Rick's letter to Lenovo:

As the Senior Vice President for Operations, I want to bring to your attention an operations business practice which I believe is bad for your customers and is leaving Lenovo with a negative public opinion.

First, a little background...

My daughter will be starting her freshman year at Portland (Oregon) State University in the last week of September. Since she will be a commuting student, I was looking for a small and lightweight laptop for her to carry daily. I have been following "netbook" development activities of several companies, including Lenovo. As soon as I learned the IdeaPad S10 was available to order, I placed an order via Lenovo.com (Order # ) on August 19.

I knew I could count on a Lenovo product; for eight years, a previous employer provided me with a series of ThinkPads which served my flawlessly.

A few days after I placed my order, I was able to log-on to my account. I saw my order had an estimated ship date of 09/16/08. Though this was four weeks away, it would arrive before my daughter started her studies.

As September 19th approached, I started checking the ship date more-and-more often; it never changed. With less than one week until September 19, I started getting worried. Using Google, I found a number of message boards with commentary from customers who had ordered S10s, had their estimated ship date come-and-go, and had heard nothing from Lenovo. Some people have called Lenovo, only to be told there would be a two month delay in shipping any S10s!

Today, I too called Lenovo. I was told there was a 50-day slip in shipping. This is very, VERY disappointing on two points:

* The huge amount of time between ordering and shipping
* Lenovo has made no effort to update its customers

On a personal level, this means my daughter will not have her S10 until mid-November — too late for the start of her first term.

This also means I need to reevaluate my decision to order a Lenovo S10 and either buy a larger laptop or to consider a Dell Mini-9, Asus Eee, or MSI Wind.

I'd much rather buy the S10....

I urge you to look into error in your processes which had led to the second bullet above.

Rick S.
Sherwood, OR

Rick's letter to us after he sent out the first one and heard back from Lenovo:

The next morning, I received an email from the Chief of Staff in the CEO's office! He again apologized for the issue and looked into my order. Over the next week, we exchanged several emails but the bottom line is that unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to ship the S10 any sooner than October 14. He then offered to ship me a loaner laptop – a Lenovo "Reserve Edition". I discovered this is a $5000 limited edition leather-wrapped laptop! While a bit worried about handing-off this über-laptop to my daughter, I accepted this generous olive branch. I was then handed-off to a woman in the "Office of Bill Amelio, President & CEO", who arranged for the Reserve Edition laptop to be shipped overnight. She even included the labeling for Lenovo to pay the cost of the eventual return to Lenovo.

It's going to be difficult to return this sweet notebook in a few weeks and downgrade to the S10. I must commend Lenovo for their handling of my concern. As I told the Chief of staff, "This is analogous to loaning a Maybach when having a Hyundai serviced."

To other Consumerists, I offer this advice: If you have a problem with a product or service, reach out, be polite, and take the time to craft a well-written letter. Your efforts may be rewarded.

Hello Rick,
I just left you a message on your phone but will also confirm in writing.

There was a misunderstanding on our part when one of the staff looked at the monies disbursed and saw $125 had been paid out, she assumed it was to Jim Breer which in fact it was for the inspection instead. As this money was to have been paid from the seller's escrow, we will attempt to have it paid from there, if not, we will pay it ourselves. I do apologize for the time it has taken to get this resolved and assure you that our staff were well intended and generally get high marks from our members for the work they do.

I am available should you need to chat further and thank you for your
business!

Cheryl

Go back to Jim's letter in the original post and use it as a guideline in the future. It's polite, to the point, focuses on facts, explicitly states the desired outcome. Best of all, it worked. He himself used the complaint letter template in this post as an outline, it, too, should be inspiration for your next letter of complaint.

PREVIOUSLY: Man Feels Opportunities Credit Union Screwed Him Over For $125

(Photo: Getty)

This will come as a serious blow to a number of our commenters, but we have a bad story about a credit union. Gasp, shock, horror, it's true. Opportunities Credit Union of Vermont, where reader Rick has his mortgage, told Rick that they wouldn't be paying for his home inspection because they never got the bill. However, Rick's inspector's online billing system shows when people look at the bills he sends. It shows that Opportunities Credit Union accessed the bill. Whoopsies. Here's Rick's letter to the Credit Union president, asking them to pay the $125 for the home inspection:

Caryl Stewart
President
Opportunities Credit Union
92 North Avenue
Burlington, VT05401

Dear Ms. Stewart,

I am writing to make you aware of an incident regarding my mortgage with your organization [address redacted]. Let me first say that this is my first mortgage, and after falling in love with our new property, it seemed very unlikely that we would be able to get a mortgage at all - the mobile home in question had been rejected by several traditional mortgage agencies, and Opportunities Credit Union was there for us when we needed you. We're very grateful for this, yet feel that we received poor service recently regarding a mandated home inspection.

Prior to applying for our mortgage, we had an excellent local inspector, Mr. Jim Breer of Better Home Inspections in Barre, conduct an inspection of the home. Based on this inspection and an appraisal, Erika Glidden sent a list of repairs to complete. After the repairs, the appraiser and inspector would return to verify the repairs. I'm sure this is all common practice, but as this is our first home, we asked Erika to explain it all in detail. One of the details discussed was payment for the post-repair appraisal and inspection. Erika was clear with us that these bills would be submitted to Opportunities, and that the credit union would pay them. I verified this again in mid-June, prior to scheduling the follow-up inspection with Mr. Breer. When I contacted Mr. Breer, I informed him that he should get a list of required repairs directly from Ms. Glidden, and that he should verify with her that Opportunities would be paying his fee. We were very clear about this, and he had no trouble getting the list for his inspection from OPPSVT.

On June 26, 2008, Jim Breer complete his inspection, and on June 27th, he submitted his report electronically to myself and to Natalie Aiuto at Opportunities, as instructed by Erika Glidden. The invoice for his services was attached to the report (as with the appraisal, which was paid without issue).

Mr. Breer's electronic report system assigns a specific username and password to each recipient, and allows him to track access to his reports. He reports that Ms. Aiuto viewed the report on July 1st. On July 3rd, Ms. Glidden contacted me via email to report that she "still had not received" the inspection report, and that Mr. Breer "never sent... a copy..." At this point (also on 7/3/08), I provided Ms. Glidden with my user name and password to access the report - both copies included invoices. After finishing two small repairs, on 7/28/08, Ms. Glidden emailed to let me know that everything was "all set."

