It pays to complain - 2 quick stories

[disneysteve]

Several weeks ago, we came downstairs in the morning and found a piece of a branch had cracked a window in our family room. It had been really windy the day before and we had come home late so hadn't noticed. I didn't think much of it (other than cursing and wondering what it would cost). Later that day, though, it occurred to me that the lawn had been mowed that day and the way the branch had hit the window, from the bottom up, it hadn't fallen off the tree and hit, it had gotten propelled up from below - by the lawnmower.

I contacted the lawn guy and he said he'd take care of it. Just send him the bill after we get it fixed. We had our window guy come out a week or so later and replace the window. It ran about $190. Well, today the lawn guy knocked on the door and handed my wife $190 cash.

Second story is last night we ordered dinner from Domino's. When you order online, which we did, they have an order tracker that shows when your order is put into the oven, when it comes out and when it leaves the store for delivery. Last night, it showed that it came out of the oven at 5:17 but didn't leave the store until 5:39. That meant it sat there for 22 minutes. It didn't arrive at our house until 6:06, 27 minutes later. That means a total of 49 minutes passed between the pizza being done and us receiving it. Guess what. It was cold when we got it. Not a huge deal really. I threw it in the oven for 5 minutes and it was fine, but it certainly wasn't good customer service. I sent an e-mail last night explaining what had happened. I got a personal response (not a form letter) just a short time later, which impressed me on a Sunday night. This afternoon, the store supervisor called and apologized and said he'd give us a credit for the full amount of the order. Sounded good to me.

So when things happen that shouldn't happen, don't be afraid to speak up. Be polite. Be reasonable. But be heard. Good companies want their customers to be happy.

[creditcardfree]

Nice!!

[buildmybudget]

These are great stories--I just wish they didn't seem to be the exception to the rule when it comes to service levels.

[disneysteve]

These are great stories--I just wish they didn't seem to be the exception to the rule when it comes to service levels.

I think part of the problem is that most people don't know how to complain. That might sound odd but I think it is true. You can't just go screaming and yelling like a mad man looking for blood. I've always found that if I'm reasonable and polite and firm, I usually get satisfaction. Maybe not from the first person I speak to but eventually.

Stick to the facts and leave out the emotion and drama. With the pizza, it was simple. Their own computer system documented the problem. It shouldn't take 22 minutes from the time the pizza comes out of the oven until the time it leaves the store. And then it shouldn't take another 27 minutes to get to our house. We don't live that far away.

In my e-mail, I just gave the facts. I said that we order regularly and this wasn't the service we've come to expect. I said that we liked their food and would continue to order in the future but I would like compensation for this experience. I wasn't nasty. I wasn't rude. I didn't blame anybody. I didn't exaggerate and say it ruined our evening or anything like that. I just let them know what happened and why I wasn't satisfied.

Really, the same with the window. I could have called and cursed the guy out and said his crew screwed up and smashed my window and ranted and raved. Instead, I just called him calmly and explained what happened and he agreed to take care of it.

My wife was a customer service manager in a retail store for years. She's shared many stories of customers being unreasonable in their demands and behavior when complaining about something. Guess who got the better service and was more likely to get what they wanted - the customer who was calm and polite and understanding.

[buildmybudget]

I think you're absolutely right, but, it's these instances are based upon one professional doing business with another professional.

An alternative story about Pizza:

I woke up one morning(coincidentally the day I was shopping for an engagement ring) to find that my car had been hit right out in front of my house. I asked all my roommates at the time and even walked the neighborhood trying to figure out who might have hit my car. Long story short, I was able to piece together between a pizza delivery receipt and a neighbor's strange encounter that it must have been a pizza delivery guy that hit my car.

So, I went to the pizza place and talked to the owner, who obviously knew something had happened and who had already fired the driver. Thankfully I was able to get the pizza delivery guy's contact info and called him at home. Turns out he was driving a car his gparents had given him, a VW Jetta. I said(very stupidly at the time) that I was willing for him to just give me the deductable and we could call it even. Luckily for me he quickly began making ridiculous demands about where he wanted me to take my car so he could pay less, etc. for it to be fixed. Lucky because I refused and we wound up going through my insurance which contacted his for remediation.

To me, this story is the rule and not the exception. People generally don't want to take responsibility for their actions and if they can, will try to get away with murder. Not coincidentally, I think that is why so many Americans are in terrible financial shape--for the simple fact they don't want to take responsibility for their actions. Not to take away anything from your OP..

