Even though you may consider yourself the luckiest person alive, at some time or another, you're eventually bound to have a negative buying experience. If you're like 96 percent of the people you'll choose not to complain. Instead, you'll take your business elsewhere, and share the bad experience with 10 or more friends. While that may provide you some kind of satisfaction, it doesn't do anything to make right what went wrong.
A better solution is to learn to how to complain and get your money's worth from your purchase. As the book Yes, You Can... Raise Financially Aware Kids points out, "It is natural to want to tell someone and have the situation resolved in a quick, easy and positive way."
To help you teach your kids how to resolve complaints, start by creating a fact sheet with the transaction details. Ask them to consider, "What went wrong and what do I want to happen next?"
These steps can help you successfully resolve most complaints:
- Keep original receipts and document your actions.
- Call and try to talk to the owner, store manager or other high-level executive.
- Be calm and polite. Have in mind a reasonable solution to your complaint, such as a refund or replacement.
If you need to make a written complaint, give it more force by sending copies to the Better Business Bureau, consumer watchdog groups and state regulatory commissions. You can also file it with the Federal Trade Commission.
Your state attorney general's office may provide a Web form to fill out. Be sure to read the requirements carefully. In Missouri, for example, your information becomes public and you must agree to testify in court, if necessary.
"Act quickly," recommends Carol, a volunteer for Call for Action, a public service of the Federal Citizen Information Center, which investigates complaints and publicizes some of them on local TV. "For some sales and contracts," she says, "you may have three days to cancel."
So, next time you have a complaint, don't just sit there. Take action! You'll be doing the business a favor by giving them an opportunity to fix what's wrong before they lose your future business. Giving them a chance to make things right can create a win-win situation for both you and the business.