Nearly a month later, on 8/19/08, Ms. Glidden forwarded me a copy of an email from Jim Breer, complaining that he had not yet been paid his $125 fee, and threatening a lien on the property. Included in the forwarded email was the following:

From: Natalie Aiuto
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 8:43 AM
To: 'Erika Glidden'
Subject: FW: Past due balance

Erika, on 8/5 I sent you an e-mail that you replied to on 8/11, asking if the home inspector's bill for $125 for Young was paid, and you replied that the file was "all set."

Please see Jim Breer's e-mail to Rick Young, cc'ing me...

Ms. Glidden explained to me that "escrow had been closed out," and that the bill was now my responsibility. In this same 8/19/08 email, she explained that she "never received a bill," and therefore bore no responsibility. The bill was attached to the report, which she had viewed.

When I was able to get the report tracking data from Mr. Breer, and provide it to Ms. Glidden, she protested that, "the only part of the report that was looked at was parts that pertained to repairs on the home." There was no such confusion with the appraiser's report, which I have a copy of and which is laid out very similarly - and even so, failure to notice a bill does not mean that it needn't be paid. Further, in the body of the 8/19 email, it is made clear in the email between Ms. Aiuto and Ms. Glidden that Opportunities was aware of the fee, and acknowledged responsibility for payment prior to the release of escrow funds.

Ms. Stewart, I recognize that $125 isn't a lot of money, but your organization made a commitment to me, and to Mr. Breer that you would compensate him for his services. The consequences of Ms. Glidden's failure to follow through and the fact that she provided false information to Ms. Aiuto shouldn't fall on your customer. To resolve this issue, I would appreciate it if Opportunities would pay Mr. Breer the $125 that he is owed. The ball was dropped here, and responsibility lies with OPPSVT. If needed, I will gladly provide copies of all emails and records that I have access to.

I look forward to your reply and a resolution to my problem, and will wait one week before seeking help from a consumer protection agency or the Better Business Bureau. Please contact me vie this email address, or at xxx-xxx-xxxx [redacted]

Sincerely,

Rick Y.
[address redacted]

Maybe they accessed it and just didn't look at the right parts, but how is that Rick's fault? The crux isn't Ms. Glidden's or Aiuto's reading and comprehension skills, it's whether they got the bill. By their own admission, they did....so what's the problem?

(Photo: Getty)

To Whom It May Concern,

I have never contacted any company with a complaint before, however my recent experience with American Airlines was the single worst consumer experience I've ever had. From beginning to end my friend and I were confronted with rude representative, lies and absolutely no concern for the completely screwed up travel plans.

I purchased a roundtrip ticket on American Airlines for my friend to fly out from Los Angeles to Atlanta for my wedding.

The problems started in LA where the planes was delayed, initially gate agents claimed this was because of thunderstorms in Dallas where my friend was connecting on to ATL.

However, another wedding guest was already in Dallas, where as he told me, "there isn't a cloud in sky." Eventually, after several hours delay attendants admitted that the flight was waiting for a fax regarding permission for another passenger who needed an oxygen supply for the flight.

Eventually the flight left LA, but by then the connecting flight was long gone. The next connecting flight from Dallas to Atlanta was the next morning, forcing my friend to spend the night in the Dallas airport.

Not only was my friend not offered a hotel room for the night, the attendants in Dallas wouldn't even give her or other passengers blankets, water or any other basic necessities.

So she and the other passengers were forced to spend the night hungry and cold, unable to sleep or leave the airport.

My understanding of your "conditions of carriage" agreement is that my friend deserves compensation. The relevant section reads: "If the delay or cancellation was caused by events within our control and we do not get you to your final destination on the expected arrival day, we will provide reasonable overnight accommodations, subject to availability."

The fact that attendant already refused to provide meal vouchers or a hotel room means that, in my view, my friend deserves some sort of flight voucher or other compensation.

To make matters worse I (since I paid for the ticket) attempted to contact American Airlines on my friend's behalf to complain about her treatment and was told that customer service complaints may only be made through e-mail, mail or fax. Fine. So I filled out the form on your website outline the same issues mentioned here and I received back a form letter thanking me for the positive feedback.

Some people will keep their mouth shut and usually I am one of these people. I feel violated, taken advantage of and left with only one choice which is that letter. I realize there's no guarantee this will be read and not just rerouted to the problem customer file to never be looked at again.

To assure myself that have done all that is possible to have my letter read by all powers that be, I will be forwarding this to as many executive email addresses that I can find.

Cheers,
S.

Good luck, S, and good letter. It's clear, directly asks for specific compensation, and lays out the concrete reasons why they owe it to you. We hope it gets you what you deserve.

(Photo: zonaphoto)

He made a rational business argument. He calmly laid out the problem and course of events. He rationally argued it was both foolish and unacceptable to treat a a high-value Comcast customer in this manner. In an artful and subtle flourish, vaguely referred to how solving the problem would be a good way to avoid more negative publicity for the company.

It got results. A Comcast exec who got the email forwarded to him called the executive customer service department, from his house, and told them to get this solved, pronto. That's the power of the executive email carpet bomb. Just one of your recipients needs to realize how completely stupid and unacceptable it is for a business to be run in the way that caused your complaint.

Chris' complaint letter and followup email below.

June 12

To Whom It May Concern:

Last evening I called 1.800.COMCAST in order to set up a transfer service appointment for my impending move from one county to the next. I have been a loyal Comcast customer despite more than one instance of dissatisfaction over the last year (over billed, poor service, empty offers, followed by more inaccurate bills, etc.). I currently subscribe to the "Triple Play", HBO, HD service, as well as the Center Ice package in the winter time. I have also called and left a message with the executive customer service department, office of the President (215.640.8960), without response. The following, is what transpired happened yesterday

I called the 800 number and navigated my way to the the transfer service department. I spoke with Tony, operator ID UP4. I first asked him if I moved and took Comcast with me, would I be eligible to receive the free 19" HD TV offer that is currently being advertised in the Philadelphia area. He said that I was. We then proceeded to verify addresses, and set up the appointment time for the tech to arrive at the new address to set everything up. This request was put in on Wednesday, June 11, 2008, with service to be disconnected here on the 27th, and reconnected at the new address between 3 and 5 PM on the same day. This was by far my best and easiest interaction with Comcast, ever. I made extra sure to let Tony know this, as I was thoroughly pleased with how easy this process was, as advertised.

I spoke way too soon.

Moments after hanging up with Tony, I realized my internet was not working. I tried fixing it locally on my end first, by restarting my computer and resetting my modem and router among a few other fixes that usually work. Neither worked, so I called back (reference number CR127432486).

