Your new $22 leather watchband cracks after just two months. The car is making that same clicking noise again when you drive it home from the shop. A friend shows you the very same crystal lamp you picked up at a closeout sale for $99 advertised in a catalog for just $49.
Whether you shell out $5 or $5,000, as a consumer you have the right to expect certain standards. And when those standards aren’t met, the only natural reaction is anger and frustration. Especially when money is hard-earned, as it has been during this recession, consumers are apt to harbor anger, notes Steve Bernas, director of informational services at the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois.
Bernas and other experts stress, however, that businesses, also hard-pressed during a rocky economy, will be more apt to respond to customers’ grievances to ensure customer loyalty and maintain community good will. Rather than letting anger simmer, experts say consumers should channel the energy productively-into a complaint that will remedy the situation.
But to lodge an effective complaint, consumers should first check their anger and prepare a rational approach, says Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America, a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C.
“You should express your complaint firmly but reasonably,” says Brobeck. “You should even practice what you are going to say.”
First, try talking to the person you dealt with, and if you don’t get satisfaction there, ask to speak to the manager, says Brobeck. If these initial conversations don’t work, follow up with a letter to the parties and include all necessary documentation.
Brobeck says that an increasing number of consumer product companies have 800 numbers and consumer complaint divisions. If your complaint concerns the performance of a product, and the product lists an 800 number, call or write the company.
“If a manufacturer has an 800 number, the company is very likely to resolve your complaint, because they are consumer-oriented,” says Brobeck.
Still, only a minority of companies have established consumer offices, says Brobeck, and those that have not “are often difficult to reach and are not that responsive.”
Bernas of the Better Business Bureau advises that even if a consumer’s complaint is with the service a retailer provides, a letter to the manufacturer advising it of the problem could help prompt the retailer to remedy the situation.
In fact, if their own efforts fail to bring a quick resolution, Chicago-area consumers can seek out several agencies that may serve as a powerful ally in pleading their case.
The City of Chicago Department of Consumer Services offers a pamphlet, “Resource Guide for Consumers,” which is available by calling the 24-hour complaint line at that department (312-744-9400; TDD 312-744-9385). The pamphlet lists the appropriate city, state and federal agencies to contact for various types of consumer problems.
Generally, if your quarrel arises from business transacted in Chicago, the Consumer Services Department will field your grievance. “We handle everything from taxis to trash cans,” says Caroline Shoenberger, department commissioner.
When there’s a high volume of gripes in one area, the department designs a special form to send to callers. Otherwise, you receive a screening sheet that asks for all pertinent information. As soon as the consumer correctly fills out the form, includes all necessary document copies and mails it back to the department, a notification of the complaint is sent to the offending business. Often, that’s enough to scare the company into settling the score.
If the business still digs in its heels, the department will investigate to see if the complaint involves a code violation. If so, the department will pursue the company through the courts or administratively. The department immediately investigates some complaints when they receive them, such as those involving food, for code violations.
Other places to call
When they have a bone to pick with a company doing business anywhere in Illinois, consumers can call the Illinois attorney general’s office (312-814-3000). Once the consumer mails in a written complaint form, it’s sent to the business, which is asked to reply in writing. Then, “we will talk with the business and then get back in touch with the consumer, to see if we can come to an agreement that they can live with. Usually we can,” says mediation supervisor Robert Lane.
The entire process, from when the consumer mails in the complaint until when he or she hears back from the attorney general’s office, can take a month or more, depending on how busy the staffers are.
The Better Business Bureau also offers third-party mediation, at no cost to the consumer. “We have a staff that can mediate a dispute, and if that fails, we offer binding arbitration,” says Bernas.
One advantage of using the BBB is that they can often move more quickly than the government entities.
Glen Ellyn resident Carolyn Lynch recently called the BBB after five frustrating months of trying to get through to her cellular phone company.
“We bought a phone and had a contract with them for a certain price per minute. When we got our first bill, the price was higher than the contract price,” relates Lynch. “We called the company and said we wanted to pay the bill, but at the right price. They said they would take care of it, but they never did. We made about 16 calls to the company.
“Then the company gave our name to a collection agency, and my husband started getting calls at work. Even though it was just a $50 bill, on principle we weren’t going to just pay it and be bullied by this company.”
Two days after contacting the BBB, Lynch says the company apologized and dropped all charges.
Lynch says that if it weren’t for the principle of the matter, a complaint often isn’t worth pursuing. Effective complaining can take creativity, as well as perseverance. Lynch says that before the latest incident where she had to call on the BBB, she has had considerable success in remedying problems by writing the head of the company.
In the letters, Lynch says she states the problem succinctly-“these people are busy.” Then she leaves things open-ended, with phrases such as: “What is going on?” or “Is this anyway to run a company?”
Those questions are usually enough for the person in charge to direct an apology letter and refund, says Lynch.
