Please Excuse Our Mess! We are currently giving the blog an much needed face lift. Things may seem out of place for a short period of time. However, Everything will remain in proper working order!

                                                                  

Monday, July 11, 2011

How to complain to company's the right way. (if you have a broken,not working right product!)

I found this article in Good HouseKeeping. Thought it would be helpful for some of you =)

How to Complain (So You Get Results)

Stuck with a defective dishwasher or an insurance claim you can't get paid? Here are the four steps that will make companies listen:

Even the smartest consumers sometimes wind up with a toaster that won't toast or a warranty that won't cover a laptop's hard-drive disaster. And even the most patient souls sometimes find themselves unable to get a customer service rep to set things right. While you know that screaming or threatening won't help, what should you do when you're at your wits' end? It's simple: Take a deep breath, then follow these four proven steps that will help you resolve a frustrating situation ASAP.

1. Manage the Phone Tree

Talking to customer service is step one in solving every kind of complaint — and, in many cases, it's the only step needed. Still, that doesn't mean you have to spend hours on the phone. To cut time navigating endless phone menus, visit gethuman.com for free tips on reaching a live person faster. (When you call United, for example, press zero at each prompt.) If the first rep you talk to isn't inclined to help, hang up and try again, suggests Bill Withers, Ed.D., a communications professor at Wartburg College in Waverly, IA, who specializes in customer service issues; you may find that your matter is quickly resolved by another agent. No luck on tries two and three? Ask for a supervisor to step in.

2. Contact the Honchos

When customer service reps can't or won't help, send a letter or an e-mail to higher-ups at the corporate office. This lets you voice your problem to a fresh set of ears attuned to the company's reputation. Even though you may not get a personal response from the CEO, it may well get your problem in front of someone with the power to resolve the dispute, says Diane Gottsman, owner of the Protocol School of Texas, an etiquette-training firm that consults with corporate clients. In fact, many companies keep executive service teams for just this purpose.
Once you've drafted a letter or an e-mail (see "Write It Right," below), hunt down top executives' names, usually listed on the company's website under the "About Us" or "Investor Information" section. To help get the correct e-mail format (e.g., firstname.lastname@name-of-company.com), visit the free site executivebomb.com (don't worry, it doesn't encourage violence), which posts that info for more than 3,000 companies. Kate Crane of Jersey City, NJ, reached out to managers at computer repair service Tekserve after the rep there wouldn't explain why her laptop needed major work. "I usually have such positive experiences there," says Crane. "I needed to reach out." She located the manager's e-mail address on the business's website and sent a short e-mail citing her past positive experiences and the unfortunate one. "I had a response back within a half hour with an apology," she says — not bad for e-mail sent Saturday night after closing.

3. Take if Public

If your problem still hasn't been resolved, ask for help again — this time on social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, where companies can quickly lose face with other customers if they don't respond.
Consider what happened to Pamela Dodd of Orlando, FL: She was more than a little peeved when the 1-800-Flowers.com Mother's Day bouquet she'd sent her mom never arrived. When she contacted the company's customer service line, a rep said it had been delivered. So Dodd logged on to Twitter and posted a complaint on her account: "Disappointed in 1800Flowers.com. My 88-y-o mom's bouquet hasn't arrived. Wonder how many other moms didn't get their flowers?" (To try this tactic, visit twitter.com and sign up for a free account, then search for the offending company's name. Draft a short complaint — 140 characters max — and include the company's name or Twitter handle.) "I heard back within five minutes from their customer service blogger [@1800 Flowers]," says Dodd, whose mother got her bouquet bright and early the next morning, plus a free arrangement from the company.

Read more: How To Complain About a Company - Consumer Complaint - Good Housekeeping

No comments:

Post a Comment

We ♥ Comments! Speak Your Mind!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...