Make Your Feelings Known To Get Better Products and Customer Service

How often do you discover a wonderful new product such as a breakfast cereal that not only tastes good but leaves you feeling full until lunch, or an air freshener that actually smells like fresh air, only to discover when you try to replenish your supply that it is no longer available? Frustrating, isn't it? What if you had written to the company and stated how much you liked the item? Would you have been able to buy it again?

There is no guarantee that you would have convinced the decision-makers who saw something as a money-loser that your opinion should sway them, but companies thrive on customer satisfaction. That's why they do customer surveys, which have low response rates, and market research, which usually researches a part of the market that doesn't include you.

The likelihood of a company hearing about a product disappointing a customer is greater than the likelihood of it hearing about customer satisfaction. Simple logic says that after someone has spent hard-earned money on something that doesn't meet expectations, there might be some complaint. When something turns out to be even better than expected though, the usual reaction goes no further than satisfaction and maybe mentioning it to friends or relatives.

There have been spaghetti sauces, ice creams, cleaning solutions, glue sticks, copy paper and socks that I've tried to replace with more of the same kind I've bought previously in the past few years. The best kinds of all have been discontinued. Now I'm wondering if I should have spent a few minutes e-mailing the makers of all these things and telling them how much I enjoyed using their products.

After I injured a hand while trying to open a package of something that shall remain nameless, I wrote to the manufacturer of it and complained. I received a letter of apology and two coupons for free packages. The minor injury had long since healed when they arrived, but this was good customer service.

When I filled out a survey that was included in another product, I mentioned a change I thought would be an improvement. I've purchased the same product several times since, and lo and behold, the change has been made. How many other people suggested it? The world may never know, except for a select few.

The people who read all the letters of complaint from customers would probably appreciate getting some letters of compliment, and you might even be saving one of your favorite things from being discontinued.