Dr. Broken Stuff or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Customer Service

[Courtney]

So I feel like this is starting to really suck and be unsuccessful and an experiment. I'm disappointed.

3M thanked me for the nice things I had to say about Post-It notes:



Outcome: Ok.

[Courtney]

Celestial Seasonings sent me a whole bunch of tea and some coupons:



Outcome: Mmmmm herbal tea.

[Courtney]

Tivoli Audio said that I could send back my Model One for a $50 repair, even though the actual radio is only $149.



Outcome: I'd rather just buy a new radio.

[Courtney]

Essie told me that they like their Mademoiselle nail polish as well:



Outcome: Ok.

[tessalasset]

Hah.

[Courtney]

I just wrote my 50th letter.

[shakermaker113]

well, at least your letter writing supplies don't break.

[SoulDischarge]

So I feel like this is starting to really suck and be unsuccessful and an experiment. I'm disappointed.

I think it's nice we now have our own personal consumer advocate on the board. Makes it easier to know which companies to trust and which not to.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

I like referring to a good product as "a real champ."

[Courtney]

I like referring to a good product as "a real champ."

I am going to start saying that in my praise letters.

"Dear 3M, Thank you for making Post-It notes. Your product is a real champ."

[Courtney]

I think it's nice we now have our own personal consumer advocate on the board. Makes it easier to know which companies to trust and which not to.

I am glad that it has some use, because it's starting to feel pretty futile to me. With the exception of the $100 from Hertz, because that was awesome.

[Courtney]

well, at least your letter writing supplies don't break.

Nope, and I'm am using my awesome new Uniball Vision pen that the NewallRubbermaid company sent me for freeeeeee.

I think I'm going to send a letter to the USPS next because I had a truly horrendous experience at my local post office on Friday. I doubt they will give me free stamps, but a girl can dream.

[Courtney]

I just received a very nice phone call from the Apple Executive Offices apologizing for my experiences with my Apple products (I sent them a laundry list of complaints about my iPod, iPod Nano, MacBook Pro, and iPhone, including dead batteries that could not be replaced and faulty graphics processors). The customer service representative said that she wanted to personally call and confirm that she is looking into my issues, and will call back in two to three days after she is able to research further.

So that's promising.

[thefunkylama]

It's a helluva lot better than a discount code.

[Sleepingrock]

I am glad that it has some use, because it's starting to feel pretty futile to me. With the exception of the $100 from Hertz, because that was awesome.

What exactly do you hope to achieve through writing the letters, both positive and negative?

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

What exactly do you hope to achieve through writing the letters, both positive and negative?

If you actually read any of the content of this thread, and/or the letters themselves, it's pretty self-evident.

[Sleepingrock]

I know, but she says it is feeling futile. What aspect is feeling futile. Since I believe the positive letters are conveying their message and the customer service reps are responding in a grateful manner. Is her goal to receive freebies for these since when she receives a freebie then the outcome is almost always positive on her end. In regards to the negative letters, how does one receive a good outcome through a customer service rep that isn't through freebies? Courtney's recent phone call from an Apple Exec appears to be a nice gesture, and it actually could create a positive outcome in the long term aside from a nice goodie.

[Courtney]

What exactly do you hope to achieve through writing the letters, both positive and negative?

My primary goal for this project is to convey a message, as I stated in this post:

...sending a letter is worth it if you're doing it on principle because you want to convey a message, which is the case here.

However, I think the problem is that it is very difficult to actually gauge whether my message is getting through to a company when all they do is send me back a form letter with one or two fill-in-the-blank style personalizations.

I liked Hertz's $100 vouchers not only because it is nice to get free stuff, but moreover because I know they actual took the time to consider my complaint and decide that it had merit. Presumably they will look into the issue further and take steps to prevent it from happening again, if only because I doubt they want to give every single person who has a similar experience $100 in vouchers.

I also really liked receiving a phone call from Apple because it made it clear that they are taking the issues seriously.

For the positive letters, any outcome is a positive outcome, really. It's nice to know that the letter was passed on to the people in the company who are responsible for whatever particular awesomeness I'm complimenting, but it's not necessary.

[Courtney]

So this is amazing. I received the BEST letter ever and also the WORST letter ever on the same day. Let's get the bad over with first.

