The Truth About Complaining…

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There is a right way and a wrong way to complain.  We all have seen the bad way and most of the time I leave these situations feeling bad for a clerk or whomever took the brunt of it and less bad for the person that was actually wronged.  Am I the only one who hates to see people just go off??

The right way to complain and the way that will get you way more in the end.

  1. Stay calm and introduce yourself, if doing so will fit into the conversation.
  2. State exactly what you want and don’t want something that is unreasonable for the amount wrong you have been through. 
  3. Ask to speak with the manager if the originator doesn’t seem to be able to get you want you want.
  4. Tell them the situation matter-a-factly, but calmly and honestly.  Try not to exaggerate which is something that I have a problem to keep myself from doing. 

So here is an example:  I went to a restaurant and my burger came out burnt.

I tell the waitress:  Hello!  My burger is burnt and I can’t eat it.  It has caused my appetite to go away.  I would like a coupon or voucher to come back next week and allow you to cook it right.

I almost guarantee that I would get exactly what I wanted in this situation.

You can also use this technique on the phone as well, but phone techniques are sometimes the very least effective.  When making a phone complaint make sure to get the name of the person you talked with.  Always stay calm on the phone, you won’t get anything by blowing up.

Letter is the ultimate vehicle of complaint.  This is a formal complaint and a record of complaint should you need it for court.

If you are complaining about a product, it is much more effective to sent the complaint to the manufacturer instead of the store you bought it.  You can send one copy to the president and make another copy to the consumer relations department.  Your letters should all be copies of the original, you should include receipts, and any other details that you can offer.

You should make sure to include full contact information, when you want a response by, what your desired response would be, and mostly what the complaint issue is.

When this all fails, consider filing a claim with the Better Business Bureau or a trade industry.  You may not get a response from them, but at least they will have the file of bad business practices and can warn future possible customers.

Hope you don’t have to use this article to much and best of luck with your future complaints.

 

Written by Jennifer Hitchcock - Visit Website

June 13 | Filed Under General Tips 

Comments

2 Responses to “The Truth About Complaining…”

  1. buzzdroid on June 13th, 2007 10:51 pm

    Great advice. We’re actually trying to make complaining fun and productive at MyBiggestComplaint. There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to complain. Few people understand this and think complaining is too negative. Not if you do it correctly. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

  2. Jennifer on June 14th, 2007 8:31 pm

    Wow!

    Thanks for sharing. Your site is very interesting. I am reading about 64 ounce drink containers at 7-11. LOL….. I never was much of fan of those either.

    You are officially the very first comment on my new site. I haven’t announced it to all my regular readers of my other sites.

    Thanks for the visit.

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