I hear some people say that they 'never' complain (about inadequate service or faulty products), but I hear others say that complaining gets them FRE.E STUFF! What do you think (as a consumer) about complaining? Do you have any tips-or-tricks for more-effective complaining? Any examples of when your complaining was good? or bad? ... Me, I'll pipe-up whenever it seems appropriate: mostly just to 'have my say,' which is what most of my complaining HERE will be; but also when I think they'll improve the experience for 'the next customer' (and/or 'me, next time I consume there' ). Examples: I think of 2 right off-hand ... only enough time to do one (for now). The BUY FOR LE$$ where I used to live: I'm up there shopping-regular, & when I'm all gathered & ready for checkout I find out that 'their computers are down.' ... I'll continue this later ...
The best tip about an effective complaint is to make it public. Trust me, the company will be way more prone to listening and solving your issues if you complain on their Facebook page, a blog, a video or one of those websites specialized in complaints. Most large companies have inside of their customer service a section specially for public/media complaints, and those are the priority for them, because it's negative press. So for me, everytime I have a complaint I'll do it online where everyone can see.
... can't quite see how to edit the entry above (if it's at-all possible), so this'll have to do ... I'd heard it before--on the other side of the store--& thought, 'Well, check-out'll be a little slower : ' Then I got TO the register, and the checkout-lady just blinks at me, says "Oh, the computers are down," and F`ING WALKS THE F` AWAY Now, I could've waited the x-number hours it would take tech-support to get in there & fix it, but a) it was the middle of the summer (with temperatures already in the 70's then at 6- or 7-o`clock) & b) I had to walk more than 'one city-block' ('one major road to another major road,' not counting all the little "neighborhood blocks" in-between) to get there ... i.e. waiting at all would've HURT ME walking back home. So--in the interest of SURVIVING THE WALK BACK HOME--I started to take the cart full of groceries out the door. That's when one of the workers there (an ex-convict I knew from church) STOPS me, with a comment like "You ain't takin` this stuff out` mah store!" I had twenty bucks on me, which I OFFERED them; THEY WOULDN'T HAVE IT! (I'm still kinda angry atLog In, and this hasn't been resolved to my satisfaction ... so I guess THAT's an example of 'just having my say'-complaining) Then there was the little problem I had withLog In: I had a coupon for a combo-meal or something, and they were unable to honor it on account of it was "Happy Hour" (when drinks were half-price). I aired the complaint on SONIC's website, and was mailed a special coupon 'from the main office.' So yeah, it's cool when I'm rewarded for complaining; but that's not "the reason" I complain. 'The reason' is (ideally) "to improve the future-customers' experience," but it's probably (really) to find some form of "justice" to pay-off the 'injustice' that bad customer-service commits. How do YOU most-effectively complain?
When I was about 12 years old, I wrote a letter to Charms Blow Pops, because their lollipops had all these cracks and little sharp ridges to them, and I would get little cuts on my tongue. I wrote them a letter, and they sent me back an apology and tons of coupons. The only other complaint I truly saw something out of was with Verizon. Trust me, if you know the right things to say to over-the-phone customer service reps, you can get a lot more accomplished. I thought my bill was outrageous for what I got with it, but I couldn't get out of my contract without tons of fees. So I called in, referenced deals that AT&T had going on, and sure enough, they dropped my bill down from $115 to $70 a month. Good tips for calling in to cancel a service or try to get a lower rate - use what the company refers to as "trigger words." I've worked in call centers long enough to know how that works. For example, if you're canceling a trial service, just call in and be nice, but say something like, "I'd just like to cancel. This whole thing seemed like a scam. I really felt like you guys just tricked me into signing up." Or if you bring up the phrase "Better Business Bureau" - you will almost always receive expedited cancellation, prompter service, and possibly lower rates depending on who you're calling. I guess to me I just aggravated like in situations with Verizon. I was paying $45 more than I truly had to. Makes you wonder how much other money you could be saving.
Of course if am not getting value for my money I will complain but not always. Sometimes I complain when the customer service has been bad. essentially it is to help them make the business better for other people. The sometimes I let it pass.
Complaining, when you do it the right way, does help in improving the services you get. Making a scene, say in a store, would get you some cheap publicity but it won't help much because the management doesn't take customers who cause trouble seriously. The best way to complain, is to speak with someone in charge and let them handle the issue. Of course carping online does help a bit but for immediate action, if you're shopping in a real store, then the strategy I recommended above, works best.
I have made complaints a few times and if it was a really bad incident, I go right to corporate. Corporate cares more about the customers being unhappy then the local store does. Figure the local store employees get paid either way (by corporate.) But I always go to the top of the ladder no matter what the case is if I feel that they need to know about a bad experience. But on the same note, I will also email corporate if I had a wonderful experience so they know how great an employee was or a store was. Sometimes it gets me somewhere, but if nothing else it gets me the satisfaction of knowing that somebody will get a talking to by corporate if there was a problem. I don't complain to get anything free tho. More or less to let them know that it happened and other customers may have the same problem.