To make an extremely long story short, I spoke with Janet, operator ID 29842, who told me that because the transfer service request went in, it put a flag of some sort on my internet account which deactivated it until the transfer date. Because I notified Comcast that I was moving, they disconnected my internet for what was to be over two weeks! I asked to speak with her supervisor, as this answer was highly unacceptable to me. I then spoke with Janet's non-technical supervisor Adam, operator ID 29858 (he was not positive this was his correct ID, and also gave me ID NATG01). He only reiterated what Janet had told me earlier, twice. What I fail to understand is if he is a non-technical supervisor, how is he qualified to answer these types of questions, let alone instruct others? Further more, all he was able to do was reiterate what Janet had told me, which is what he told her. He had no solution, new information, or most importantly, help.

Adam the non-technical supervisor then proceeded to tell me that there was absolutely nothing he could do, and that it was most likely a simple glitch in the system that your IT department would have to look into. He did not offer to escalate this problem to the IT department for resolution. My favorite part of this horrible experience is when Adam actually agreed with me how extremely absurd that this situation was, that my internet was disconnected because I called in advance and notified Comcast of the move. To have a supervisor agree with a complaintant, but not have an ability or initiative to fix the problem, is truly amazing.

I was then transferred back to Janet in order to cancel my transfer service request. After being on hold for what seemed an inordinate amount of time, she informed me that the transfer service department told her that they could not cancel the request, it wasn't their fault, and she had to call the digital phone department in order to resolve. This confused me even further, considering my phone was working fine, as I had been on it for over 45 minutes so far on this call alone. If neither my phone nor my cable were affected, I don't understand how the phone department would be able to cancel this request. Tony, in the transfer service department, never informed me that my internet would be disconnected as a result of the original request.

I feel at this point, I should be able to request a transfer of service for the time and date originally requested (June 27, 3-5PM). I also feel that my internet at my current residence should not be disconnected as a result of this request. I'm paying for the service, I should be able to use it. Additionally, I (according to Tony) am eligible for the free 19" HD TV giveaway. I expect to be eligible for this still, despite what transpired. And most importantly, I expect an apology for more of my wasted time trying to correct my service with Comcast.

I hope a speedy resolution is in your interest, as I'm sure that it will cost far less then even more bad publicity than your company has already endured. I not only ask this for myself, but for what I'm sure are many, many other unhappy customers who have faced the same brick wall in trying to transfer their services to a new address. This is border line false advertising - Comcast has made moving services near impossible, not easier! For as much as I pay every month, Comcast should be very interested in keeping my business, and not losing it going forward. Telling people that the problem is their fault, that there is nothing Comcast can do to fix it, being generally unhelpful and unresponsive are traits which I do not consider good business practices. I believe that one business day is more than ample time to return a call of an unhappy customer. Comcast, obviously does not.

I eagerly await your reply.

Sincerely,
Chris E.

Account Number: [redacted]
Cell Phone: [redacted]
Home Phone: [redacted]
[home address redacted]

June 13

Hi Theresa,

It took Comcast exactly 1 hour and 7 minutes to call me after I sent this email last night. I heard from Courtney, who worked at corporate, who had copy of email in hand. Her boss called her from home, and asked her to contact me ASAP, which she obviously did. Her boss wasn't even on the original email, so the email must have circulated the company very, very quickly. Courtney proceeded to give me her direct number, her boss' direct number, and her boss' assistant's direct number, and assured me that either her boss or his assistant would call me today with resolution. As promised, Michelle (the asst.) called me mid afternoon today. This must be all that Michelle does, because she moved with exceptional accuracy, efficiency, and speed. I think she might actually be a robot. She promised the problem was fixed, that there is indeed a workaround to this massive glitch in their system, I have my original appointment time, and will receive the HD TV offer. And as you can tell from this email, my internet continues to work. So, everything seems to be on course now. Michelle said she would check in with me a day or two before moving day to make sure nothing has changed, and will continue to follow up until everything is done. I was unimpressed that 24 hours was not long enough time for someone to call me back after leaving a v/m at corporate, but the efficiency in solving this in the last 24 hours since, has been impressive when compared against all previous Comcast encounters. It's unfortunate that this sort of service cannot be obtained via normal channels. But, a huge thanks to the Consumerist (I'm an avid work-time-reader-because-there-is-nothing-better-to-do) I got the answer I was looking for.

Thanks!

Chris

If you want to send an executive email carpet bomb of your own, here's how to do it.

(Photo: Getty)

A lot of our posts about writing complaint letters has focused on sticking to the facts, and getting your story to the right people. I like that Bruce takes this one step further and shows how throwing in a little creative writing can increase your chances at success. It's really just an artful way of demonstrating the basic principle of "it will cost more to ignore me than to take care of my problem." You demonstrate that you're a committed customer with long-term value who has spent money before and will continue to spend money, as long as your grievance can be addressed. I wonder, however, how well the tactics will work against industries that like to play hardball with customer service, like banks, cellphones, and insurance.

You can get a digital PDF version of Bruce's book for $19.99 here.

Another free chapter, "Living in a Sitcom," involving a complaint letter written after sitting next to a really big guy on an airplane that spilled into Bruce's site, is available here.

Complain For Fun And Profit [Official Site]

Lila got her Washington Mutual debit card pickpocketed while traveling in India. Naturally, her account was drained. She filed a fraud report with Washington Mutual and a got a temporary credit issued on the account while the case was investigated. Less than 3 days later, the credit was reversed without warning. It's not WaMu's policy to reverse provisional credits in these matters before 30 days have passed to investigate, and not without warning. None of the various reps and fraud personal could explain why this happened, nor could they give her her money back, nor could they connect her with anyone who would or could do anything. Supervisors are mysteriously never around. It's a good thing she already had some Rupees in hand when the theft occured, or Lila could have been stranded in the Himalayas while WaMu reps were busy playing Snood. Her complaint letter, and our advice on how to be more effective, inside...

Thursday May 29, 2008

To Washington Mutual Management and Whom It May Concern,

I am not typically the kind of person who writes emails to large companies where the people on the receiving end are probably just overworked, and bored individuals in suits who could careless about me and my concerns. In fact I assume the majority of angry letter writers out there are well over their 60’s, but I am still under the age of 25. Still I am compelled to write in the hopes that someone in one of the offices out there will take a second to look at the appalling customer service that patrons such as my self are receiving on our end of the WAMU customer service phone lines.

