and the biggest change. >> the final surprise was they said we want to change the color. >> it's time for the big reveal. ♪ delta's flight and airport staff

will don the new look in 2018 and they expect the investment will be worth it. >> ten years ago when we went through the bankruptcy the first thing we did was change the uniforms and it restored the employees' sense what have they do for the program. >> for "on the money" i'm courtney reagan. >> and that's the show for today. i'm kelly evans. thanks for joining us. next week, how to get the best medical care for best price. tips on open enrollment. keep it right here "on the money." have a great one. see you next weekend. you get used to sweaty odors in your car, you think it smells fine but your passengers smell this... eliminate odors you've gone noseblind to for up to 30 days with the febreze car vent clip break out the febreze, and [inhale/exhale mnemonic] breathe happy.

hey, live at the nasdaq market site this friday. here's what's coming up on the show. shares of biotech stocks have been doing something very funky ahead of next week's earnings. we'll tell you what that is. and how you can profit. plus -- here's what some traders have betting could happen to tesla shares next week. and if they're right, we have a way to triple your money. and -- ♪ fire >> one dow stock has been on fire. but there's something in the charts that suggests a run might be done. we'll tell you what that is. the action begins right now.