I wrote to T-fal about the fact that I purchased one of their professional-grade pans a few months ago, and the nonstick coating is already starting to lose its nonstickness. This is the response they sent back, along with a close-up for your reading pleasure:





Outcome: Of course I didn't keep my sales receipt to prove that it's under warranty. It's a pan. And I don't particularly want to pay for shipping to get it to New Jersey either. Screw you, company.

[Courtney]

And, on the other hand, I received the most adorable letter ever from Coconut Bliss in Eugene, Oregon. They thank me for my infatuation letter and explain why I'm seeing less flavors at my local health food store these days.



Outcome: Will you marry me Community Manager & PR Director Kiley Gwynn?

[chairmenmeow47]

i'd disagree that a call says they're taking the complaints seriously. i mean, no offense, but you can't be the first person to complain about irreplaceable shitty batteries. while it is nice to at least feel like you're heard and not ignored, it'd be better if they actually did something about the products in general, not just appease you personally.

but hey, if more people stopped buying the products, i'm sure they'd listen. and you being someone with a lot of their products may make your opinion more valuable to them.

also, that pan letter... i hate when people automatically respond like it's your fault.

[marooko]

I wish I had the energy and time to write these types of letters. I would write DirecTV, Chase Bank and AT&T. Maybe a couple other places that have been guilty of the following: I've been a customer of these businesses for several years and I absolutely hate getting mail telling me about their offers for switching over to them.

Someone write out a complaint and ship it on my behalf. Thank you in advance.

[Alchemy]

I remember my 6th grade teacher told the class to write complaint letters to companies... not to improve their service, but so that we could receive free shit. That's pretty much all I learned in the 6th grade.

[Gribbz]

Ha, same here. We also had to write letters to either Israelites or Palestinians about their ongoing conflict and how we thought it could be resolved.

[lunatic core]

Pretty much every resturant seems to throw gift cards at complaints. So I don't buy the reasoning that they must have thought more about your complaint if they send gift certs.

You could probably eat for cheaply for months if you started writing all your local reaturants.

[shakermaker113]

This is the response they sent back, along with a close-up for your reading pleasure.

did you write back to them to tell them how their automated response writer is broken?

[Courtney]

did you write back to them to tell them how their automated response writer is broken?

Maybe I will.

[Courtney]

i'd disagree that a call says they're taking the complaints seriously. i mean, no offense, but you can't be the first person to complain about irreplaceable shitty batteries. while it is nice to at least feel like you're heard and not ignored, it'd be better if they actually did something about the products in general, not just appease you personally.

but hey, if more people stopped buying the products, i'm sure they'd listen. and you being someone with a lot of their products may make your opinion more valuable to them.

also, that pan letter... i hate when people automatically respond like it's your fault.

Ivy, maybe you're right about the call. But the fact that it was a quick call to say that they are looking into it further, and will call me back in three days, sure did make me feel like it was being taken seriously. If that is all a script and they just do the three days bit with everyone, that would be weird but sneaky and maybe genius.

And yeah, the pan thing did definitely piss me off. I think I know how to properly use a pan. I'm not an idiot. (Or at least, not when it comes to the kitchen.)

Pretty much every resturant seems to throw gift cards at complaints. So I don't buy the reasoning that they must have thought more about your complaint if they send gift certs.

You could probably eat for cheaply for months if you started writing all your local reaturants.

Do restaurants commonly throw $100 gift cards at any and every complaint? Because that would be really weird as a business practice.

[locachica73]

Do restaurants commonly throw $100 gift cards at any and every complaint? Because that would be really weird as a business practice.

I use to know a guy that never really paid for a meal, he would just call after a lunch rush at whatever restaurant he was hungry for and claim he had been there on a business lunch and the service was horrible and/or his order was wrong, and they would give him a free meal. He did it for everything from mcdonalds to high end steak houses.

[casey]

Courtney, I would like to know more about your process. Do you type them out & sign them with your new pen, or do you hand write them? Do you have your own stationary for this process? Are there any companies that you were really hoping would write you back but haven't? I assume there has been enough of a time lapse from when you sent out your first wave of letters...there has to be a list of companies that didn't even respond, right?

OH...and do you use your work address or your home address?