Let me please explain my situation. Recently I have been in frequent contact with Washington Mutual due to the theft of my debit card. I spent the last about 6 months in India on a study abroad program. Around April in the city of Hyderabad, while on my way to another more remote part of the country, I was pickpocket and my debit card was stolen. I unfortunately did not fully realize that the card had been stolen until I was already in the far north area of India. Needless to say by the time I was able to contact my mother in the United States, through email, and her able to act on the situation, the perpetrator had already drained my account. Had I not already of had some money in Indian Rupees would I have been practically stranded in the Indian Himalayas. As soon as we could my mother and I started the claims process with Washington Mutual. I was issued an amount of provisional credit, contingent on the fact that I would have to sign an affidavit back in the United States.

Once returned to the United States I did sign and mail the affidavit. I was under the expressed impression that the provisional credit would last for at least 30 days, while the case was being examined. Unbeknownst to me the provisional credit was reversed less than 72 hours later. I received no email, letter or phone call to inform me of this situation so I continued to use my debit card, believing the provisional credit to be true and valid.

On May 24th I decided to sign up for Wamu online banking, previously I had just tried to keep a written record of my accounts. It was then, through the online banking that I realized my account was in the negative, mostly due to 264 us dollars worth of overdrawn fee’s.Then I saw that the provisional credit had been reversed on May 12th, after only being issued on May 9th.

I decided to call the customer service to investigate the situation more clearly. The women on the form told me that the customer service could not help me, that I had to call the claims department and that they were not open on memorial day weekend. She offered little consolation and absolutely no explanation. I called again on Tuesday, and after a 39 minute wait received the claims department. They gave me the run around and told me to call back on Weds. So I called back again on Weds. and had another nearly 30 minuted wait to reach the claims department.

This time I reached someone named Douglas who was very friendly and reassured me the matter was being investigated, but he could not explain why the provisional credit had been reversed. He admitted it was not their policy to reverse credit before the 30 day investigation policy, and not without communication to the account holder. I asked him if anything could be done about the eight $33 overdraft fee’s that were a direct result of the provisional credit being reversed without my knowledge. He told me he would notate my account and transfer me back to customer service to see if they could help me. I had previously deposited $450 into my account to have it directly eaten up by the negative balance. Being transferred back to customer service was a horrible affair. No one would help me, and each person said that it was only up to the claims department to reverse the charges now. The phone call ended with me literally in tears when the manager of customer service hung up me.

I called back again today, Thursday May 29th, hoping to reach Douglas again. Although for some reason he was unavailable, I did reach another associate in the claims department who was friendly and sympathetic. I explained to her that this situation had gone on for days, and I was down to my last $20. If this situation didn’t get resolved soon I wouldn’t be able to pay my rent, or my bills. Although considerate and helpful, she said the issue was under review but she did not have the power to help me and none of the supervisors who could were around.

Now it is Thursday afternoon and this issue has yet to be resolved. I am still dissatisfied with Washington Mutual’s treatment regarding this issue, and I am still confused to has how it got to this point. How can Washington Mutual claim to pride itself on customer service, and customer satisfaction when this situation clearly does not demonstrate those ideals. Even when, or if, this issue ever gets resolved I have to question my loyalty to a bank that so obviously does not respect me as a patron. People do not have to Bank. They are not entitled to our money, yet Banks seem have an attitude that customers are lowly creatures, especially customers like me who work hard all the time for the little savings we do have, and never seem to break even in our bills. Outrageous 33 dollar overdraft charges, and money that just seems to go missing sets a person in my income bracket back about a month. The money that was in the provisional credit, and the overdraft fee’s is the amount I need to pay next months rent and bills, due in less than a week. But Washington Mutual does not seem to care about small issues like this. I find it very sad and discouraging that right now I feel like stuffing my money under my mattress would be a better option than banking with Wamu ever again. At least my mattress wouldn’t make me cry, keep my on hold for 30 minutes, or steal my money in overdraft charges.

I apologize for being so snide, its just aggravating that the situation has gotten this far without any clear resolutions. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely,
Lila B

Sounds like you're getting stuck in "I only get paid $5.85 an hour" hell. Here are some phone numbers for high-up people who can help you out better than what you've been dealing with so far. Call them up, calmly and succinctly explain what you want them to do, and they just might work some magic for you.

Some advice on writing complaint letters for fun and profit: they're usually much more effective if you can find a high-ranking executive and mail the letter directly to them. Dear Kerry Killinger is going to be more effective than Dear Washington Mutual Management and To Whom It May Concern.

Lastly, I would be remiss to not take the opportunity to point out this story illustrates the hazards of debit card use. Lila would have been much better off with a credit card. That way when it got stolen, the bank would have been out the money instead of you.

Executive Response Team
Customer Relations Manager
Washington Mutual Bank
(800) 225-5497 Opt. 1 Ext. 467
Fax (206) 965-3082

CEO Kerry Killinger
kerry.killinger@wamu.net
His assistant, Wendy: wendy.cadman@wamu.net
206-500-8779

CFO Tom Casey
tom.casey@wamu.net
206-500-4201

Chief Legal Officer Stewart Landefeld
stewart.landefeld@wamu.net

President and COO Steve Rotella:
steve.rotella@wamu.net
206-500-8302

(Photo: babasteve)

March 13, 2008
Robert Nardelli
Chrysler LLC
1000 Chrysler Drive
Auburn Hills, MI 48326-2766
Dear Mr. Nardelli:

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I am writing about a serious and very dangerous condition that exists with my 2006 Dodge Charger. My name is Brian. I own a 2006 Dodge Charger that I purchased new at Danbury Dodge in Danbury CT on February 18, 2006. The current mileage of the car is 37200 miles. I am writing to bring a serious trouble with my Charger to your attention. While driving the Charger, usually during a rain or inclement weather, a tone will sound and the brake assist and stability control lights on the dash cluster will come on.

Soon after, all of the lights on the dash cluster will begin to flash randomly. This includes the oil light, the check engine light, and even the speedometer and rpm meter. The engine and transmission will experience trouble shifting gears or accelerating or climbing hills. Sometimes the car will engine will shutter and not move. Once the vehicle is stopped and the engine shut off, the engine will not turn over for 5 to 10 minutes. Eventually the engine will turn over and the car will continue as normal or under partial power. This trouble has occurred four times.

I have taken the Charger to Danbury Dodge for repair three times and Meadowlands Dodge in Carmel, NY once. Neither dealership has replicated or repaired the trouble. The dealers will not do any further work on my vehicle until they replicate the problem. Unfortunately the trouble happens intermittently and without warning. So now I am left with little option but to contact Chrysler to resolve this problem. The first serious trouble occurred at approximately 7PM on or around August 18, 2007. The Charger was parked outside in the rain all day at my place of employment. The rain stopped shortly before 7PM that evening when I started the car. When I started the car the BAS and ESP lights came on instantly. The engine was making pinging noises and not driving under full power. I took the car to Danbury Dodge for repair. I dealt with Derek Thomas, the service advisor at Danbury Dodge. The technicians repaired the rocker arms. Derek mentioned codes for loss of communication and claimed the trouble was fixed.

