How to Complain for Results

What do you do when you've been treated badly? Here is a situation that happened to me a long time ago.

My husband and I had been landscaping the yard and had to go to a certain store (no names. they made good.) . While we were there we decided to buy tickets to a certain musical that I'd been dying to see. My birthday was coming up so it was to be my present. When we arrived at the booth, the clerk seemed exasperated. We had never purchased theater tickets before and we had some questions. We asked for good seats..she pointed to the seating chart on the back of the brochure. We asked about the price for these seats here, what section had the best view, etc. .... all questions were answered in short phrases.

This clerk lacked the basic skills required to interact with customers. She made no attempt to hide the fact that she thought we were wasting her time, and proceeded to leave us with the seating chart and help another customer. Her attitude changed, however, when we plopped down the $200+ dollars for the seats we wanted. We were infuriated.

So what do you do in a this situation? You do have options.
First, you could call or write a letter of complaint. Both let the company what went wrong. But a letter makes a better impression than a phone call. And you are better able to accurately state your point in a letter. So, grab one of those "How did we do?" flyers and let them know. Begin by briefly giving your name and how long you've been "patronizing" this particular store. Is this your first visit? Are you a long time shopper? Is this your first time to use this service? This information is important to the company.

Next, briefly describe what happened. If you do remember the clerks name, include it. This, however is not necessary. As long as you can include the approximate time of the incident, the store manager should be able to use the schedule to figure out who you dealt with. Be very specific about what it was that bothered you. Did the clerk have a bad attitude, like the one in the example above? How did that persons actions make you feel? I was very clear in my letter to the company that this persons attitude totally offended me and my husband. Be detailed, but don't write a novel.

Finish your letter by stating what could have been done differently. What do you, the customer, expect? Will you be visiting the store again? Or has this incident driven your business elsewhere. This information is also very important to the company.

Now, read over your letter. Make sure it sounds upset, but not nasty. Never use foul language, and name calling is just adolescent so don't do that either.

You say you would rather make a phone call? Most company's have complaint lines you can call for help. Don't call immediately after the incident. Your emotions are running high then. It is best to sit down write out your compliant as lined out above. You'll have something to work from and you won't get flustered or miss an important point.

You may be surprised at how quickly the company responds. In the end, they want your business. And they are usually willing to offer various things, services or discounts to keep you coming to their store.

Good luck!