Get some satisfaction: article notes that “complaints can pay off with several basic steps”

NJ.com (The Times site) has an article this week, How to Get Some Satisfaction Customer complaints can pay off with several basic steps by Greg Saitz… 

“It’s likely almost every adult resident of New Jersey has felt stepped on and ripped off, insulted and ignored, bullied and browbeaten by a business or service provider.

“It’s amazing how so many businesses turn a deaf ear to things,” said Herbert Rotfeld, a marketing professor at Auburn University and editor of the Journal of Consumer Affairs. “I blame the impersonalization of things.”

Saitz writes that consumers have options and outlines the ways to complain, in a step-by-step format which he notes “should not only get a company’s attention, but also get results.”

I agree – and think that it’s a good list. 

“These suggestions come from Rotfeld; Susan Grant, director of consumer protection at the Consumer Federation of America; Bob Russo, president of the Consumers League of New Jersey; the National Consumers League and Consumer Action, a group based in San Francisco.

1. Take a deep breath and figure out what it is you want to say. Collect all the pertinent information [and have it available… and] find out what your rights are for the particular situation by calling a consumer rights group or governmental agency.

2. Make the call or write the letter/e-mail, but keep your cool.  Don’t yell…  But if you’re not getting anywhere with a rep, ask for their boss.

3. Go in person.

4. Go to the top. When sending a letter, direct it to the chief executive, president, etc.

5. Keep copies of everything. 

6. Turn up the heat. If you’re not getting anywhere with the company, file complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the state Division of Consumer Affairs or applicable regulatory agency.

For more, see my post on how to complain (and get results), in which I include a link to an article in the Seattle Times, “Firing of an e-mail? Make sure of your aim,” which offers a look at how an email exchange that lacks clarity can raise someone’s ire. (This was a response to my blog posting on emailing Steve Jobs.)

“I have seen my share of letters and emails on various issues and problems (even some notes of appreciation), some that are forwarded to me by execs to be routed to the right people in the product groups. I thought about what goes into a good email or snail mail note.

“So here are a few tips I thought of this morning while the kids were happily eating their breakfasts and watching mindless cartoons.”

Enjoy.

And read these ways to help when your trying to get service in a retail shop setting.

Tags: Microsoft, support, customer service,  customer support.