[Mr Nice Guy]

Ive worked in retail most of my working years. When dealing with chain stores or franchises, complaining can get you far. This is mostly because it is not the manager's money he or she is losing, it is the store's or company's money being used to compensate for the dispute. Th attitude most employee's have is. "just get this customer out of my face, at all costs!"

I imagine it is a bit different when dealing with a local mom and pop shop. Or maybe not, im not sure.

[marvholly]

I have had several instances of even store managers NOT understanding their own company writter and published coupon or raincheck policies. I generally file an on-line complaint specifying the store & person(s) involved and pointing out that I am bothering to let them know whon most people would just NOT shop that chain anymore since I live in a metro area w/a LOT of choices.

I have gotten at least 4 ($25/more) gift cards to CVS, WAG and a chain grocery in the last 5 years.

[wrk4lvg]

Ive worked in retail most of my working years. When dealing with chain stores or franchises, complaining can get you far. This is mostly because it is not the manager's money he or she is losing, it is the store's or company's money being used to compensate for the dispute. Th attitude most employee's have is. "just get this customer out of my face, at all costs!"

Bingo!

[disneysteve]

I generally file an on-line complaint specifying the store & person(s) involved

That's exactly what I did with Domino's. If you go to their website, it says that if you had a problem with your order, contact that location. I skipped that step and sent an e-mail to corporate as my first step. I want to direct my complaint to the person who is most likely to fix it. Corporate responded and passed the report back down to the store. The local franchisee is probably more likely to respond from a directive from corporate than from a guy who placed a $20 order.

buildmybudget - Your story reminded me of another story. About 2 years ago, someone came into my office and asked who owned the red Camry parked outside. It was mine, of course. Turned out someone had hit the front end and done a fair amount of damage. No note left. No responsibility taken. In short order, we were able to learn that a plumber working at a house behind my office had hit the car when turning into the driveway. They were still there. I went over and got their info and called their office. Someone came out right away and examined the scene and promised to pay for the repairs. I took the car to the body shop, got the work done and the plumbing company paid the body shop directly. I didn't even have to front the money or wait to be reimbursed.

So the idiot driving the truck didn't care, but the upper management people certainly did.

[bjl584]

A few years ago I purchased new headlight bulbs for my car. The new bulbs were supposedly 50% brighter than standard bulbs and were claiming to last twice as long. After 2 weeks, one of them burned out. I wrote a quick email to Sylvania explaining my situation and my disatisfaction, and within a week the UPS man delivered a brand new set of bulbs to my doorstep.

[disneysteve]

Last week, we placed a supply order from Staples. When it arrived, one item, an accordion file, was damaged. We called and they overnighted another one and said to keep or trash the damaged one. No problem at all.

I really don't think customer service is predominantly bad. I think you just hear a lot more about the bad experiences because those people talk the most. You don't hear about all the good stuff.

[KTP]

I feel a bit bad for the lawn guy though. Unless he intentionally was driving over a bunch of fallen branches (and do you pay him extra to do cleanup after a windstorm?) then it was more an act of nature.

It would be somewhat similar to a patient demanding a refund from you for fixing his broken arm because he caught a cold while in your office. (I dunno, maybe you do get that type of demand).

[cypher1]

I admit I'm one of those people who avoid confrontation, or if someone makes a mistake on my order, I'll usually let it pass. Having worked in retail in the past, I can identify with "just get this customer out of my face, at all costs!" experiences. Although last years experience at a movie theater was enough to voice my opinion. Try watching The Road in a freezing theater wearing your hat, scarf, coat, and gloves. I should've walked earlier, but sat it through, and then complain about the bad experience. Turns out the thermostat was broken earlier, but they were still doing screening, and wouldn't compensate us for the bad experience. Needless to say, that was the last time I gave them my business. Oh well.

[disneysteve]

I feel a bit bad for the lawn guy though. Unless he intentionally was driving over a bunch of fallen branches (and do you pay him extra to do cleanup after a windstorm?) then it was more an act of nature.

I disagree. If a worker is doing work on your home and they damage something, they are responsible for fixing it. And any legitimate company likely carries insurance for stuff like that, though in this instance, he wouldn't bother filing a claim for that small an amount.

[cypher1]

I disagree. If a worker is doing work on your home and they damage something, they are responsible for fixing it. And any legitimate company likely carries insurance for stuff like that, though in this instance, he wouldn't bother filing a claim for that small an amount.

I agree. No different than bringing your car to a shop for an oil change, and coming out with a new dent on it. Of course accidents happen, no matter how small or trivial, and people still have to take responsibility. Although the next line could be "Prove it" for either side.