I agree.. the phone message alone wasn't really anything to complain about. Maybe point it out to the carrier so that they can prevent it from happening in the future.

Now, if the OP hadn't traveled as planned on 12/25 and been delayed for two days because of that phone call, that would be a different story.

Here's my take:

When contracting with a company for lodging, travel, food, etc., there's a certain expectation of what's going to happen on the part of both parties. I'm going to pay a predetermined rate and you're going to deliver X. If one of the parties doesn't live up to their end of the bargain, then the other party certainly has a right to complain and expect compensation.

Someone above says you shouldn't complain about a lumpy bed in a hotel. Well if you're staying in a luxury hotel, let's say, isn't part of what you're contracting for a flawless stay? If the hotel can't even deliver a comfortable bed, arguably the most important part of the hotel stay (luxury hotel or not), there's a problem. It's like the hotel only delivering 75% of what it contracted for. How is that fair?

Let's say I have a perfectly fine stay at a hotel. At check-out would it be acceptable for me to pay 75% of the room rate instead of the full amount? No? Then why is it acceptable for a hotel to live up to 75% of its obligations to you?

I give companies a lot of feedback - positive and negative. If everyone lets things slide and no one reports problems are praises the good, how are companies going to know what's working and what isn't? How are things going to get better?

I know when I have clients I want to get a lot of feedback from them so I can see how things are going. Why is that supposedly a bad thing?

They have, to a certain extend, gone out of control, I agree. On the other hand, the level of service and quality of products in the US is getting so bad, that I barely can blame the people complaining...

There isn't a week that passes by, where something that you have bought does not work. Bring it for repair with warranty and most of the time you get just a surly response. No one is responsible, it would be too costly, it is too old, why don't you get a new one? This article is not made any more and the litany can go on.

Airlines are even worse. So to say no customer service whatsoever. Be it AA, DL or BA. It is a worldwide sickness in the flying industry, usually due to mismanagement, investitions done at the wrong places, etc.

Where I am not tolerant of complaints, unless the food is really unedible, is in restaurants: When I am back in the US, I always feel at home as soon as I get into a restaurant. 99% of the time the reception is very friendly, the service fast and the food good. If a mistake is being made I tend to be tolerant. with the wages they earn, you cannot expect service personnel with a desk full of diplomas... In the case of restaurant service, Europe has a lot to learn.

As far as hotels are concerned, I always fill the comment folder and I never forget to compliment what was good. As a result, I have had lots of pleasant surprises when returning.