How to complain effectively

[bicker]

How to complain effectively - By Amy Bradley-Hole - Travel columnist - MSNBC

There are so many complaints discussed on the DIS, that I found this article very interesting. It is directed at complaints about hotels, but the advice readily applies to restaurants, airlines, and even retail shops.

The most interesting highlights:

... consider saving your energy for a truly bad situation

... it doesn’t do much good to complain about something beyond the hotel’s [restaurant's, airline's, store's] control

... Complain immediately

... Make yourself understood

... plenty of advice that tells travelers to start complaining at the highest level possible. ... Bad idea!

... I tell the manager what the problem is. I explain that I am not looking for compensation, but that I do want to make him aware of the situation, and that I am leaving it in his hands to decide what should be done. And you know what? I’ve never been disappointed. In fact, I’ve always been surprised at how much consideration I’ve received.

... I know how hard it is to keep a level head and stay calm when you’ve been wronged. But you are much more likely to find that employees are willing to help when you treat them with respect.

The one that caught my attention the most was the advice, and rationale behind the advice, for following the chain of command, working your way up the ladder, rather than presuming to contact the CEO immediately. I'm not sure where this farsical rule-of-thumb of calling the CEO first came from, but it sounded way too self-centered to be rational, just on the surface. In the article, Ms. Bradley-Hole makes it clear why it is a BAD idea -- you basically, unecessarily, piss off a lot of people who otherwise would have been much more positively inclined towards you!

 

[1Prince2Princesses]

I totally agree with this. Sometimes the little people are more than willing to correct a situation to keep it from going before the big people. If you go straight to the big guys with a problem that could have been solved at a lower level, they will most likely feel bothered, and the little guys look incompetent. I've seen people lose their jobs in these kinds of situations, when they were never given an opportunity to correct the mistake to start with.

 

[escape]

Thanks for sharing, Bicker!

I'm often amazed at the number of people I read about that have a complaint but don't do anything about it until they get home. A few of those people then want to contact a "higher-up".

And the freebies.....

After reading some of the threads on the resort board in the past, I often wonder if people complain because they don't get an upgrade. (Insert chuckle. Where's that smilie with the teeth?)

 

[bicker]

I often wonder if people complain because they don't get an upgrade.

Definitely. The Internet has definitely made it practically impossible for Disney to offer pixie dust anymore, because word gets out and that pixie dust becomes expectation on the part of others. That's why I think folks need to be very careful sharing the most special experiences online -- we need to understand that "this is what I experienced but I feel very lucky to have experienced such generosity, and I shouldn't expect to get the same next time, and other people should expect the same generosity as I received."

 

[Serena]

I agree, and can I add, be nice. People are more likely to bend over backwards to help if you're nice.

 

[Missy1961]

Great advice. It always amazes me that people wait until they are home to complain, when if you had simply spoken up at the time, the matter would have been taken care of. And that people will complain about EVERYTHING. I live by the rule 'pick your battles'--there are times to complain, and times to simply suck it up.

 

[bicker]

It always amazes me that people wait until they are home to complain, when if you had simply spoken up at the time, the matter would have been taken care of.

Someone very close to me (NOT my wife, mind you) does this strategically, and I find it reprehensible -- she seems to look for opportunities to have something to complain about, and then tries to milk the system after-the-fact. I'm glad to know, from her, that it's working a lot less effectively than it had in previous years. Companies are getting wise to the tactic and closing the door to after-the-fact satisfaction. It is a shame, though, that so many people with legitimate complaints are thereby prevented from getting satisfaction, and indeed such after-the-fact complaints are generally given much less credence by folks evaluating feedback from customers.

 

[Missy1961]

Someone very close to me (NOT my wife, mind you) does this strategically, and I find it reprehensible -- she seems to look for opportunities to have something to complain about, and then tries to milk the system after-the-fact. I'm glad to know, from her, that it's working a lot less effectively than it had in previous years. Companies are getting wise to the tactic and closing the door to after-the-fact satisfaction. It is a shame, though, that so many people with legitimate complaints are thereby prevented from getting satisfaction, and indeed such after-the-fact complaints are generally given much less credence by folks evaluating feedback from customers.

Exactly. I bet many of these people have no idea that they are the reason why this no longer is effective. Like the many stores now requiring receipts for returns. So many people cheated, the stores have no choice. Not fair to the innocent people who lose receipts (like me), but I understand why it has to be that way.

 

[MariDisney]

I wanted to "vent" about this today, and this thread seems an appropriate enough place. My DH manages a Toys R Us. Yesterday someone came in to return a defective video game. The game is not currently in stock, and the customer wanted a replacement. Dh offererd to issue a full refund and call other local stores to see if they had it. THe customer was IRATE because his son wanted the game NOW. And, WHO was going to pay for his gas to get to the other TRU. He told DH he wanted an employee from his store to go get one from the other store and bring it back. This is not a service TRU offers. I should mention that he did use several choice words with DH and when DH asked him to to swear in front of the children in the store, the man said his kids swear all the time. Anyway, after going round and round the customer went home with a refund, his wife called to tell DH that she emailed the "CEO" of TRU and for him not to be surprised when he's fired. This just seems so excessive and useless for something that is totally out of DH's control. It's not like he can make the game appear in the store.

Thanks for letting me get it out.

 

[iloveboardwalk]

I think number one is for people not not get their panties in a twist about very trivial matters. But maybe it's just me...the things I see people absolutely hopping mad about around here is...interesting.

 

[MyGoofy26]

I'm constantly amazed by people who think louder is better when complaining. When you make a scene, they're going to do the bare minimum to shut you up. If you're polite and calm, companies and people are more willing to go the extra mile.

My mom complained (after the fact) a couple years ago to Disney about the CHristmas parade taping. It was a very calm email, just stating that we had been yelled at (rudely - not just speaking loudly over the noise) CMs for not moving fast enough past the parade and a few other small things. She stated from the beginning that she simply wanted to make them aware and to remind CMs next year that although it may be stressful organizing the parade, there are still paying guests and to please treat them as if it were any other day (we felt like we were getting reprimanded on the playground by the principal trying to work our way up Main Street!) That was it - we just wanted to make them aware to hopefully it didn't happen to someone else. We got a call back thanking us and offering to add an extra day back to our passes (which we didn't take)

There are MANY more constructive ways to express your frustration - doing your best impersonation of a banshee doesn't go very far.

Oh and don't get me started on name calling! "I don't have a legitimate argument so I'll just make personal zings instead to distract you from that fact!"

 

[bimshire]

.............And don't tell the company that you will never do business with them again. Think about it. Why would a rep want to resolved a customer problem who is not coming back?

 

[Lanshark]

Many people have legitimate complaints that are beneficial to a business to resolve.

Many people complain because it's a hobby and they get attention.

Some people complain because they're trying to get something for nothing.

There have been very few issues I've ever complained about that when approached rationally and respectfully, have not been resolved.

 

[bytheblood]

One thing I have learned in my career-life is that when you complain, offer a solution. It goes much further than just complaining alone.

 

[katerkat]

Well, I tried complaining to the car rental company at the time, but I was told, first, that the gate agent couldn't do anything, so call the 1-800 number, and then the 1-800 number said they couldn't do anything until we returned the car. Since we were returning it to the airport and getting on the plane, we were forced to deal with it at home.

My other recent complaint, the restaurant said they didn't charge my credit card, and since the charge didn't show on my card until the next day, I had no way to complain on the spot. (And there will be complaining - someone gave the waiter an extra tip according to the charge!)