Value of Consumer Response - Make Companies Pay for Your Opinion

Ever wish you could get that Wendy's bacon burger for free? Well you can and it's quite easy to do. Log on to their website, visit the contact us section, and give them your opinion. Good or bad, your thoughts on your latest visit mean a lot to the franchise.

Have you ever heard of mystery shoppers? They are basically people who review establishments on the company's behalf, for a fee of course. When you send in your opinion it's very similar (and free to the company). Knowing what goes on in their restaurants, both good and bad, is very important; thus your opinion will always be valued too.

Many people only report their bad experiences so businesses are quite pleased to hear the good experiences as often as they can. If they know what pleased you, as a customer, then they can try to make sure all of their assets make the same effort. Improving their customer happiness now can save customer dissatisfaction at a later date. Why does this matter to you? Because using this as leverage you can become quite likely to receive compensations.

Two weeks ago I had a wonderful visit at Chik-Fil-A drive through. The young woman taking the order was very courteous, polite, and had no trouble taking my order. Her greetings made me feel at ease; moreover, she greeted me at the ordering microphone and window, which doesn't usually happen to me. Of course when I arrived home one of the things I had to do was write out a comment form on Chik-Fil-A's website letting them know the pleasure from my visit. Consequently, I received a free voucher to any regular sized combo from their menu. Score! This doesn't always happen, but I find it to be a 50-50 hit or miss.

When you get a miss it's not unreasonable to reply again letting them know the true value of your opinion. Once Sheetz decided that my great comment on their MTO-a bacon pretzel melt too that is absolutely delicious-was worth squat to them. Promptly I responded immediately mentioning the bit about mystery shoppers. My mother worked for Sheetz, providing me with a great many tips about their mystery shoppers. Pay wise they were off the hook with my review whereas a company could charge them $25+ for essentially the same thing. As you can guess they were quick to give me a free MTO coupon in return.

How does that old proverb go? The squeaky gear gets the grease.

By no small surprise, though, people who file complaints get the most compensation. We live in a consumer centric world where the customer is always right. Always. At least that's what the higher-ups in companies like to think. Regardless, keeping customers satisfied is the #1 priority for almost any service related business. If it's not, then it should be.

Any small complaint will be addressed and compensated. More outrageous grievances can carry greater rewards depending on what business you're dealing with. Either way if you find any complaint I urge you to let it be known. On a recent trip from the U.K. to America on U.S. Airways I was sat next to two flight attendants from another airline. When it came time for headphones I was asked to pay $5 or so for a pair whereas they got them free. Did I need a pair? No, I had my headphones for my iPod already. Does that matter? Not at all! A few weeks after my flight-and subsequent complaint-I've received a voucher for $100 off my next flight and I'm quite happy about it.

Sine our opinions are so valued to these businesses there's no harm in spending five minutes of your time to fill out their comment cards. You can receive compensation for complaints, praises, or even business suggestions. Why not take what you can get? One dollar less in their pocket is a dollar more in yours!