It seems as if customer service is getting worse and worse and I regularly receive poor customer service. Sometimes I ignore it, sometimes I address it, most if the time I complain to friends and family swear blind I will put pen to paper and write a letter of complaint, most of the time I calm down and I don't bother. But my Mum and Dad have always said it pays to complain and they have received compensation when they were treated unfairly as have I, but I don't think that this is the solution as customer service rarely improves.
It does pay to complain! I don't ever complain if it's a trivial problem, but when it's something more serious I make sure to get my opinion heard. I have complained before about Walmart customer service (which sucks), and also a clothing store. Last time I complained wasn't because of bad customer service, but because I returned a pair of shoes to the store and didn't get my refund. So I complained several times, and when it wasn't solved I published my complaints online. It took a long time, but I did finally receive my refund.
I pretty much never complain directly to the company. There are a few exceptions to this, such as when I witnessed a sales rep put a woman in tears and the woman just left instead of complaining. The rep had been incredibly rude and insensitive (she actually made a comment about the woman's weight in a clothing store....) and so I asked for a manager and addressed it privately myself. I had a feeling that the woman wasn't going to complain herself and I felt the need to stick up for her.
Similar to Jessi, I don't normally complain directly to the company, but occasionally I do depending on the situation. When I do complain directly, it is usually a mix of anger and frustration and I make it known that I am angry and frustrated. However, I am also of the mind that just because I am the customer, it doesn't mean I am always right. So I tend to be considerate in my approach to things as well, unless the company's employees are asswipes. ^_^
I usually complain about poor service or for any other good reason even though I know most of the time the issues won't be addressed. Nonetheless it's my opinion that if the service sucks then tell it without any equivocations. If you're not the type that favors confronting people then there's always the option of leaving incisive feedback 'in prose.' Write a note, letter or something. Just don't let it go.
Your parents are right. Speak out when something is bothering you, especially if you are expected to pay for it. I complain when I am dissatisfied and make everyone uncomfortable until the issue is resolved. I never complain without a reason. I just get fed up at time with the rudeness and the lack of interest. Most stores are generally co-operating very quickly and the next time I visit I am treated in a respectful manner.
The customer service reflects how you run your business. It is important to have a customer service that can work well and deliver what people expect it to do. I think if you take time and have them trained on how to work with your customers, then running of the business will be smooth. Always address issues from customers they are the only way to know how the business is doing.
I will send an email complaint with no shame. I don't feel like hassling a manager in the store half of the time, so I will email the corporate office and address my problem. I know that sounds cowardly but, it pays off most of the time, corporate wants to deal with the issue. In the store I am not always treated well by the staff and manager.
It's very rare for me to complain for two basic reasons. 1 - it's time consuming and 2 - I don't often see the results of my complaints. Having this said I've made quite a few complaints when I feel it's worth it, I've had refunds and I've complained about my kid's pediatrician, some things are simply intolerable.
I rarely complain, most of the time it just doesn't do any good. I rarely get good customer service at Walmart, usually the cashiers are friendly, but if they are not I probably won't complain unless they are just incredibly rude or say something nasty. Most of the time they don't say anything at all. I'm cool with that. However there are times when I have been treated incredible rude or I don't get what I ordered. It seems like every time we go through the drive through at Burger King, we never get what we order so now we stay right at the window until we check to make sure we have everything. But, it we drive 7 miles to get there and 7 miles to get back home and didn't get what we ordered, we will definitely call and complain. They usually make it right, but it's such a pain in the rear end. It's not like they are paying for our gas to go back to get what we paid for.
I will let most things slide if it's a minor issue. But if I had some serious motives to complain then I would have no trouble asking to talk to the manager. Even then I once had a situation where the manager clearly didn't care to listen to my complaint and was being clearly dismissive, after I left I wrote an email to the company, which answered saying they would check into the situation. Coincidence or not, the manager is no longer at that store, but hey as far as I know he could have even gotten a promotion to a different branch.
