<p>My kids think I make too big a deal about some things, just because I speak up. Am I alone in wanting to correct a “wrong”? I’m not talking about being obnoxious to your waiter because your steak isn’t cooked “just so.” I’m talking about contacting a company because of an error.</p>
<p>The most recent example is that today I wrote a news organization today because of something I saw that I considered offensive. I’ve never done this particular thing ever, but I thought it was important enough for them to know that their segment was insensitive. If I was them, I’d want to know. I don’t see it as any big deal. Do you? </p>
<p>I remember another time my mom bought a can of green beans that was only juice, and this was the second time this had happened. She never called. I did, they were very nice, refunded her for the two cans and gave her a coupon for another one. I read them the product code so they could track where the problem was.</p>
<p>Am I destined to be one of those old ladies who complains about everything? :o</p>
<p>I have done this when I felt the error to be egregious.</p>
<p>Once I bought a bag full of smaller (single serving) bags of popcorn. 3 of the 10 bags in the package had only 1 or 2 kernels of popcorn in them - they were just puffed full of air. I sent the popcorn company a letter and included the batch number that I found on the back. They wrote back explaining how carefully they package their popcorn so that what I described couldn’t happen, but they enclosed coupons for 3 free bags. They never admitted that I might be right, but I was happy with the coupons.</p>
<p>The other time I was buying fresh green beans in the grocery store, on a rainy day just before Thanksgiving. There were numerous beans that had been dropped/spilled onto the store floor in front of the bean bin, and I know I was standing on some of them. As I walked away with my bag of beans, one of the produce workers came over, scooped up the beans off the floor (the ones people had been STANDING on in their disgusting rain boots!) and put them BACK INTO THE BIN. I walked back to the bin, dumped my beans back in, and said to the worker, “I’m putting these back because I saw what you just did, and I don’t want to buy beans that have been on the floor.” He replied, “Well they grow in the dirt anyway.” (Umm… no… green beans grown on VINES but that was irrelevant!) After I finished my shopping and checked out, I found the store manager, who was standing next to the Customer Service desk, and said, “I think you might have a training problem…” She was HORRIFIED when I told her the story, thanked me profusely and RAN toward the produce department to re-train the employee. (This happened a couple years ago and that guy still works there).</p>
<p>If I were a business owner, I’d want to know if there were a problem. I work in a school system, and if someone on our staff isn’t speaking appropriately to the kids, I want to know about it so I can correct them!</p>
<p>I called about fruitless fruit yogurt once. They sent me a bunch of coupons for free yogurt. The same thing happens when you call to compliment a company. Free curry and free Clearasil.</p>
<p>I called a local business last week when I saw one of their company truck drivers driving like a maniac. Who knows if they spoke to him about it but what I saw was dangerous.</p>
<p>I called Pepsico once and informed them that their cans of Mt. Dew started appearing with a sharp crimp on the opening tab that could cut people’s lips. They thanked me for letting them know and the problem was corrected. At the same time I asked them why they didn’t sell caffeine-free diet Mt Dew in California since if anyplace would want it it’d be California. They confirmed it wasn’t sold here although it was sold in some other states but didn’t know why. They ended up sending me a coupon for free soda.</p>
<p>I also wrote to Webster’s Dictionary once about a clear error in their dictionary but they never bothered to respond to me.</p>
<p>So, yeah, I’ll provide constructive feedback if I feel like it.</p>
<p>If it’s a company that I like and I plan on using their product or services in the future, I inform them of a problem. If it’s a company that I hope fails…I keep quiet. Information is power.</p>
<p>^^ The word ‘catawampus’ - they said it was a variant of ‘katywampus’ (or vice versa) yet the latter word wasn’t in their dictionary. It seemed to me that if they define one word as a variant of another that other word should be in the dictionary and defined. The letter that was sent was typed with the sheet of paper crooked so it’d come out ‘katywampus’ (back in the days of typewriters).</p>
<p>I called companies alot while the kids were growing up - quite a giggle when my then college aged son called to inform Nabisco that he was very dissatisfied with their ginger snaps, which did not look at all like the package. </p>