The same trouble occurred a second time at approximately 6:30AM on September 9, 2007. I was driving on the highway in a light rain. The ESP and BAS lights came on followed by the other lights on the dash. I stopped the car, turned off the engine and had trouble starting the car. My mother was in the Charger at the time and witnessed the trouble. I took the car to Danbury Dodge, and they repaired a tube gasket and were unable to replicate the trouble.

The third instance occurred on October 10, 2007 at 7:21AM. The dash lights came on, reacted randomly, and the car was not able to climb any hills without stopping. I stopped the car, turned off the engine, and experienced trouble turning the engine on again. After about 10 minutes I was able to start the car and drive to work. I took the car to Danbury Dodge and they were unable to replicate the problem and did no repairs. I then took the Charger to Meadowlands Dodge in Carmel, NY. I dealt with Billy O'Brien. They were also unable to replicate the trouble despite driving the Charger down an interstate highway in the rain.

The most recent instance occurred on March 7, 2008 at 7:30PM. I was driving the car in heavy rain and, like clockwork, I heard the tell tale tone and all of the dash lights began to flash. I stopped the car, turned the key and was unable to start the car for 5 minutes. I was able to start the car and make it home. I took pictures of the dash lights using my cell phone. The problem occurred during the evening so I was unable to take my car to a dealer right then and there. I could not leave the car running until the dealership opened at 8AM on Saturday. I have not had the opportunity to take my vehicle to the dealer since. I know what to expect at this point.

I also took a video of the third instance, and it on youtube.com for the world to see. I believe that by showing as many people as possible proof that the problem with my Charger exists, maybe that will motivate your company to do something about it. The url is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDjwvHVMD6s. Please be sure to read the comments left by other visitors as well. I am also sending a copy of this letter to the consumer website The Consumerist at http://www.consumerist.com. The website is very insightful and I look forward to sharing my story with people across the world.

My Charger has undergone 4 repair attempts with no resolution. The dealers are unable to replicate the trouble and are therefore unwilling to do any necessary repairs. My vehicle has been out of service for around 15 days thanks to Danbury and Meadowlands Dodge. I am constantly afraid that my car will malfunction during a rainstorm, or at any time, and put my life and the life of my passengers in danger. In my experience Dodge and Chrysler dealers are not obligated to honor the warranty or fix obvious troubles. You and your fellow corporate leaders at Chrysler have the power to produce and maintain safe and reliable vehicles. That is the way to solid profits and loyal customers.

Sincerely,

Brian

We said, for one thing, you're not going to get an apology. That's an admission of wrongdoing and legally that's a bad place to be for a company. Secondly, it has no place. You're having a dispute with a business about a business transaction. Inserting a request for a written apology just elevates your letter to "probably crazy" status, encouraging them to ignore it.

Let's say you did get a written apology. There's no guarantee the company meant it. There's a story about a business exec who sent a complaint letter after bedbugs ate him up all night on a train trip. He received a moving letter from the rail company, saying how sorry they were, and the steps they were taking to ensure it never happened again. His original letter was included in the envelope. Across the top was written, "Send this jerk the bedbug letter."

All you should be concerned about is that you're getting the goods and services for the price you paid. If you want someone to care about your feelings, get a dog.

[Insert address]

Re: Consumer Privacy Cases, J.C.C.P. No. 4211

As a Class Member, I object to the settlement in Consumer Privacy Cases, J.C.C.P. No. 4211.

I find the proposed settlements as I understand them:

• Two-hundred dollars ($200) off my next home mortgage,
• Fees waived on returned deposited items,
• Fees returned for calling customer service,
• Twelve (12) months free subscription to a credit card protection service ($30 value),
• or Ninety (90) days of "Privacy Assist Identity Theft Protection Service" ($17.85 value);
• and a $3.25 million donation to "privacy-related projects",

to be inadequate given Bank of America's gross extended breach of privacy and breach of the public trust.

I feel that Bank of America will ultimately benefit and profit from every single settlement voucher redeemed. I also feel that this settlement will indemnify Bank of America against future legal actions regarding this massive, extended breach of privacy.

In January 2006, ChoicePoint, Inc. agreed to pay $15-million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the data warehouser's security and record-handling procedures violated consumers' privacy rights , affecting over 163,000 customers at an average of $92 per security breach.

In October 2003, Victoria's Secret, a division of Limited Brands, paid a $50,000 settlement to the State of New York for a breach of privacy on their website between August and November 2002, revealing the name, addresses, and orders of 560 customers at an average of $90 per security breach.

Not only should Bank of America not profit from their actions, which they will with this settlement, but given the ChoicePoint, Inc. and Victoria's Secret precedents, they should issue a refund of $90 per account to present and former account holders during the period of 1995 through 2007, in addition to complimentary identity theft protection for up to twelve months and a $3.25 million donation to privacy-related projects.

Sincerely,

Thanks for the great letter, Hayden. If you want to send a letter like the one above, mail it to the three addresses below in time for it to arrive by August 15th, 2007:

COURT
Clerk of the Court
San Francisco Superior Court
400 McAllister St
San Francisco, CA 94102

CLASS COUNSEL
Bonny Sweeney
Lerach Coughlin, LLP
655 W. Broadway
Suite 1900
San Diego, CA 92101

DEFENSE COUNSEL
Arne Wagner
Calvo & Clark, LLP
1 Lombard Street
2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111

PREVIOUSLY: Proposed Settlement For BoA Selling Your Private Information: $200 Off Your Next Mortgage!
(Photo: Getty)

Even though his contract says that if HNS modifies billing or pricing terms, customers may leave contract without penalty, Hughes is adamant that he pay a termination fee if he cancels.

We're looking forward to reading an article in the June issue of the Harvard Business Review called "Companies and the Customers Who Hate Them," centering on companies' "adversarial value-extracting strategies." We wonder if it talks about the proclivity of certain businesses to ignore the doctrine of contracts being void following material changes to them.

Mark's screed, inside...

(Photo: cogdogblog)

I have been using HughesNet satellite internet service — you've probably seen the ads all over DirecTV (who is also owned by Hughes Networks). As you may know, satellite ISP's limit the subscribers' usage, generally based on x MB per hour during a period of x hours. DirecWay/HughesNet's policy before somewhere around 3:00AM April 18th was that the subscribers on the Professional plan could upload/download up to 350MB per 1-4 hour period.

