I decided to call this blog, "musings about breaking free." I am going to choose a topic each day and attempt to relate it to the theme of freedom. I just read Penelope Trunk's blog blog.penelopetrunk.com and decided to try one of her tips, which is to link to sites that get a lot more traffic than you do.
Have you ever been upset about the way you were treated by a business? Who hasn't been, right? I used to get mad. I used to boycott businesses. I would make a point of telling my friends and acquaintances not to frequent the establishment. Whenever a business failed to meet my expectations, I would expend a tremendous amount of energy trying to get even, usually with little effect other than stealing some of my serenity and peace away.
A few years ago, I discovered the Better Business Bureau's www.bbb.org online complaint system. The site is simple. You can use any information you have about the business to find it in the BBB's database (name, phone number, address, website, etc.) From there the site directs you to the BBB office that deals with complaints from that part of the country (for instance, the Pacific Northwest). You are prompted to identify what type of complaint it is (customer service, billing dispute, refund, etc.) The site allows you to write a short narrative about what happened and also a suggested remedy. You submit your answers, and that's it.
I just filed a complaint against a well known on-line travel services company (I'll call it company X) on Monday (two days ago). My partner and I had made reservations to stay in a hotel on Christmas eve, but the snow kept us from traveling. We called the hotel and X and we were told by both that, due to the circumstances, we could call back after the holidays and reschedule the date. When I called back after the holidays, the customer service workers from X (first names only, from Central America) told me that we would have had to reschedule on Christmas eve, and since we did not, we were out of luck. I asked for the person's supervisor, was given the same answer and hung up the phone. Within 30 minutes I had made a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. Because I have had so much success with the BBB, I didn't give it another thought. I went on with my day. Today, two days later, I looked at my bank account and there was a credit of $301.87 for the room refund from Company X.
Why does it work? It works because businesses are rated by the Better Business Bureau and they care about keeping their ratings high. Most major companies have staff in the role of resolving BBB complaints, and they are given authority to grant refunds, store credit, whatever it takes to make the complaint go away.
Here is a short list of some of the remedies I have received from BBB complaints:
Sprint- six months of cell phone service over a disputed bill
Dania Furniture- a new frame for a defective hide a bed/ couch
Nordstrom's- refund for defective athletic shoes
Banana Republic- store credit for defective merchandise
I don't advocate abusing companies for no reason with the Better Business Bureau, but if you want to break free of the feeling that you have no power in the business world, don't forget the Better Business Bureau.
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