<p>I usually called because, like others noted, I was trying to tell the company that there was a production problem. Results varied.</p>
<p>DH just complained at the Fountainbleu in Miami - after their major costly renovation, we had failry disappointing results with not getting the room we reserved - despite calling several times during our delayed trip to let them know we needed the room type we reserved…they ended up admitting that DH was right and they needed to reserve by room type and not just any room</p>
<p>I don’t do it often, but when something is just so bad, I feel someone needs to know so corrections can be made. Such was the case last month when my DH, DD and I decided to eat lunch at a local “bread” shop that makes our very favorite chicken salad. After picking up our sandwiches, chips and drinks and paying $34.12, we looked for a place to sit and eat. There were several available tables but all were dirty, so I approached an employee who was collecting dirty trays and utensils from the disposal area. I said “Excuse me, do you have a wet rag I could borrow?” Before I even finished my question, he had turned his back on me and simply shook his head and said, “No”. I was shocked. I stood for a minute thinking surely he would say something about getting one for me but he didn’t. I then said, “Well, can you tell me where I can find one then because all the tables are dirty and I’d like to clean ours.” He told me I should check with the people at the cash register. This isn’t just some little sandwich shop. It’s a popular place and the food is really good. I had never had an experience like that at this place, so I was very surprised. I didn’t want to wait in line to ask for a wet rag nor did I want to cut line, so I made my way to the restroom and got a wet paper towel to clean our table. During our time there, we noticed three other parties did the same … went to the restroom and got wet paper towels to clean their own tables. Additionally, my husband noticed when he looked at the receipt during lunch that we had been overcharged by $3.50. He did wait in line and asked for a refund. He was told they would need the manager but she was busy at the moment so they would send her to our table. By the time we finished lunch, the manager had not shown so my husband returned to the cashier. The manager finally arrived and authorized the refund. Two days later, I sent an e-mail to the customer service people and told them how much we love their chicken salad and how we had always been very pleased up until that day. I shared my story with them. Within two hours, the store manager called me at home and fell all over himself apologizing. He promised to see that changes were made and said he hoped we would give them another chance. To entice us to return, he promised to put a gift card in the mail … I’m still waiting on it a month later :rolleyes: We will never return there.</p>
<p>These are inspiring stories. I hate places where you serve yourself food, or you’re otherwise rung up at a register and are not given an itemized receipt. My FIL thought his total seemed too high after eating at a cafeteria at one of the Smithsonian museums. He asked later and found out that the teeny bottle of cheap wine had cost him more than $20! When you’re balancing a tray of food and drinks and trying to sign a credit card receipt it’s hard to have the presence of mind to question the total. But we all should! And they should always provide an itemized receipt.</p>
<p>My mother complained about everything. Everything! It was embarrassing. I mean, really, is it Bloomingdale’s fault that Chanel no longer makes a refill for the perfume spray she bought in 1959? (She yelled at a store clerk. In 1991. And when I say yelled, I mean yelled. There were three people trying to calm her down.)</p>
<p>I do sometimes complain, but I try to also compliment when it’s appropriate. Last weekend, I asked for the manager and I could see him get terribly tense as he approached. When I said “I just wanted to tell you that my waitress was wonderful”, you could see him relax. I don’t think people give enough compliments.</p>
<p>OTOH, I did complain to the hotel clerk about the dog poop that was everywhere. Since I was there with my dogs (and picking up after them), I also suggested that he suggest a new procedure to management: supply some poop bags and put out a special trash can, and explain where the trash can is, as part of signing the pet policy.</p>
<p>I post on Trip Advisor and Yelp. I review businesses I like (that I want to be sure stay in business) and also the ones that have missed the mark.</p>
<p>On occasion, I will contact the company directly.</p>
<p>After a horrendous experience at an open air theatre in Marin County, I wrote them with feedback and suggestions. They did not reply, but had the nerve to contact me asking for financial support. Needless to say, I let them know that not only would I not be donating to them, that I have no intention of going to their theatre again.</p>