After 3:01AM April 18th, their so-called "Fair Access Policy" changed to say that now the subscribers can download 375MB but in a TWENTY FOUR HOUR period! What's worse is, if you download more than 375MB in your 24 hour period (which by the way is a rolling period of time — therefore you never get reset to zero unless you unplug your modem for 24 hours!), then you will be rated limited to sub-dialup speeds for TWENTY FOUR HOURS! The rate limit punishment time used to be 12 hours before this new policy came into effect!

I have been on the phone with both the Technical and Billing departments all the way up to Tier 4 support multiple times, who all claim that my service has been upgraded by 25MB and they cannot understand how I'm not happy about the new change! After I requested to be released from my contract, as this change constituted a change of service, each representative told me that it was impossible under any circumstances to be released from my contract without paying the cancellation fee, despite the fact that their Subscriber Agreement policy clearly states the opposite — it is no different than a cell network agreement: if the provider changes the service, the subscriber reserves the right to cancel without penalty within 30 days of the change taking place.

My 5+ hours of phone conversation with them has been fruitless. After reading back Tier 3 billing support their own Subscriber Agreement policy regarding release from contract and explaining to the representative that it clearly stated that I could be released from my contract if Hughes changed the service, the representative told me that he didn't come to that conclusion after reading it, and that he wasn't a lawyer so he couldn't say for sure either way!

The bottom line here is that HughesNet has lied to their own employees, who are then lying to all the customers. HughesNet has taken on far too many subscribers onto their network, thus overloading it. My bandwidth is ridiculous. I'm on the 1MB/200kb Professional plan and I'm at best receiving 500k/80k. Most of the time my speeds are abysmal, to say the least. Tier 4 technical support has confirmed that both their equipment and my equipment are fully functional and will no longer receive any cases from my account!

Frustrated out of my mind, I sat down and typed up the following complaint letter and mailed it to the Customer Support complaint center as instructed by both Tier 3 technical support and Tier 4 billing support. PLEASE feature my story! I'm trapped by these weasels!

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—--

ATTN: Customer Service / Billing / Complaints
HughesNet
11717 Exploration Lane
Germantown, Maryland 20876

To Whom It May or May Not Concern:

On April 19th, I learned of your recent change of the Fair Access Policy beginning on April 18th. According to the explanation of the changes in policy on HughesNet's Customer Service pages, I would be granted an additional 25MB toward my Download Threshold, for a total of 375MB on my DW7000 Professional plan. Your previous FAP granted me 350MB to use within a 1-4 hour period, so, upon seeing this 25MB increase, I was initially excited at my newfound bandwidth.

Unfortunately, that excitement quickly faded as I became suspicious as to why such an increase would be given to me. Certainly, I concluded, this could not be because HughesNet had struck a large deposit of bandwidth in the abundant bandwidth fields of West Texas and, overcome with benevolence towards its subscribers, had extended the blessings to one such as myself. My suspicion was confirmed as I surfed my way through the bowels of the Customer Service pages to discover that the recovery period had now been doubled from the previous 12 hours to 24 hours.

At that point, I realized how misleading and deceitful the initial announcement had been. Let me make it clear that I am not opposed to the institution of the Fair Access Policy. I am merely opposed to the changes HNS has recently made to that policy. The fact of the matter is that you have overloaded your system with subscribers to the point that the 12 hour threshold punishment period isn't releasing enough bandwidth into the commune for the other subscribers. So, under the guise of upgrading your service, you actually placed harsher restrictions on the customers. But it gets worse.

You have also failed to mention anywhere on your website that along with the new 24 hour recovery period (which, by the way, was not presented as a change), the period of time in which you may not exceed your download threshold has increased from 1-4 hours to an astounding 24 hours! A quick calculation will demonstrate that this effectively decreases the amount of data you may download in any given day by 82%. If I was able to download 350mb during a 1-4 hour period each day, I would be able to download 2,100mb every 24 hours. Under the new policy, I am only allowed to download 375mb every 24 hours! Now, if you'd like to reduce my bill by 82% to correspond with the reduced data limit, I may consider keeping my service. But that would be ridiculous, wouldn't it? And I'm not finished...

A long series of phone calls (amid random disconnects) all the way through Tier 4 of your Corporate Billing department and through Tier 3 of your Technical Service department led me to the conclusion that you have also been deceitful to your own employees. I spoke with a multitude of incompetent individuals who only served to solidify this conclusion:

Apparently your entire staff (save for one level-headed soul in Tier 3 Tech Support) believes that you reserve the right to freely modify any part of the "[Subscriber] Agreement, the Service or related pricing or billing terms" without allowing customers who do not agree with the new changes to be released from their contracts without penalty. Using this logic, HNS could decide tomorrow to raise my fee to $500 per month and reduce my download threshold to 1MB, and I would still be forced to pay an early termination fee if I wished to cancel my service. This is pure lunacy and is not in line with your own Subscriber Agreement.

2.3. TERMINATION BY SUBSCRIBER.

In the event that HNS modifies this Agreement, the Service or related pricing or billing terms, you may immediately terminate your account and this Agreement. Subject to your payment of the termination charges herein described, you may also do so at any other time and for any reason on written notice to HNS.

Clearly, your policy states that the subscriber will only be subjected to termination charges if they cancel for any reason other than HNS making a change. The clause "Subject to your payment of the termination charges herein described" is implicitly referring to the subscriber's canceling of the service if HNS has not modified the service and does not apply to cancellations due to change of service. Let me repeat: Section 2.3 in no way, shape, or form states that you will be subjected to cancellation fees if the service has been changed! Your service has most certainly changed for the worse — 82% worse, in fact. Therefore, I am entitled - and demanding - to be released from my contract immediately, sans termination fee.

Sincerely,

xxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Angry Customer

— BEN POPKEN

Among his complaints: late arrival and departure, children kicking his chair and running around in the aisles, being told to "deal with it," being laughed at by desk agents, getting a call about a planes lateness only 30 minutes before its departure, missing his lunch appointment that he was flying for, etc etc.

When he called and wrote Delta, the best any one would offer was a $50 travel voucher. But Evan dropped the ebomb and got what he asked for, and then some, within 24 hours.

Read his complaint letter, inside...

