HOW TO COMPLAIN AND GET RESULTS

It pays to be respectful, organized and persistent.

- BY EILEEN AMBROSE

THESE days, it seems you can't purchase a product or service without the company promptly following up with a survey asking, “How are we doing?” or “Would you recommend us to others?” Try to get a quick response when you have a complaint, however, and businesses aren’t always so eager to hear from you.

In fact, when it comes to seeking help with a problem, consumers’ top frustrations are figuring out how to contact the company and being forced to listen to long messages before being allowed to speak to an agent, according to the 2023 National Customer Rage Survey.

The survey also found that people aren’t getting angrier, but more of them are getting angry, says David Beinhacker, chief research officer at Customer Care Measurement & Consulting, which has been publishing the rage gauge since 2003. And consumers are becoming more uncivil, influenced by bad behavior seen on social media and elsewhere, he says.

But yelling, cursing or bullying isn’t the way to resolve problems. If you want to complain effectively, here’s how.

Be polite and brief. After all, the person on the other end of the e-mail or phone call likely didn’t cause your problem. And long, emotional e-mails often go unread, so try to keep your written complaint to 250 words or less.

“You don’t want to be accusatory,” says Christopher Elliott, founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that mediates disputes between consumers and companies. “You want to let them know what the problem is—as succinctly as possible—and what you want them to do to fix it. It’s like a demand letter that lawyers put out, but much nicer.”