I wrote three letters of complaints to United over 6 months, but got only replies to 2. When I chased the other one up, they said that as they had received so much correspondce (2 letters is surprisingly considered 'a lot' by United), that they had assumed the second letter was a duplicate.

So it seems they actually don't read the letters, just match the Mileage Plus numbers, look at the class of service, and send out the appropriate voucher.

I've not bothered to write for the past 6 months to hopefully change their view of me as a serial complainer.

I fall into the third category as well. If something is done right, or above and beyond the call, I'll write a letter. If something goes REALLY bad, then I write a letter. But I also try to work things out before I start making call. For example, I had a REALLY bad stay at a doubletree last weekend. This stay was to make up for the previous bad stay I had, well it was bad again. I did take the courtesy to write and fax a letter to the general manager and let him have the chance to respond to me. After 2 days without even a phone call from anyone at the hotel, I called corporate and they got the ball rolling. I don't like to compalin, but also I don't like getting walked over or withheld benefits that I'm entitled to, or have paid for. I have also used my status to help other lower elite FT'ers get some help when the red-tape needed to be cut. It goes both ways...

I have a friend who works in CS and I'm sure people in the same field can confirm this:

1% of people are responsible for 1/3 of all complaints
2% of people are responsible for 1/2 of all complaints

There are just some people who have been dealt a poor hand in life and seem to think being perpetually whiny will somehow remedy this. I mean, really people, we can't all be shiny beautiful people so chin up and stiff upper lip. Sorry if I seem over talkative about this but just the other day I rode a Greyhound bus where the driver spent 2 hours talking about how terrible his job was and how terrible rich people are... jeez...

I serial whined when they took Frankenberry off the market. I was mad a General Mills for weeks! Fortunately, it, Countchocula AND Booberry are all back now http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Serisouly though, I trust all professional whiners will visit www.saveunitedconnection.com

We could use some professional whiners http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

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www.saveunitedconnection.com

I won't quibble with your statistics, straight-flava, but I disagree that these "are just some people who have been dealt a poor hand in life and seem to think being perpetually whiny will somehow remedy this". It is much more likely that the bulk of these people have legitimate complaints and that the reason the majority of complaints are from 1-2% of the people are that those 1-2% choose to write when they have an issue! The rest of the population, many of whom have probably experienced similar problems, choose to do nothing. BoSoxFan45 is correct in stating for that every ten people who experience a problem only one will raise the issue.

Companies ignore customer complaints at their own risk...and this risk is even greater now in the age of the Internet than it was before since word of problems reaches much farther.

How do you complain? When I have a problem with a hotel, I usually stop at the front desk to get the problem resolved; I've never had a problem worth writing to the corporation about, because the front desk staff (or manager if necessary) has been able to rectify the situation. As others have said, I'm not looking for compensation, I'm looking for service, comfort, etc. I'm much happier to get the problem fixed than to live with it and hope to be compensated by the parent company down the road.

That being said, I usually complain/compliment directly to the airline/car rental customer service folks, just because I usually don't have time to deal with the local counter staff, gate agents, etc. I either have a plane to catch, or need to get to work. With the hotels, it's easier to deal with stuff in the evening after work, etc.

This past winter, I called CO WE-CARE2 # about a problem I had with CO cancelling a segment on another carrier (I won't go into that story, except it was FRA-LIS). The first thing the agent said was "I see that you had a complaint last year also." Sighhh

My partner had a complaint with Canadian Airlines before it keeled over....

He spent TONS of time on the phone trying to solve an issue, and it never was solved.... We were given two tickets to anywhere in the world when we were bumped on an international Canadian flight, but it was impossible to use them... No matter where or when we tried to book, nothing was available... for a full year... We eventually threw the tickets away... They were useless...

A friend who worked for another airline looked up my partner's file on Canadian, and found that it said that my partner


"complains and gets upset" but "if you just let him complain while acting like you were agreeing with him" he would "calm down" and "wouldn't need to be dealt with" after that....

What a great thing to have in your file for everyone to see when you don't even know it's there....

When we found out, we stopped flying Canadian Airlines... and we all know what happened to them http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

OK, maybe not *just* cuz of us, but it felt like justice in the end when they went bankrupt....

KevinB

When I was in 9th grade English, the teacher had us write a letter to a company. My complaint letter resulted in free stuff, and things have never been the same since http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif.