Evan writes:

When I called about the April 1st flight, the CSRs just said "I'm sorry you had a bad experience, I'm not authorized to do anything about it." When I called while I was waiting to fly this weekend, I spoke with a guy in the Refund department and he said he couldn't help me, I would have to write a letter. I called back (more Consumerist tips) and got someone in Customer Care. She did apologize and was the only nice person in this whole process, but said that she couldn't offer me anything other than a $50 voucher, and that I couldn't apply that voucher to any travel already booked. She too suggested I write a letter.

Also..I emailed just my issues about the first flight to Lee Macenzak and got no response.

That was all Thursday, so I sent the letter you see on Sunday night (yesterday) once I was home.

My complaints and what I asked for are all listed below. I got a call from the executive assistant for Lee Macenczak (the VP of customer relations) and he is re-crediting my 500 Sky Miles, refunding me the $50 change fee by check (not a voucher) and giving me a $200 voucher for future flights.

This made me very happy with the situation and I will definitely continue to fly Delta. I also agree that its very important to exhaust all options before going to the top to not appear petty - this won't work every time but I am a happy customer. Thanks for your help!

Evan

PS - I mentioned going to the Consumerist blog if they didn't respond, maybe thats what did it?

—-—-—-- Forwarded message —-—-—--
From: Evan [redacted]
Date: May 13, 2007 6:56 PM
Subject: Delta Customer Service Issue - Please Respond
To: gerald.grinstein@delta.com, james.whitehurst@delta.com, lee.macenczak@delta.com, joseph.kolshak@gmail.com , daiquiri.gleaves@delta.com, anthony.black@delta.com, katie.connell@delta.com, gina.laughlin@delta.com, betsy.talton@gmail.com
Cc: airconsumer@dot.gov

All:

I am a frequent and loyal Delta customer and have had two extremely bad experiences with Delta - just weeks apart. I have made numerous attempts over the phone and in writing to rectify this and am now escalating it in the hope that my issue receives some attention. I recognize you are all busy people and I will attempt to be as brief as possible. I ask that I receive a prompt response.

My name is Evan [redacted], and my SkyMiles number is XXXXXXXXXXX.

Issue 1) I flew on Delta Flight 1671 from San Francisco (SFO) to New York (JFK) on April 1st.

In an effort to be concise, on this flight the issues involved:

- Departing late

- Broken televisions throughout entire flight (the pilot came on the PA and said "please just deal with it")

- Screaming children kicking my seat and running up and down the aisle for 45 minutes

- When I politely asked the flight attendants to do something about the children, I was told to "deal with it" (a recurring theme?) and was then not provided with the drink I asked for (water) despite three requests

- When we landed (late), the bags took 40 minutes to come out - not my bags, mind you, but all the bags

Several times over the next several weeks, I spoke to various CSRs about this issue. For this flight, I booked online but ended up needing to change the flight date the next day. Because of this, I was subject to both the loss of my web bonus (500 SkyMiles) as well as a $50 re-booking fee. I asked to have both these issues refunded/returned to make up for the service I received. I was told no. On 4/29, I sent the above information by email to Lee Macenczak, and asked for the same restitution. I received no response.

Issue 2) I had another flight booked for May 10th, just a week after not hearing back from Lee about the previous issue. This was Flight 507 (LGA to ATL) then Flight 1101 (ATL to BNA). I was originally booked on Flight 155 and 5551, which got in at 9:04 PM, but paid $50 and took the entire day off to ensure I could be in Nashville for a 1 PM lunch I couldn't miss.

I apologize that the summary of this episode is longer than the above one, but I am constrained by the sheer number of absurd things I was told by your employees.

- I arrived at LGA at 7:30 AM for 9 AM flight. I waited in line for 10 minutes curbside, then was told I was a security risk. I waited 10 minutes, and a "security inspector" arrived (this person was not a TSA employee). This person then said under his breath that he was not allowed to do inspections. The two employees argued back and forth about whether or not they had the authority to inspect me. They then checked the computer again and said it was no longer an issue because my flight was cancelled. I then went inside to ticketing, and the security issue was never mentioned again.

- I waited in a 3-person line, and after 25 minutes, finally was called by a gate agent named Jackie Wlodarczyk (after my previous experience, I was sure to record names this time). She typed a few things into the computer, then said, "Looks like you aren't going to Nashville! Haha..I shouldn't laugh, this is a problem for you I'm sure." ( Note: By now, it should be clear that Delta's motto should be changed to "Just deal with it")

- I indicated that I needed to be in Nashville for a lunch by 1:00 PM.

- She then suggested a 9 AM flight from JFK (when I was at LGA and it was now 8:20 AM).

- At 8:25 AM and 8:35 AM I received automated calls from Delta telling me there were issues with my flight. Does anyone leave their home 30 minutes before takeoff? How was this helpful in any way?

- Jackie then said that the only flight that worked was a 2:40 PM flight from JFK on JetBlue, but that JetBlue was not a partner of Delta so this is, and I quote "my problem, not theirs". I asked her the number for JetBlue, and she said "Nope" and made no effort to find it. I then explicitly asked her to look it up and she said no.

- I then asked for a supervisor, and R. G. Hanson came over. He first went through the same steps that gate agent did.

- He also told me there was nothing they could do for me (Delta: "It's Not Our Problem" - since 1924" ). He then had conversations with the gate agent back and forth over many potential options, ignoring me for 15 minutes. After I told him I had to be there for 1 PM, Mr. Hanson repeatedly suggested flights that got in after 9 PM.

- We then decided the best option would be to reroute me through Cincinnati to get to Nashville. This flight got in at 7:45 PM. The whole reason I paid the switch fee and took the day off was to not get in at 7:45 PM!

- Because I was now missing the entire reason I needed to be in Nashville, I asked for a refund of my $50 flight change fee. He said he couldn't do it and I would have to call. I then asked for an upgrade, and he said he couldn't do it. I then asked for an upgrade for a flight I am taking next week on Delta, and surprisingly, he said he couldn't do that either.

- I again brought up the fact that being charged $50 to move my flight earlier in the day was unfair since I was no longer getting in earlier. This time, Mr. Hanson said he could refund it, but wouldn't because he did not have my receipt number. I then pulled up the email on my phone that contained the receipt number. He then said he needed a separate receipt number specifically for the change fee. I was able to find that as well. He then said he could no longer refund the $50.

- I said, "I have now been inconvenienced, spent over an hour at the gate, had my flight cancelled with an absurd notice time, been treated rudely, charged for a service I couldn't use, and still have no options and have to try and go on standby to even attempt to get in on time. What can you do for me?" He said "You can write a letter if this really bothers you (emphasis his), but I can't help you sir."