<p>I have to admit that it is almost impossible for me to complain about bad wait service. I don’t dare not leave a tip either. And I’m no pushover! After reading this thread, I’ll try to be more assertive. It’s kind of funny because I’m much more assertive with people I know – work or friends, than with strangers. My H is the opposite. Go figure.</p>
<p>^^ I have no problem just getting up and walking out if the waitstaff don’t respond quickly enough - or when they don’t give me the check or pick up the payment within a reasonable time I also get up and go find someone. I also have no problem leaving no tip if they did a terrible job and yes, I know that sometimes the tip is shared with other staff, but this way the other staff can go ahead and put pressure on that waitperson as well and either get them to improve or go find another job. There’s no way I’ll leave a tip for lousy service. However, I won’t yell or make a scene since there’s no point in that.</p>
<p>OTOH I’ll leave a decent tip and go out of my way to compliment them if they do a decent job. We’ve even called some restaurants afterwards, asked to speak to the manager, and then reported how a waitperson did a really good job. They seem to really appreciate this since it seems it’s mostly the complainers they hear from - kind of like product feedback sites on the internet.</p>
<p>My kids say I always embarrass them when I complain, but most businesses really appreciate this. I was really proud of my son when his X-Box quit working recently. I made him call with the complaint and they ended up sending him a brand new unit. I’m a secret shopper so get paid for some of my complaining. I also write reviews on tripadvisor and Angie’s List. I rarely have bad experiences anymore because I read others’ reviews.</p>
<p>For years I have taught a quality management principles class each fall. One of the units is on customer satisfaction and statistics show that it costs 5-6 times as much to recruit a new customer as it does to keep a returning customer satisfied. Smart companies know this and recognize that the feedback some of you have described is valuable for continuous improvement efforts. I have complained when warranted throughout the years such as when pizzas took 90 minutes for delivery (pizza place is within 10 minutes in traffic), when I found crystalized something in the crescent rolls (as with many of you, I identified the batch and was told there was an identified problem), etc. Often I have received coupons or freebies, but what I’m really looking for from the perspective of someone who teaches about this stuff is a sincere acknowledgement of my problem and an apology.</p>
<p>D used to be a little embarrassed by my approach, but one night in college there was a pizza screw up and she was mad enough to take charge and get it fixed. Two of her friends expressed admiration for her ability to get a new, correctly topped pizza delivered and asked where she learned that (she is not normally assertive) and she told them she learned from her mom. They then made her the designated mistake corrector for the next few years!</p>
<p>I emailed Starbucks recently because one particular location that I go to is always a disaster. It’s in a really touristy part of a major city so it’s always full and they can’t seem to get their staffing right – i.e. one person at the register and one making drinks and 3 others standing around when the line has 25+ people in it, or a really inexperienced person at the register so you can go in and be the 2nd person in line but the person is so slow that as you’re leaving you notice the line is now 20 people long. I got a response back from Starbucks corporate that same night and was promised free coupons, which I haven’t received yet; I know they appreciate that type of ‘operational’ info as I’ve chatted with their secret shoppers who say that they do change their store operations as they notice problems.</p>
<p>Beyond restaurants and stores, do you all complain about more ‘important’ services? I’ve been debating this one. Just had a test done at a major academic hospital and I had the RUDEST tech doing the test. I asked her 1 question and she nearly ripped my head off; her instructions were really different from my doctor’s instructions and he is located at a different major health system in another city. I said ‘my doctor actually said x, can I verify that it’s ok to do y’ and she was totally insulted and ranted about how I needed to trust her (why - I don’t even know her) and that she wouldn’t allow something if her doctors didn’t say it was ok (may be true - but those doctors aren’t my doctors). I had a half a mind to complain because I think anyone in health care should be slightly politer with patients, but I don’t even know who to complain to?</p>