How to complain, a.k.a how to get what you want.

What’s the good in complaining?

Depends. Depends on size of company being dealt with (if company), depends on external market forces.

So right now companies should be listening to consumers, times are tough, still feels like recession here.

Complaining to a big company, well how much can you expect?

Firstly I’d advise “take what you can get”, don’t be greedy, try to be gracious.

Secondly, and oddly weirdly, don’t be a moaner!

lets try to clarify.

There will be different perspectives on this. What can I get from you? From interacting with you? Well, if you are a moaner, if you enjoy, or intend to keep on moaning, if you get a kick from moaning, or even worse a kick from people responding to your moaning then I’d guess I’d get scant little from you,

So you don’t want youself, or the group you associate with to be tagged as “moaners”

Next up, a lesson in modern business practices. (they’re pants imho).

A modern business can reward loyalty, but check this out, they can focus on different areas, a business with a small user base may choose to concentrate more on seeking out new customers. If you use a business with a small user base, then don’t be shocked when that company treats you as a fairweather friend.

The antidote is to show that you can help to attract new users.

Thirdly, complaints…. so now there are a pile of complaints, your voice being lost in a myriad of complaints…

So, choose a different tack, start your complaint with a compliment; “I love your Gorganzola range, but wish we had more variety available”

psychology of that sentence. You have complimented them, so they automatically want to like you 😉

“but wish “we”
So, you are a group? A group of potential new users perhaps.

so instead of “your range is crap”

“had more variety”,

gives the business an positive plan (they will likeley raise it in a meeting, as though they thought of it themselves).

So, don’t tag yourself as negative, ie:- a moaner
Do compliment, realistically.
Do proffer up a solution, a positive path forward.
Using the word “we”, makes it feel like we are all working together, using “I” just seperates yourself.

Another method in complaining, and we’re onto guerrilla warfare tactics now,

Openly embarress the company…. or choose to raise an issue privately intimating that lack of resolution will resort in negative PR.

So, “Although I enjoy your game, I don’t get to fly, like I do in FlydelaFly, this seems to show a serious lack of understanding of your customers wants”

So we opened with a compliment, a positive, we enjoy their game.

Proffer up a solution, a positive plan, “being able to fly”

Thirdly, speaking for a group, this group being customers.

A business may then decide to compete with this other business, it gives motivation.

Try to avoid compounding the negative with phrases such as; “It’s not good enough”, and deathly stay away from group talk in any negativity, “Nobody I know can get it to work”

whilst that last phrase may be truthful, it offers scant little incentive, and portaits a “group of moaners”, No business would wish to grow a customer base of moaners.

I hope this makes some sense, and/or offers you some ideas.

Adrian