Saturday, July 16, 2005
The Art of Complaining
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I was reading an article in Good Housekeeping, August 2005 issue titled “The Complaint is in the Mail”. This is a very good article by Ann Hood. She expresses how important writing both Onion and Orchid letters are, whether complaining or giving a good “kudos” letter because, as she states “If we don’t write letters, how can anything get fixed?” I do try to be good about this but I have to say my Orchid letters have been sparse.
On the other hand, you may want to complain in person. In order to get satisfaction and results, these points have worked for me:
- You must always be calm, never yell and scream (even though you feel you have that right and it is deserved).
- Always go to the highest authority you can (if you don’t, you will just have to go through the story again when that person passes you to the manager or supervisor).
- Always ask how they would feel if put in the same situation.
- If they don’t offer “What can we do to make this right?” then you ask “What are you going to do to make this right?”
- If they do ask, BE REASONABLE; understand that they may not be able to give you the moon. If an apology will do, then tell them.
- If you still do not get satisfaction, ask for the company headquarters address and write that Onion letter. Be sure to write down names, date, and time. Be very detailed when you write your letter.
Let me also state that you should let management know if your service was good. That positive reinforcement thing really does work!
Posted by Sheri & SuZan ::
7:59 AM ::
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