I have never complained in my life. It makes me nervous! Also, oftentimes when I have to deal with terrible customer service I just need to go home to calm down. If I didn't I would most likely end up crying or yelling. Are complaints more helpful in the store or through other means of communication like emails or phone calls? The only time I complain is when I have issues online because I feel that those are easily fixed.
I will complain if the service is extremely bad or if it has affected my experience somehow other than just being annoying. If someone is rude to me or not very pleasant, I try to overlook it because you never know what someone might be going through. I have, however, gone to managers several times when I've had really awful experiences. On the flip side, though, I always make sure to let a manager know when someone at the store has been extremely nice and helpful as well. Having worked so much in sales and customer service, I know how much a compliment like that can be appreciated.
Anectdotally it does seem that your parents have the right idea...a lot of the time it pays to complain. Evidenced in my own life mostly vicariously through my husband, who has no problem complaining directly and often is rewarded for it. On the other hand, unless there was an awful experience/error or I'm really pushed to, I rarely complain directly. I'll let other people know and complain quite a bit by word of mouth, but it can take a lot for me to actually do a direct/formal complaint.
That's a great thing to do for the employee, people always remember to complain but very rarely take the time to let the manager know they appreciated the good service.
Here's how it works: If you get mistreated and don't complain, they'll just continue to steamroll their customers and clients. These days, we have the BBB and consumer groups that bring a measure of accountability to any business that cares about their online reviews and ratings. You'll notice some companies like Steam don't care at all about their BBB rating, but many insurance companies depend on their ratings online. If you're considering complaining, check out their BBB rating. If it's awful, don't bother complaining, you probably will just waste your time. If they have a fairly decent rating, go complain, because you either got a bad representative or you just got treated unfairly, and most of the time you should be able to get compensation for whatever happened, especially if it was a financial issue like billing being incorrect. I had an insurance company try to bilk me out of several hundreds of dollars for a vehicle that I had requested removed from a policy, combined with inaccurate billing. It took paperwork and proof to show them they were in the wrong, and it was a fight, but when I said I would have to recommend to my circle of friends and online associates and review sites not to choose that company, they backed down and gave me my money back. Fight for your rights and your money as a consumer, and don't give up!
I usually complain when I have bad customer service. I usually tell the about themselves depending on how I feel I just contact their supervisor and let them know. But I feel when a person works in these areas that they should be trained to be professional because some places have cards that you can fill out on these employees work ethics.
I have been on both sides of the customer complaint fence. While some people have had legitimate complaints, and we did ever possible thing we could to help them sort out their grievances, I'd had to deal with some of the most shifty and scandalous people imaginable. Case in point, the woman who insisted that the Great Value rice she bought had come from our Target. She ranted, she raved, she shrieked bloody murder. There had been a tiny little hole in the bag and she demanded her money back. I politely refused to give her a refund. She didn't have a receipt, and further she was incorrect. She had not purchased in in our Target store. I was the Guest Services Attendant at the time, sort of like a CSM but paid less.. ... Anyway, I told her that it was a Walmart product, not a Target product. She called me something incredibly rude and asked me to perform an anatomically impossible action upon myself. She then demanded to see the manager. I agreed to bring her over. The guest decided it was a store conspiracy to 'screw her over' despite the obvious fact that 'Great Value' is a Walmart brand. I've gone the extra mile for guests during my time at Target, carried things out to cars, gone to get electric carts for them in the parking lot, chased down an elusive item that we only had one of in the entire area, and did so in a friendly way. I've also made complaints personally whenever I am in a store that has terrible customer service. If I buy something and it was broken when I took it out of the box, best believe someone is going to make that right.
We all complain. It is human nature. You just have to educate yourself, and understand, that no matter how tough life is for you it could always be worse. Be thankful for everything.
I figure that if someone is acting in poor fashion or with bad customer service, they are likely having a bad day or going through a personal struggle. This is why I try to ignore the poor customer service, rather than complain.
