Had a major problem with a dry cleaner, car repair mechanic or hairdresser? You don’t need to stew alone about your ruined suit, still malfunctioning car or too-short hairdo.
Complaining can be relatively easy and satisfying, suggests John Bear, whose doctoral dissertation tackled the subject of effective complaining. He went on to write two books on the topic, “Send This Jerk the Bedbug Letter” (Ten Speed Press, $12.95) and “Complaint Letters for Busy People” (Career Press, $15.99).
Unfortunately, many equate com-plaining with one of two extremes: not very successful, so they never speak up, or a high decibel of screaming and threatening lawsuits, which often gets them nowhere.
Yet, there are effective ways to speak your mind or verbally express your unhappiness and succeed. “You don’t have to take what the world sent you,” says Bear.
Or, as Richard Feinberg, director for the Center for Customer Driven Quality at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., states: It’s not your fault. So realize you are entitled to moan, groan and, yes, complain.
The additional good news is that more businesses are treating consumers fairly and are eager to satisfy their complaints, says Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America in Washington, D.C., an association of 260 consumer groups.
There’s some bad news, however. Lower-level employees are resisting their employers’ more liberal attitudes toward customers, perhaps because they find themselves the ones most often taken advantage of. “It’s usually not their fault, but they’re the ones who get yelled at and then get defensive,” says Feinberg.
Second, consumer expectations have risen, often to an unreasonable level, and many customers are no longer able to put a conflict within the proper context. Bear says four factors interact to determine a response or lack of response:
First, how big a deal it is. The bigger the project or idea, the less likely that complainers will have an effect in making a change since the company’s reasons may be financial or ideological.
Second, level of commitment. The more firmly the recipient of a complaint is committed to an action or policy, the less likely you will be to persuade him, her or the firm to change.
Third, quality of the complaint. Intelligence and sincerity seem to be the most important qualities, though legibility and uniqueness also weigh in on a company’s or individual’s decision.
Fourth, quantity of complaints. A vast amount of complaint mail may have no effect, yet it may, depending on the other factors present, so sometimes it’s worth speaking out or writing.
Experts disagree whether you should start at the top and complain first to a company executive, or begin at the bottom with the salesperson who helped you or maybe that employee’s immediate supervisor.
Bear believes in going right to the top, but others believe you should start at the bottom so you initially don’t raise the ante too much and because in many cases company leaders are going to pass the letter down through the ranks to the person who dealt with the consumer anyway, says Jan Holman, vice president, investment services, for American Express Financial Advisors Inc. in Minneapolis.
Feinberg concurs with Holman that a lower-level employee involved initially with the consumer should be given a chance to correct the problem. Feinberg recommends usually speaking rather than writing because a response may be more immediate. Then, if you’re still not satisfied, he advises moving up to a vice president for customer relations or an equivalent position, before you head for the person in the corner office.
Beside whom you target for help, there are several important secrets to successful complaining, Bear and others advise:
– Be able to explain the problem. Before you pick up a phone or draft a letter, organize written materials such as receipts and warranties and also put together thoughts regarding what occurred. “You may even want to jot down some notes,” adds Holman.
– Communicate calmly. When you’re ready to make the call or write the letter, do so without injecting emotion, but explain why you’re unhappy, what you would like the company to do for you and find out the company’s procedure for trying to satisfy customers, which may involve taking action in multiple steps. “Don’t be hostile, but be persistent and determined,” Brobeck adds.
How the person on the other end responds verbally or in writing often will dictate whether you feel satisfied or become more unhappy and angrier. If the person seems interested, expresses some empathy and says he or she will pursue the matter, you’re more likely to go through the company’s proper channels.
If on the other hand, the person seems totally disinterested, you may get angry, speak inappropriately and your efforts could take longer or even backfire.
– Have reasonable expectations. Here’s the potentially trickier part. Most businesses are eager to satisfy consumers. “Most investment brokers will sometimes absorb a loss . . . in order to keep a client happy and elicit good will,” Holman says.
The problem often is that many consumers have totally unrealistic expectations regarding what the provider must do to satisfy them.
For example, when it comes to financial services, a customer may want a broker to buy a stock, which the adviser doesn’t think wise, says Holman. “If the client insists and the stock plummets, it’s unreasonable for the client to say to the broker: `Why did you let me buy that? You know I didn’t want to lose money.’ We can’t be in the business of protecting everyone from themselves,” she says.
– Keep trying. If you still can’t reach a resolution, even with reasonable expectations, you may be ready to move on. Try to work through a specific individual rather than some vague person such as “Consumer Services,” Brobeck says.
If you do and you still can’t achieve your goals, you may need to go outside the company to a third party. Choose wisely, says Feinberg. “The Better Business Bureau never intended to serve as a place to resolve complaints, and your state attorney general is good if you have the kind of problem the office wants to get involved in, such as a problem with a licensed contractor,” he says.
You may want to try small claims court or an attorney skilled in negotiation or litigation. Know, however, that either route will take time and cost money, and you still may not win or you may win and be unable to collect.
The Consumer Information Center’s Consumer Resource Handbook, published by the U.S. General Services Administration and available for free by calling 888-878-3256, is a useful resource. It lists numerous consumer tips for car repair and purchases, shopping from home, avoiding telemarketers, mail or Internet fraud. It also lists corporate consumer contacts and federal agencies.
Two other useful how-to-complain books are David Horowitz’s “Fight Back and Don’t Get Ripped Off” (Harper & Row, $8.95) and Stephen A. Newman and Nancy Kramer’s “Getting What You Deserve: A Handbook for the Assertive Consumer” (Doubleday & Co., $8.95).