If you're doing it in writing, there are templates for consumers that act as a guide for writing an effective complaint letter. These are good because it is easy to get emotional or speculate. Long before the internet, I bought a frozen food item from a major food manufacturer. It had a chemical (think The Blob) inside the food, making it inedible. So I write a brief letter and send a copy of receipt and the chemical as proof. Got a small check, many coupons and an apology explaining that it was guar gum that was a harmless additive(?). Never got sick so it was good. Now, small businesses may not be so generous, at first. Like another poster said, mentioning BBB helps but sometimes reimbursement is not likely. I got a verbal comp on bad service but this person seemed to be more bent on me spending more money at his business.
I'm not against complaining as long as the company deserves it. I hear about people complaining JUST to get free stuff, and I think that's wrong. I think the most important thing to remember when complaining is to not be belligerent about it. You should state your complaint in a calm, cool and collected manner. It's okay to let them know that you're upset -- that is the whole point, after all -- but you shouldn't swear or call names or anything like that.
You can catch a lot more flies with honey than with vinegar. It's important that if one complains we don't overwhelm the other party emotionally. It's important to leave them a path of dignified retreat, not to strip all of their dignity just because we have this belief that if we stamp our angry little feet loud enough and long enough we deserve to be treated well.
I myself don't have a problem with complaining if it's warranted, and I do expect to get compensated whenever I do. I think it's good practice for consumers to complain because it's the best way to mold companies into bettering their services for everyone else. If they do not receive feedback, whether it be positive or negative, then they are at risk so it's why even they probably welcome it and it's also probably why they are eager to send compensation to those who speak up because it is just a small expense in comparison to what they are getting in return which is helpful tips on how to better their business.
If you have a legitimate complaint, then by all means you should certainly bring it to someone's attention. However, if you are constantly on the lookout for a chance to weasel free stuff from businesses by pretending to be furious over the littlest things, then you re-think your intentions. The latter will make those businesses more jaded about dealing with real consumer complaints, because they have so many people trying to get freebies from them. Having worked as a server for a few years, we became very aware of the repeat offenders - the ones that would come in, and raise hell about their entire experience, get several items comped off the check, then continue to come back every week, sometimes several times a week. Ultimately the managers would stop giving them refunds, and only offer to reheat or replace their food items. You should also consider whom you are complaining to. If there is a shortage of cashiers at the store, which is causing long lines, it's not necessarily the cashiers fault - it's likely the managers fault for not scheduling enough of them. Some stores, like Target, are known to do this on purpose, because they believe it will encourage the customers waiting in line to make more impulse buys. Ask to speak with a manager instead. Same thing goes with restaurants, a majority of the time it isn't the servers fault when your orders come out wrong or take forever, yet they are often the ones who get chewed out and screwed out of their wages. Again, ask to speak to a manager, and if you noticed your server was doing a good job and suspect it wasn't their fault, explain that to the manager as well to help protect the server from getting in trouble.
When I want to complain about a company I get my brother to do it because he is so much better than me and he always comes away with something like a free month or a free upgrade to keep me as a customer.
That's true, I used to receive some complaints at work and my boss would handle them, if the customer was right and didn't cause a scene, we'd solve the problem and make sure it never happened again. But if they caused a big scene the attitude was more like "forget that guy, he was a jerk" even if it was a valid complaint.
Well, they don't get paid if you get them fired. I imagine--if there's a problem they can do something about and it seems that they won't do it--you could threaten to complain ... tho a lot of places are locally owned---I don't know, but I think that all that "corporate" cares about then is "if the owners pay the franchise-fee." If you have the owner's contact-info, you could still 'threaten' the employees---maybe saying something like, 'Well, I'll just tell Mr. NAME about this & see what he says.' So basicly, never EXPECT free stuff for complaining! but DO take it if they offer something you want.
I don't really complain unless the product is really defective, but I have received a replacement and not free stuff whenever I do that. I think complaining just for the sake of getting free stuff is not right, it's like the consumer is taking advantage of the seller or company. I would never do that just so that I can be able to get free stuff.
Well, think of the whole transaction. If you 'didn't get your money's worth' (or had to do work that THEY'RE getting paid for), you gave THEM free stuff! So they OWE the stuff to you (it's only 'free' the same way profits-on-investments are 'free.')
I don't think it's fair to complain just for the sake of getting something free. That means I also disagree when people go to restaurants and claim there was a fly in their soup, etc. It's deceitful. That being said, I think it's perfectly legit to complain when there is something really wrong and it's not worth your money to continuing using that product (or eating the food). That might mean simply replacing the item or yes, issuing a refund.
Well, I do complain when I think that the services/products I've paid for isn't doing it's job as it's supposed to. Why? Well because I paid for it with hard earned money and you as a consumer who pays deserve to be treated right since you're the one keeping their business alive in the first place.
I am a notoriously picky eater. I don't like anything on my burgers but cheese, and it means I have to send my burgers back a lot of the time. I generally don't complain when I do so, I just asked for it to be replaced. It takes pretty bad service for me to be willing to stand around and wait for a supervisor to complain.
