How to fix your horrible customer service experience

Have you ever bought something and it wasn't quite what you expected, or it just flat out didn't work right? Did you know that you don't have to be stuck with it? No one should have to take their hard earned money and throw it away on false advertisement or junk that doesn't work! Many people don't realize just how easy it is to get your issue taken care of. Well I'm here to help. There are a few books out there and a couple websites that want you to pay for this information but most of it is garbage and nonsense. Companies want to hear from their customers, it let's them know what they need to do.

The strategy derived from getting free fast food all the time when I was a kid. We used to call our local drive through or pizza joint and say something was wrong with our food and demand to speak to a manager, 5 minutes later they had our name jotted down on a notepad for a free meal! Now don't take this the wrong way I'm not saying you should use what I'm about to tell you in order to scam companies or try to get free stuff. This is for people who truly have an issue and the good 'ol fashion taking it back just won't cut it.

I will use my latest experience as an example of what I'm talking about. The other day I went and purchased one of those Axe body scrub things and after using it once it fell apart. Needless to say that is far from what I expected so I decided I was going to let them know about it. Yeah I could have just taken it back to the big box store where I got it, but what good will that do? So I went to the companies website and shot off a quick email to them explaining my situation. The next day I received a reply with an apology and they informed me they would be sending me coupons for some free stuff to make up for it, score! Unfortunately it's not always that easy but most of the time thats about all there is to it. Most companies have a customer service number you can call and get about the same result, I just don't like talking on the phone. Also you can write a letter which is a lot more formal and will usually be taken more seriously, the problem with this is that it takes a lot longer to get a response. The path you choose really depends on your personality and how long you want to wait.

Here are a couple basic rules to follow when going for your replacement

• Be polite!

This is a big one. The person you are going to interract with is just that, a PERSON! They want to be treated just like you would. Imagine if you had to sit on the other end of a phone all day and listen to people whine about their problems. No one wants to hear that. If you call and can be civilized I have found that it makes things a lot easier and the process is a lot smoother.

• Don't take no for an answer!

If you call, write, e-mail, whatever you do and don't get the answer you like try again. Even if you get a response that is less than satisfactory you don't have to be ok with it, but always remember don't be rude to anyone. They are just doing their job and may not know what to do or may not be able to do anything. The best advice I can give you is to call another agent, write again and see what the response is. If you have tried and tried again but still fail take it to the next level. Do some research, find out some executive email addresses and write them. Be sure to let the big wigs know that you are more upset now because you have had bad service. Again no matter what do not be rude because your email can easily be sent to the recycling bin. If your problem has to be escalated you are almost always likely to get above and beyond service. The C.E.O is probably not going to email you but their secretaries have a surprising amount of authority and they will take care of their customers, which brings me to my next point.

• You are a customer!

Never forget this. You are a customer to that company. Never let them forget this, if you are calling because you weren't happy with shampoo you just bought let the company know you are a loyal customer and you have been buying their products for years. Tell them if they can't fix your problem you will switch to a new brand. This doesn't always have an effect on the customer service rep, but the supervisor and the people above them know very well your value to the company. To give you an example of what I mean I will share some info I received from an executive at a fast food company. He explained to me how customers are viewed at his company. If you have a regular customer who comes in 2 or 3 times a week and spends money they are worth an upwards of $20,000 in their lifetime of buying food there. With this in mind no company wants to lose that revenue of a cheeseburger meal that costs them around 4 cents to produce.

• If unhappy escalate!

If you exhaust every thinkable option and have lost all hope, there is still a chance. When it comes to fixing a problem with the company there is something called an EECB or Executive Email Carpet Bomb. This is what you turn to if all else fails and you don't know what else to do, but whatever you do don't pull this every time you have an issue or companies will stop caring. You can go to various websites like theconsumerist.com and find all the handy email addresses of your favorite corporate executives. The strategy is if you email every executive in the company someone down the line will fix your problem. Let them know everything you have tried, the responses you have received, how shocked you are at the service. Tell them you aren't even upset about the product any more, you are more hurt at how you have been handled by the company and the lack of respect you have received. You are a valuable asset and they will do everything in their power at this point to make you happy

• Give postive feedback as well!

This is important and something I do regularly. If you have a good experience somewhere, try a new product that you love, had something amazing happen, tell the company. Your good feedback lets them know what they are doing right and what they can continue to do. Not every encounter with a company has to be a bad one, no one wants to hear complaints all the time. Recently I went with my girlfriend to our local HenHouse grocery store and received awesome service. I was so pleased about one of their employees going above and beyond I wrote them a letter. Two days later I got an email back from them thanking me. The district manager told me my email was going into their annual newsletter and the employee was going to be awarded by the company. Something that took me five minutes is going to impact a lot of people in a positive way. So remember it's just as important to say thank you as it is to let them know of your problems.

Some of this might sound silly but I promise you it works. If I get a good response from this I will start posting my situations which I have been in. I have folder with over 200 responses I have received from companies and hundreds of emails I have sent. Sometimes I just make up silly stories to see what the company will say and it's funny how many times I get coupons for free things in the mail. I have gotten hotel rooms comped, plane tickets, restaurant gift certificates, I even got a $1000 gift card from Abercrombie and they have notoriously bad service. One of my favorites is the story of how I got 4 v.i.p tickets to Disneyworld on a bet (which I won). If you really have problems getting a problem solved I would love the chance to take your challenge! Email me and give me the details and maybe I can solve your problem for you. If you have any questions, concerns, want to write me hate mail shoot me an email. Fahrenheitkc@yahoo.com