I would complain but...

Today, I did something I rarely do. (Was about to say 'never do' but can't be sure that's true.) I made... an official complaint. Da da DA!

Why? Because I was so outraged? Because I feel compelled to march the streets with banners? Because the world deserves to know the truth behind this national DIY chain? No. Because I'm on holiday this week and have both the time and the inclination.

That got me thinking - what would we do (with regards to complaints/conflict/confrontations) if we had the time and inclination? I mean, what stops us telling that 'well-meaning' friend to give it a rest when he/she starts another of his/her "I wouldn't normally say this BUT..." lectures? Why do we put up with food that's cold/over-cooked/under-cooked/bland/over-priced in restaurants? What is this need we have to "not make a fuss"?

As well as being a copywriter, I'm also a trainer (in communication skills) and one of my modules in on being more assertive. I tell my delegates that the secret to being assertive is to respond, not react; think logically, not emotionally; and be honest, while bearing in mind the little mantra is 'it kind, is it true, is it necessary?' Yes, I tell my delegates this. I believe this. I've even found that when I do this, this works! But, like everyone else, I'm busy, lazy, polite, apathetic, etc.etc.

So for the benefit of you out there who, like me, rarely have the time or inclination to complain but are jolly delighted somebody else has, here is what I sent to a national DIY chain earlier today. I have, in fairness, removed the name of the company - for the time being. Should I not get a decent response however, I'll publish this again - with the name back in. And possibly stick it up on facebook... and twitter... and LinkedIn... you get the picture. So here we go:

There are three reasons why I am taking the time to give you my feedback: 1) I'm on holiday at the moment and have the time and inclination to go through this rather lengthy process, 2) the girl at the till was surly to the point of being rude and 3) I don't think it's good marketing to give staff forms that say "How did we do today?" when the service provided by that member of staff is pretty awful.

I'm not actually writing to complain about the girl (I believe her name is XXX - that's what the handwritten name of the slip says) because it looked like a pretty dead Monday afternoon in there and she had probably lost the will to live. Yes, a bit of eye contact, a polite smile and a thank you would have been nice, but, hey, we all have off days. What prompted me to write was the "How did we do today?" slip.

'XXX' didn't forget it was on the receipt; she deliberately grunted her way through my transaction with no eye contact, no smile and no interest in me… then STAPLED THE SLIP ONTO THE RECEIPT and handed it to me. If I hadn't been in such a good mood (as I said, I'm on holiday this week), I would have probably said something. As it was, I walked away and laughed (to myself) at the irony. Then I vowed to let you know about my "GREAT EXPERIENCE IN STORE". Great fun for me (I'm a writer) not so good for XXX because this little missive will now become the subject of today's blog - which I'll post on Twitter and facebook. Unless of course, some smart marketing person gets hold of this first and...

Cheers
Lorraine Forrest-Turner
Unhappy customer, happy blogger
lorraine@forrestturner@btopenworld.com