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Consumers
today are more empowered than ever after they’ve been
wronged by a company. That’s because squeaky wheels
have more and better ways to squeak.
Effective
complaining is a learned skill, whether it involves a
retailer, service provider, restaurant, airline or any
other business. While some old-school complaint tactics
still work, consumers today have more tools and
information access than ever.
“The
whole game is ‘effective’ complaining, getting what
you want,” said Linda Sherry, of the advocacy group
Consumer Action, who is the author of the group’s free
and newly revised guide, “How to Complain.”
“There
are a lot more ways to find information that will help
you make an effective complaint.”
As
companies get larger, complaining becomes more
important, she said.
“I
see companies caring less and less about individual
customers,” she said. “They are arrogant because
they can be. We need to keep the heat on as
consumers.”
To
get results and win your David-vs.-Goliath consumer
battle, here are some of the best complaint tactics.
NEW
TACTICS:
—Use
social media. Many companies nowadays are active with
Facebook and Twitter and will quickly respond to
complaints lodged using those free online social media
platforms.
“They
want to get this solved before it gets out of hand,
knowing that things can go viral,” Sherry said.
“They try to get to the person before they can cause
worse trouble.”
Some
consumers have used those platforms to incite boycotts,
which can be effective when you reach hundreds or
thousands of people instantly.
—Submit
online reviews. Online reviews of products, services and
companies are among the most helpful consumer tools, but
they are also complaint venues. Examples are reviews on
Yelp.com, which rates services, and product pages, such
as those on Amazon.com. TripAdvisor.com is for
travel-related reviews. Angieslist.com and Consumers’
Checkbook (checkbook.org) are subscription sites that
post service-company reviews.
Some
companies monitor review sites and will attempt to reach
disgruntled reviewers.
—Post
to complaint sites. Other websites focus on complaints.
Some recommended by consumer-advocacy groups include
Complaints.com, My3Cents.com, ComplaintsBoard.com,
ConsumerAffairs.com, RipoffReport.com and MeasuredUp.com.
Complaint
sites can be valuable to shoppers before they do
business with a company but might be of limited use to
people who already have complaints, according to a 2010
study by the Consumer Federation of America.
Some
tech-savvy people will use their own blogs or websites
to complain, and really dedicated complainers might
create a hate site solely to bash a company, Sherry
said.
—Run
it up the line. If you’re stonewalled by a customer
service department, supervisor or store manager, try
contacting a bigwig, even the chief executive. It’s
surprisingly effective, consumer advocates say.
Finding
names and contact information is much easier than it
used to be. Use online search engines or such sources as
Yahoo Finance, Hoovers, Jigsaw.com or the EDGAR database
(http://www.tinyurl.com/4px4l) of the Securities and
Exchange Commission. If you call and get stuck in a
phone tree — “Press 2 for customer service,” etc.
— try GetHuman.com, which guides you through tricks of
quickly navigating company phone trees.
TRIED
AND TRUE TACTICS:
—Be
fair. First, cool down and evaluate whether you have a
legitimate complaint and whether you want to invest time
and effort into complaining. If you do, it’s usually
better for everybody if you quickly take your complaint
to the company first and give a representative a chance
to make things right.
If
it’s a relatively minor issue — the snack cakes you
bought were stale — call the customer service number
on the packaging. The company is likely to send you
coupons for a replacement item.
“You’d
be amazed at the number of people we hear from who
haven’t even contacted the company,” Sherry said.
If
it’s outright fraud, however, don’t bother.
—Use
honey. “You catch more flies with honey than
vinegar,” the saying goes. That means be firm, but not
combative or abusive.
That
means no screaming capital letters in correspondence.
And unlike a decade ago, yelling at a customer service
rep on the phone nowadays will likely get you a dial
tone.
“You
raise your voice, and you risk getting hung up on,”
Sherry said.
Any
rapport you develop while talking to a customer service
person can only help. You can say something like, “I
bet you’re an expert in solving these kinds of
problems; what would you do in my situation?”
Being
nice is for your benefit, not the company’s. You’re
likely to get further with your complaint if you remain
calm.
—Get
organized. Be able to clearly present your problem and
have the necessary information and documentation, such
as dates and account numbers. Make notes about your
interactions with the company regarding the problem.
—Write
it out. You might first try to resolve the problem
quickly by phone or casual email or in person. If the
company is ignoring you, start putting correspondence in
writing. State your problem succinctly. Don’t rant.
Consumer
Action suggests confining the length to about 250 words.
Find sample letters online and in the Consumer Action
complaint guide, http://bit.ly/nod7h3, and the Consumer
Action Handbook, http://1.usa.gov/n0d35v.
—Ask
for something. Complaining is the means, not the end.
Have in mind exactly what you want from the company,
such as a repair or replacement of an item, a refund, an
exchange, a credit, a correction of the company’s
records or payment of damages, Consumer Action says.
Consider what compromises would be OK.
(EDITORS:
STORY CAN END HERE)
—Get
the government involved. If the company is regulated,
try complaining to regulators, at the state utilities
commission about a telephone company, for example. For
others, try your state attorney general’s office.
For
financial products, including credit cards, try the
relatively new federal Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau at consumerfinance.gov.
———
TOP
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS:
Here
are the top 10 complaint categories as ranked by the
Consumer Federation of America, the National Association
of Consumer Agency Administrators and the North American
Consumer Protection Investigators.
1.
Auto
2.
Credit/debt
3.
(tie) Home improvement/construction and retail sales
4.
Utilities
5.
Services
6.
Internet sales
7.
Household goods
8.
Landlord/tenant
9.
Fraud
10.
Home solicitations
Source:
2010 Consumer Complaint Survey Report, July 2011.
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