Seriously, I do enjoy writing letters to firms, because I find that if written properly, they will often be taken more seriously than phone calls answered by minimum wage "customer care" people.

One thing I did learn though is that it makes a much better impression if you tried to resolve the situation at a lower level but were shot down. I now try this approach, partly after reading on this board about the risk of being labeled a serial complainer.

Another thing that I sometimes do if I write to complain and get a form letter is to write again, and include the following text at the end:

(edited to fix formatting)

[This message has been edited by yonatan (edited 06-29-2001).]

A major reason I strive for top program levels is that "complaining" does not suit me. Well, formal type complaining anyway.

Top level in hotel programs means being given a decent room away from noise. It's what I expect as a frequent guest. When staying at a Marriott (not a member) I expect nothing......and that seems to be what I receive.

Recently, I was on a delayed AA flight. Returning three days later was a couple that had been sitting in front of me on the delayed flight. They called to complain, were given $180 travel voucher and suggested that I do the same. Told them it is not my style. Two weeks later, I receive an unsolicited $180 voucher from AA. Pretty cool.

It seems to depend upon the company. Most companies take your comments seriously, as long as they are given in a manner that politely raises your concerns. Correspondence that comes across as vindictive or with malice will probably be treated as such. When I had problems being credited for miles from the Healthy Choice promotion last year I wrote to ConAgra directly, as a last resort. ConAgra responded to my concerns immediately and then soon followed that up with the three vouchers for 1500 miles total on US.

I also point out people such as Adam, a Hilton employee who actively monitors these boards and takes all concerns seriously.

I like to use the proper forum depending upon the severity of the action (or inaction). It is so easy these days to whip out an E-mail that it probably doesn't rate any more weight than a phone call. If the faux paux is serious I find out the name of the person that handles such situations at the corporate level and then write them a letter. I also refrain from sending letters to the Chairman or CEO. Those people just don't handle consumer complaints! That is how you may be labeled as a serial complainer.

As someone who has worked for catalog sales, phone companies, and a brief stint for a reservation company as customer service agent for everyone them, most of these companies had only four of us handle all the major complaints.

We had two main types of complainers that we would keep track of between us. Those that were always demanding something when they wrote in, and those that did ask for something, but it was done in a pleasant way. The thrid was the ones that write to suggest ways to improve the company, and some of the suggestions we actually did.

It really helps it if you are nice when you write in. We would always go out of our way for the latter of the two main complainers. The ones who screamed in the letters were always worked last.

Why are you asking? Did you get some company upset at you, and they take away all your toys? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

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axicano= A Chicano
Austin,TX Live Music Capitol of the World

Interesting. At one point in my checkered past, I ran the customer service (help desk) for a small software company. When the reps on the phone had someone who was really unhappy, they would send him (always a him) to me. I would then be privledged to hear how our software didn't work, the company was a mess, and that the package was ugly (or some such nonsense).

My classic response was "What can I do for you?" Usually, the person would then repeat the complaints, and I would repeat "What can I do for you?." Most complainers had no idea what they actually wanted to accomplish with the phone call - a refund, a new product, a free T-shirt (this always seemed to satisfy them !?!).

If you give someone a reasonable solution to the problem you will likely be taken seriously. If you just bi*ch and moan, you will be treated as a problem. However, in all cases, I would suggest that you save your fights for the ones that matter. Let minor things roll off your back (Yes, I know that you are special and should be treated like a combination of the Pope, Shah, and King). Remember, the person you are dealing with may also be a customer of your company and may in the future have a less-than-perfect interaction with someone in your organization.

You can always take your business elsewhere if the company is treating you that badly constantly.

(PS - I dropped my AMEX card when it became more work than it was worth to keep it. Now, I have no complaints with that company.)


Edited for spelink (sic)

[This message has been edited by AA since 85 (edited 07-02-2001).]

Always a good idea when compaining. Figure out what would satisfy you, give a few suggestions how to change it, and the Customer Service Agents will thank you. If you want a free night, ask for it. If you want vouchers, ask for them. It never hurts to ask :-D

Sheesh. This guy only serves to drive up the cost of doing business for the rest of us. I've had special meals screwed up, but I just tell the flight attendant and then they usually hook me up with free liquor or something like that.