The amount of shopping that you do during the holiday season may increase the amount of time that you spend dealing with customer service issues. Here are a few tips for getting what you want and need from customer service. You may want to keep this list handy after the holidays too, because you never know when you might need it.
The very first thing to do when you have a customer service issue is to clearly and politely ask for what it is that you want. Do not be shy, it will not get you anywhere. It is important to be polite because you want to make sure that your request is actually heard – some people turn off their ears as soon as they hear an angry or whiny tone of voice. If you ask for what you want, it could be yours in minute. This happened to me two days before Thanksgiving, when I went to take advantage of a free turkey promotion at the grocery store. They were out of the frozen turkeys that were part of the promotion, so I went directly to the meat department and asked whether there were any more of them in the back. There were not, and the man told me that there would be more later in the evening or early the next morning. I politely explained that we lived forty five minutes away and would not be able to return when there were more frozen turkeys available. I asked whether there was something else that he could do. The man went back into the meat department and returned a few minutes later with a fresh turkey which I then got for free as part of the promotion. It never hurts to ask.
Also, how you say things is just as important as what you say. By expressing understanding and remaining calm, you get the customer service professional in a positive frame of mind where they want to work with you. Saying things like “I know that this is not your fault”, and “I understand that you do not have permission to do that – is there someone I can speak to who can?” let them know that you are not upset with them and you want to work with them to find a solution. Do not be afraid to propose creative solutions of your own – there may be something that can offer you that they are simply unaware of which could solve your problem.
Sometimes, a customer service issue is not resolved after many tries. If after speaking to various levels of command at the company that you are dealing with your complaint is still unresolved, do a little research to see what agency regulates them. Is it the consumer protection division of your state Attorney General’s office, the Department of Banking and Finance, or some other agency? Contact them and file a complaint. Some companies will do anything to avoid giving anything away or resolving a dispute – these are unscrupulous businesses, and they rely on people walking away after their complaint goes unresolved. They know that many people will not bother to take it to the next level – don’t let them get away with it. My husband has had to do this at least once, and he was able to get a solution to his problem from the agency that was in charge of regulating the company that he had trouble with.
Photo by jppi on morguefile.com.