It Pays To Call The Company

[Guest sheila]

Once upon a time I was feeding my dogs Natural Balance. I bought a bag that while not outdated, seemed to be filled with an excess of 'kibble dust'. I emailed the company and in response I received not only a free 35 lb bag of food delivered to my door, I got lots of high dollar coupons.

When the economy tanked and gas was over $4 a gallon I could no longer justify the 70 mile round trip to the city just for dog food so I switched to Purina One Chicken and Rice. Suddenly last month that formula became unavailable. So I did what I do. I bitched about it.

I am now in receipt of coupons entitling me to a free 35 lb bag of food and others for $$ off and the kibble is now being stocked in my local store again.

Say what you want about me, I say it pays to bitch sometimes.

[OwnedBySummer]

I, too, complain about things. You can get your hotel room discounted, too! And even "free stay" coupons for a return visit. My mother loves when I tell her about my latest complaint and resultant reward -- she says she doesn't have the nerve (well, you do sometimes have to do it face-to-face) and is living vicariously through me.

[Guest NorTex]

I'm also a complainer. But I also find that I have to compliment how things are, too. I think it's my way of not feeling like a bitch when I do find something that does suck.

[cleptogrey]

ditto, a complaint w/ a compliment included works wonders.

[shawna]

There is a study out that says something like, "Most people, if they put $1 in a vending machine, make their selection, and the machine 'eats' their money with no resultant product will put another $1 to see what happens." I heard about this and said if the d#$@#@ machine eats my dollar, I'm marching inside to get it back from somebody.

 

Anyway, sometimes pointing out when things suck does get you a reward.

[Guest sheila]

well technically if I'm calling the company with a complaint it IS a compliment because I like the product enough to let them know when I am not getting what I need from them. I am never rude to the person on the phone because I am aware that they are not personally responsible for whatever my issue is.

[Guest dragontearz]

We got married just over a year ago, and one of our gifts was a Seal a Meal machine. When it broke after just a few uses, my wife sent an email asking if we could replace the heating strip in it ourselves(we are pretty frugal), and without asking for it, they instead sent us a replacement one, and the next model up at that! Complaining with a compliment definitely worked for us that time.

Edited March 17, 2011 by dragontearz

[Guest JollyRoger]

Complimenting companies also works well. Some are better than others. The Iams company is pretty good about giving coupons as is Natural Balance.

 

On a side note, if you get a bag of food or a box of bones that has a lot of kibble dust or broken bones, not only tell the company, but also let the store you bought it from know. Much of the time it's not a matter of what company made the food, but what distributor it comes from. Most of our distributors are very careful with their freight. We do have one that I swear just flings bags onto the skids most of the time. At any rate, any good store should be willing to switch the product out for a better one.

[GreytNut]

I did complain to Diamond when I got a rancid bag of Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. They sent me a coupon for a free bag and asked for a sample of the food so they could test it to make sure it wasn't contaminated with some creeping crud which might necessitate a recall (it wasn't... the bag must've been damaged and the food was stale).

 

If you don't complain, how do the manufacturers know that something is wrong? But yes, compliments are also a good thing, and it always pays to be polite. You catch more flies with honey, as the saying goes.

[XTRAWLD]

I complained to the Kong company a couple of months ago. Ryder destroyed a Kong product - can you believe it? Their claim to fame is having an indestructible toy. Well, it was more like a Kong stuffy that bit the dust, but if they stand behind their product then I will put them to the test. In less than a couple hours Ryder decapitated a Giraffe Braidz toy. He absolutely loved it, chewing, squeaking and boom, off went the head.

 

I thought, their products are expensive enough as it is so I'm going to complain. I received 3 x 20% off coupons in the mail for the next toy. I was really hoping for a freebie replacement, which is what I asked for, and assumed I was receiving based on the email communication. I guess 3 coupons would suffice and it's certainly better than nothing. What am I going to do, complain about the complaint?

 

I don't complain often, but find it worthwhile when something really irks me. Most companies do value customers and their business and if something is wrong they want to know about it, and rectify it so you don't go off blabbing how much they suck and then word of mouth snowballs, and risk more business loss, etc.

[kolarik1]

I complained to my car company about the fact that at the time, my car had 33,000 miles on it & was 3 1/2 years old, yet I had to pay for new ty-rods...I was LIVID...they reimbursed me for the cost of the ty-rods and the labor. As I told them, not so nicely, that my previous car never needed new ty-rods, I bought it at 42,000 miles and had it til approx 115,000 miles...different car company. And I ended the original complaint email with the 'I guess they don't make cars like they used to, so it'll be a VERY long time before I buy another one if they're just going to fall apart' kind of rant. Got my $ back and I was stunned that they actually did reimburse me.

[Maddiesmom]

Off topic here but I asked for a donation from Hills Pet product, they set some product to us. A survey ended up in my email in regards to their customer survey (which was really good) I took the survey - gave them good results and a few days letter a leeter and a 10.00 off coupon was in my mailbox thanking me for taking the time to take the survey. I don't use Hills but use give the coupon to our kennel to use for food. But I thought that was pretty awesome of them considering they sent us a donation and all for our event.

 

 

[lukasmom]

I once complained to Kaytee Bird Food Company when I found broken glass and bones in a bag of parrot food. All I got was some 50 cent coupons and their food was really expensive. They didn't seem overly concerned that my parrot could have gotten hurt.