My brother, Stillwell, taught me that when a store messes up your order, to not get angry and to instead use it to your advantage to get a good deal. After all, most businesses get their loyal customers from goofing up and then going out of their way to right the mistake.
For instance, we were once at Chuck E. Cheese (isn't that big rat one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse?) and they gave us a supreme pizza instead of the all-meat pizza I ordered. I knew that they didn't want to throw away a perfectly good pizza and make another one (and my picky kids can just pull off the dreaded vegetables), so I nicely asked the manager what he could do for me to make up for their mistake. He brought us over 100 free tokens. I would've been satisfied with free drinks, but hey, we'll take the tokens! It didn't cost him anything, he didn't have to make another pizza and my kids had a ball. Win-win!
Conversely, if a company has a product that you really like, let them know. I had an old-fashioned claw tub that I could never get clean. It got to the point where I thought I had scrubbed through the porcelain into the metal. Then I tried a certain cleanser and it worked! I was so excited that I wrote to the company. They sent me a letter back with coupons for that product. Of course, I would've been happier if they had used my letter in an ad campaign and paid me millions of dollars.
Oh well, I'm happy with coupons (or tokens).
10 comments:
I bear witness to your testimony. Amen.
B -- hallelujah, sister.
You and I are sisters of another mother in this thing. I cannot tell you how many free meals I have gotten because I write to politely complain or coupons for singing praises. I once got a free pair of Birkenstocks, too. (Well, then there is my $389 credit on my wood floor because of the moldings, too.)
My children get embarrassed that mom is going to do "her assertive thing." But I have tried to assure them that I've spent enough years in customer service to know I'm doing companies a favor--they can't fix it if they don't know it's broken.
I need a class in assertiveness. I'm such a wimp! (However, just this morning I did get brave and call to see if I could return a pair of leather boots with a broken heel. We just got them for our daughter for Christmas--and for once they weren't even the cheap payless variety!)
CW -- You are awesome.
Just like past waitresses are the best tippers, I think that people who used to work in customer service are the best complainers. The companies totally want to make things right so that they keep their customers. I see nothing wrong with it (and I'm usually very civil about it).
AMN2DEEP -- I'm kind of a wimp, too, but I've been surprised what stores are willing to do sometimes. Just make sure you're talking to a manager and not just a cashier (they usually can't help you because they don't know what they're allowed to do as far as making sure customers are happy).
You read that book from years ago by Father Guido Sarducci, right? The one where he documents all of his complaints to different companies and their responses?
GEO -- no, I've never read it. Sounds hilarious.
Oh do share the name of that cleanser!
RAPIDRUNNER -- it's Lysol Tub & Tile Cleaner, but now I can't find it in the stores (maybe it was found to be too toxic). There's a Lysol Bathroom Cleaner, but it doesn't work at all. Scrubbin' Bubbles kind of works, but not like that Lysol Tub cleaner. That stuff was awesome! I'll have to keep looking for it.
RAPIDRUNNER -- oh, oh! My favorite store has Lysol Basin, Tub & Tile Cleaner on SALE! It does exist! And it's on SALE! Oh, if only I had a coupon, this would make my day.
Gee, I really need to get a life.
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