Creative Griping Makes Friends and Brings Rewards
By Gabe Goldberg
In a perfect world, there'd be no problems with hardware, software, or services; businesses would be fully staffed with articulate human beings ready to accommodate all requests, and every product would meet or exceed customer expectations.
But that's not how things work on planet Earth in 2010. Instead, things break quickly or are badly designed; customer service is outsourced to far-away lands; and even when they're accessible, company staff often isn't responsive.
So what to do? Nobody I know is cut out for frontier living, self-sufficiency, and subsistence farming. That means we're all making the best of living in our techno-fragile and sometimes irritating culture. So let's have at it.
First, when life's little outrages intrude, avoid the temptation to accept them as unavoidable -- and, worse, unfixable. Just as slickdeals tips help you find bargains, a few techniques and some practice can remedy a bad situation or even turn it pleasant.
Stay Calm and Be Convincing
Complaining courteously to the right person with a specific remedy in mind can be rewarding. If a  ompany Web site has a "Contact us" link, start there with an email or telephone connection. Be polite, identify yourself, mention how you're connected to the organization (current or potential customer, etc.), and describe your dissatisfaction.
If you're always happy after your initial dialogue with a company, you're a unique individual, and you can stop reading now! Too frequently, however, a first complaint contact goes nowhere. That's when to escalate. Calling may work but you'll likely deal with a low-level (and low-powered) call center. So writing is better.
No matter how you're communicating -- phone, email, instant message, letter, online support chat -- keep records of contact names and what's said. These are essential for recapping, summarizing, and (especially) escalating. If it's a large company or you expect to have further contact with them, request a case or "ticket" number for tracing your request.
Use company Web sites, Google, and other online resources to identify and locate senior executives. Check Web site links such as "About us", "Press room", and "Investor relations". Write to the CEO by name and title, briefly describing, with a tone of regret, what went wrong. You certainly won't hear back in person from Ms/Mr. CEO, but most large companies have an Office of the Chairman with staff to calm down and cheer up unhappy customers. Pursuing matters to the top works. After Starbucks' Web staffers were unresponsive to a complaint, escalating to the chairman resulted in an apology and a $50 store card.

Remain courteous. Don't rant or threaten and surely don't overuse CAPITAL letters. That makes your message hard to read and look like a crude ransom note. No matter what you're told, emphasize that you're not angry at whoever you're speaking or emailing with and that you understand they're probably bound by company policies. Staying calm and cheerful sets you apart from most people and improves the odds of your getting satisfaction.
Be brief but complete. Provide enough history and detail to be clear and compelling but don't ramble or include non-essential details.
Be precise. Quote error messages, identify people involved, list event sequences so you're believable. When I complained that a Web site didn't use encryption for processing credit card information, the owner at first disagreed but when I proved my assertion, he was outraged – at his Webmaster, for botching security. He then asked what I'd intended to purchase and sent it to me free, along with other items.
Include good news. If you're a long-time customer, had a recent pleasant experience with the company, can praise a particular employee, or have ever recommended the company's products or services, say so. If whatever you're griping about was a mixed picture, begin by describing what you liked.
Let Companies Turn Problems Into Rewards
Raise issues when there's time and flexibility to remedy them. For example, when finalizing a stay at Nemacolin, a luxury Pennsylvania resort, I was unhappy to learn that two signature restaurants would be closed during our planned stay. Instead of suffering in silence or -- with difficulty -- changing our travel dates, I politely contacted the general manager to suggest that guests be informed of such restrictions when initially making reservations. He agreed, and offered to have his Five-Diamond chef prepare a fantasy meal for us including anything we requested. His only advice was, "Challenge the chef." So we did – and the world-class chef and two assistants spent three hours serving us privately, with Champagne and cocktails, on a day that the restaurant was indeed closed. And -- as arranged in advance -- one of the most memorable meals of my life cost half the normal price of dining there.
So a problem identified early and solved graciously resulted in my being a huge fan of the resort, the general manager, and the chef.
Complaining, even to the top, doesn't always work. I've certainly been ignored -- received no response -- and received dismissive responses offering neither apology nor any gesture of atonement. When this happens, the final option is going public via Twitter, blogs, etc. Many companies monitor their online reputations and respond to credible complaints with remedies. But usually, company management values and responds to customer feedback; I've established cordial relationships with executives by identifying areas needing improvement. Writing letters is easy and inexpensive enough -- and after sending a few you'll have stock phrases that make it simple -- that it's worth doing to remedy all but the smallest problems.

Five minutes and a stamp has been a small price to pay for a $50 Starbucks card, a unique luxury meal, Web site merchandise, and many hundreds of dollars’ worth of refunds, merchandise, and services.
Gabe Goldberg has developed, worked with, and written about technology for decades. This article originally appeared on the slickdeals.net Web site, <http://slickdeals.net/>.
 (c) Gabriel Goldberg 2010.
This article appeared originally on the slickdeals.net Web site,  <http://slickdeals.net/>. (c) Gabriel Goldberg 2010. Permission is  granted for reprinting and distribution by non-profit organizations  with text reproduced unchanged and this paragraph included. Please  email slickdeals@gabegold.com when you use it.