The Art Of Complaining- Part 2

As I wrote last night, there is an art to complaining. Do it right and you get what you want while not throwing innocent people under the bus. Do it wrong and your food will probably be spit in. Here is the post: The Art Of Complaining- Part 1

So here are the actual techniques I use. For seasoned complainers, you probably got this and can skip this post. Hell, contribute! What did I miss? And if your food is spit in, I’m sorry. I didn’t say it was all full proof. 😉

Take Emotion Out Of Your Complaint- Only State Facts

The minute you veer into Emotionland is the minute the Customer Service Rep tunes you out. I want soooo bad to rip them a new ass hole and it takes everything in me not to. Instead I’ll type out a complaint for my own ego which makes me feel better. I then set that one aside and pen the one that will be going to the company that pissed me off. I’ll demonstrate using the example that a wedding gift did not arrive by the promised date:

Wrong Way

I am so angry because now I don’t have a gift to give my best friend of 10 years. What am I supposed to do now? Your store sucks!

Right Way

I was promised my delivery by 9.16.16. It is now 9.19.16 and I still don’t have my order. While I understand it was shipped UPS and things can happen on their end we need to figure out a solution for me to receive this package by 9.21.16 as this order is my gift to the bride and groom and I am leaving for that wedding on 9.22.16. Please advise. Thank you.

If they are smart, customer service will realize the ball is in their court and they need to find a solution. Companies that don’t give CSRs (customer service representatives) the authority to make things right will suffer in the long-term, given how social media plays a huge part in customer service these days. God help them if they send me a form letter apology, offering up no solution.

State What You Want

It’s important in your complaint to tell them what you want. In the above example I stated I needed my order by 9.21.16 and gave the reason why this date was important to be met. If you do not have in your head what you want, you potentially risk getting the bare bones, “I’m sorry” and you as the customer, suffer the consequences.

Social Media

I am VERY SURPRISED how many of my friends do not know they can use social media as a way to complain. At the dawn of social media, companies licked their lips excited at the prospect that they had a new platform to advertise their latest and greatest. Unfortunately, they completely forgot that the word “social” was also involved and learned a painful lesson.

Whether or not CSR’s have their hands tied in customer service, the social media associates do not. I would say about 75% of my complaints are now done via Facebook, occasionally Twitter. You simply post on their wall the complaint. Often times they get back with you within an hour. A social media 101 rule is: respond to complaints asap.

I’m sure you can guess why Facebook is the golden ticket. You aren’t complaining to just 1 person making $11.25 an hour. You are complaining to hundreds of thousands of current and potential customers. Your complaint has the potential to snowball a company. If another Facebook user has experienced the same trouble, they will piggy back on your complaint and post something negative too.

It’s important that when posting on Facebook, you again, take out all emotion. State fact so you don’t look like a nut job, trying to cause trouble. The associates are more likely to work with you if you come off as level-headed and practical.  When I was placed on hold every time I called Legal Zoom for 20-30 minutes each time, I would take screenshots showing their phone number and the clock ticking. This was important as it took emotion out of my complaint and showed the fact that the wait time was completely unacceptable.

Folks, I don’t think I’m done complaining about complaining. I think I have 1 more post to squeak out. Sorry if you are bored out of your skull on this. I’ve been meaning to type this up for sometime now, I just didn’t realize how long it would be. I think the next post will be about complaining in person as that can be incredibly awkward for someone and can be the most emotionally charged type of complaint.