Do you care enough to file a complaint?

quichebradford

I have a coworker who prides herself on the fact that she will call and complain if she doesn’t receive good service somewhere. Fast food restaurant, the grocery store, nail salon, wherever. She also does it here at work. If someone here does something she feels is out of line, she’ll complain to the manager. A lady was out of dress code once; she took the time to find out what department she worked in, and told her manager. Granted, there are some instances when it may be necessary to report an issue, but EVERY time? C'mon!

Personally, it has to be something really horrible for me to complain about it, to the establishment anyway. The few times when I have spoken up about something, it was pointless. For instance, a group of us were having breakfast at 59 Diner. When our food arrived, everything was cooked unevenly, bacon burned, pancakes raw in the middle, etc. Called the manager over to show her, all she said was “humn, I don’t know what the problem could be, we cooked everything like we normally do” Clearly the food wasn’t prepared right. She didn’t offer to make the food over or anything like that. So, I just vowed to never go there again…but that’s just me.

What about you? Do you feel that taking the time to file a complaint is worth the effort?

Iamfit4life

I've never found anything upset me enough to.

My mother and father will at the drop of a hat, so will siggy.

DannyMussels

Once I did.

Went to Tim Hortons and literally every table was dirty with food/empty cups (like 30 tables).

It was around 11pm after work, they had a shift change and the staff were complaning 'it was the other shifts job' so I emailed the company to complain. All I got was a 'we are aware of problems at that store'.

Meh.

Not worth it, I don't really even care, I was just mind blown cause I've never been somewhere that you couldn't sit down at. Also the store was void of customers, which made it even weirder.

BigDaddyBRC

Sounds like a Negative Nancy...that being said...when you are out and about and spending YOUR money to buy their Goods and Services...you're damn right I expect to have good service.

DannyMussels

Semi-related.

Worked in restaurants for 10-12 years now. Some people are born complainers. They'll come in and whoever gets stuck with them in their section will grumble cause they know.

Kinda funny when that's the kinda reputation that preceeds you. Haha.

Also, some complaints are justified.

That being said, I still never complain. Even if my orders wrong or missing something. I really don't expect much from places, cause I know how it works. I'm satisfied with mediocre service and food.

glockster972

Waste of time, nothing will get accomplished anyway.

Hellbent_Heidi

You co-worker sounds like a pain, and as a result, she's probably eaten a lot of spit in her life!!

I don't usually take the time to complain. It has to reach a special level of bad service to set me off....and that only happened once that I can recall, over 10 years ago and my BP still rises when I think about it. :explode:

Shannon023

What kind of service does she expect from a grocery store??? :huh:

I usually won't raise a stink (especially in a restaurant... I don't want a spit-sandwich, thankyewverymuch!) but they won't get my return business either. :glasses:

jennajava

you gotta choose your battles

sharonsjones

I never complain. Usually if service is bad I leave a small tip and never go back.

Pollywog39

I have done that when it's warranted - like when you're at a hotel and it's incredibly dirty, or when a company stops making a favorite product. I have sometimes gotten coupons or refunds based on letters I've written, so it can work.

But the little stuff? nahhhhhhhhhhh.......not worth it.

Qarol

A lady was out of dress code once; she took the time to find out what department she worked in, and told her manager.

This is fracking ridiculous! Does she not have enough work to do that she has to care about someone else's subordinate?

stormieweather

If I don't get satisfaction, yes I will complain. I've contacted chain department stores, utilities companies, and landlord home offices about their employee's conduct and lack of customer service. I've worked as a waitress and as a peon, so I know that the customer is always right. Even if it's not your fault, just apologize and try to make it right. Business that refuse don't ever get my business again.

bikermike5094

I had a checker in wal-mart a few weeks ago that stood there and yakked with his customer and would ring up one item like every 15 seconds. I of course was in his line and had someplace to be so really pissed me off. When i left i called the store and laid into the store manager. first time I've ever done something like that.

vim_n_vigor

There are some instances where I will file a complaint, but it has to be for pretty good reasons. If I can see a place is super busy, I won't complain that things take time. If it is something pretty far out of the norm I will say something, or if it is unsafe or unsanitary.

bry_all01

I vent moreso than outright complain. I mean, I see nothing serious enough (so far) to actually launch a compliant about. Life is too short and I'm too ditzy to remember to follow through, even if it were enough.

And, hey, you answered before I could ask what you would do, lol.

hazelmae123

There are two reasons to complain and two ways to do it. Some people just do it because they feel entitled and are mean. Other people would like to feel more comfortable or have better service and they can do it in a respectful way. I had a friend in college who everywhere we went she complained, she was just nasty to everyone! The checkout girl, the waiter etc. I finally sat her down and told her, "look when you are being rude and negative it reflects on me and I don't like it. People work hard and treating them with a little respect isn't too hard to do." Later she got a job in retail and found out what it was like on the other side of the coin. She told me she appreciated me pointing it out to her because she didn't realize she was like that and now she saw how it felt.

Shannon023

There are two reasons to complain and two ways to do it. Some people just do it because they feel entitled and are mean. Other people would like to feel more comfortable or have better service and they can do it in a respectful way. I had a friend in college who everywhere we went she complained, she was just nasty to everyone! The checkout girl, the waiter etc. I finally sat her down and told her, "look when you are being rude and negative it reflects on me and I don't like it. People work hard and treating them with a little respect isn't too hard to do." Later she got a job in retail and found out what it was like on the other side of the coin. She told me she appreciated me pointing it out to her because she didn't realize she was like that and now she saw how it felt.

I've always thought everyone should work in a customer service job at least once in their life. :bigsmile:

Contrarian

I rarely complain. I would rather just laugh it off. When I do complain I do it in a kind and respectful way, because no one wants to help someone who is screaming at them.

ItsCasey

Depends on the circumstances. If it's something that could've caused physical harm to me, I'll complain, not so much for myself but for other people who may not be aware of the problems at a certain place. If it's just a rude waiter/salesperson, etc., I probably just wouldn't go there again. Most places are only truly concerned about potential lawsuits, so they don't really care if someone found one of their employees to be rude.

I have been a few places in my lifetime where the owner truly cared whether or not customers had a great experience in his/her establishment, and in those cases, I would always take the time to let them know if something went wrong (not something that was a genuine accident but something that was the result of an employee doing a poor job). I'd want to know things like that about my employees if I owned a business that depended on word-of-mouth and repeat customers.

knittnponder

I will occasionally if the situation merits it but I always try to be polite and friendly. If I don't make them defensive I usually get better service and I've always had my situation remedied.

I want to ask, do you care enough to give a compliment? If I get exceptional service I make it a point to say so. I once e-mailed the corporate office of a restaurant chain just to tell them how exceptional the service was at one of their restaurants (we had a large, loud group). I got an email back thanking me profusely and telling me that all they ever get are complaints so my comments were very refreshing. Then they mailed me gift certificates for the restaurant and my DH and I got to go out to dinner for free.

In the words of Nancy Drew, "Courtesy counts!" (Sorry, I have four kids and one of them is obsessed with Nancy! lol)