- I called the Delta Refunds line about the $50 fee, and he said he wasn't authorized to refund it but perhaps I could write a letter.

- I searched for a different number, and ended up calling Customer Care. I spoke with Ramona Scruggs .

- I told her the whole story, and she did apologize but said all she could offer me was a $50 voucher for another flight. She said I could not use this credit for my flight next week - meaning I would have to fly Delta again to redeem it.

- I have a 101-degree fever right now, and have been sick all weekend. When I got to Cincinnati, I ran off the plane, sprinted across the airport, caught a shuttle, and arrived at the plane just as they were doing last call. Covered in sweat and feeling like death, I made it on to the earlier flight as a standby passenger. I arrived in Nashville, and still missed my lunch.

In just over the last month, I have flown Delta roundtrip to Salt Lake, roundtrip to San Francisco, to Nashville, and am scheduled to fly Delta to Des Moines roundtrip in just a few days. As you can see from my account, I am a frequent customer and have never had an issue before these two flights. The above two issues are unacceptable to me.

By way of fair and reasonable restitution, here is what I would like to happen:

- For the flights (507 and 1101) on May 10th:

o My web bonus of 500 SkyMiles should be reinstated, because the flight was switched offline by Delta, not me.

o My $50 switch fee should be refunded (not a voucher), because the flight time that I switched to was not honored by Delta.

- I would like some sort of restitution for the poor customer service I received from two flight attendants on the April 1 st flight, screaming children, broken televisions, an unresponsive Lee Macenczak, two rude gate agents, an unresponsive customer care agent, and for missing my lunch in Nashville. I have spent far too much of my time resolving this issue and expect a meaningful voucher, miles - something to signify Delta values my business.

- Finally, I would simply like an apology. Every person I have spoken with has told me that this is my problem, I am wrong, I need to write a letter, etc. I would like written acknowledgment from Delta that this is no way to treat a loyal and frequent customer.

Today is Sunday May 13th. I recognize this is a long letter and appreciate Delta's need to investigate this issue further. However, I will not waste more of my time if Delta cannot be bothered to respond. If I do not hear back from a Delta representative by Friday, May 25th, including information about restitution for the issues above, I will be sending an additional letter to the Department of Transportation, the Consumerist blog, and taking further steps to attempt to resolve my issue. I am hoping that my Delta flight this coming weekend does not become the concrete block that broke the camel's back.

Thank you very much for your time in reading this letter and resolving this issue. I would like to remain a frequent Delta customer, and await your response.

Sincerely,

Evan

Elements that helped make Evan's executive email carpet bomb land true:

• Wrote clearly and directly
• Exhausted normal avenues of resolution
• Made specific demands linked to specific service deficiencies
• Used employees' first and last names
• Set deadline for action
• Declared who he would escalate the issue to if it was not resolved to his satisfaction
• CC:d Cc: airconsumer@dot.gov

Learn how to launch your own by reading How To Launch An Executive Email Carpet Bomb. — BEN POPKEN

(Photo: Getty)

1. Exhaust normal channels
Have you called customer service? Asked for a supervisor? Hung up and tried again? Give regular customer service a chance to fix the problem before you go nuclear.

2. Write a really good complaint letter.
Be clear, concise, polite, and professional. State exactly what you want. See this post for complaint letter writing tips. Pitch your issue in a way that affects their bottom line. Spellcheck and include contact information.

3. Determine the corporate email address format.
Look through their website or Google for press releases. Examine the PR flack's email address. What's the format? Is it firstname.lastname@company.com? FirstletteroffirstnameLastname@companyname.com? Figure it out and write it down.

4. Compile a list of the company's top executives
This is often available on the company website, under sections like "corporate officers" or "corporate governance." You can also look the company up on Google Finance and look under management, although this list tends to only be partial.

5. Combine the names from step 4 with the format from step 3 to create an email list

6. Send your complaint to the list from step 5.

7. Sit back and wait.

Reader Marc has launched EECBs to great effect. He writes, "In every instance that I've put together a big list of email addresses and sent it out, I've received some sort of immediate reply and eventual resolution."

Have you ever launched an EECB? Did you get a direct hit or was it a dud? Let us know in the comments. — BEN POPKEN

(Photo: Getty Images)

The rebate has suddenly been sent out today, at least this is what the website shows. By the way, the CSR, Patrick, lied to me, the rebate processor is a not Radio Shack, it's a vendor, www.web-rebates.com. They process rebates for many companies. Still, the responsibility is on Radio Shack to select a reputable company to represent them, as their vendor.

In this era of keeping every iota "on brand" and "on message," do companies just run out of paint when it comes to customer care? — BEN POPKEN

That's the unprofessionalism Daniel experienced trying to find out when his rebate check from Radio Shack was supposed to arrive. Because of this, and the duplicity of Radio Shack in initially saying his rebate was denied, Daniel is submitting a complaint to the BBB, The NYC Consumer Affairs Bureau, the NYS AG office, and, of course, us.

His letter of complaint to Radio Shack, inside...

UPDATE: Perhaps a happy ending is around the corner?

Daniel V writes Radio Shack:

I have submitted a rebate form to you within the time frame specified on the form (11/13/2006). Then, about a month later I was sent a letter informing me that the submission was late. That was impossible, since the post office is in my work building and I witnessed the letter date stamped. When I called to complain about it, a CSR named Naomi immediately agreed and said that I would be receiving the check within 2 weeks. That conversation took place over a month ago. So today I called again. I was on hold for about 20 minutes and your representative named Patrick (with a very heavy Spanish accent?) answered and told me that the check will be mailed in 4 weeks from today. When I informed him that the check should've been received 2 weeks ago, he said he's sorry for the miscommunication and that there is nothing he can do. I asked to speak with a supervisor, and he responded that no supervisors were available. I asked the name of the supervisor, he refused to give it to me citing company policy. I asked to be transferred to anyone senior, and again was refused. His tone of voice and manner of speech are the most disrespectful I have ever heard from any phone representative. I again began to press on speaking with a supervisor, and Patrick, almost laughing, told me that if I wanted to speak with his supervisor, I'd have to wait 30 minutes. I then, asked to speak with another representative if no senior reps were available. He again said that the wait time would be the same 30 minutes. At that point I asked for his ID and call center location. The info I was given is that the center in Minnesota, and Patrick's ID#: 53812. He again refused to let me speak with anyone else. He said that my check, which I had been expecting since November will not be rushed, and began screaming like a deranged person if there is "Anything else Sir?" over and over. I couldn't even reply for nearly a minute.

I don't know what kind of help center Radio Shack is running, but to me it felt more like a hotline for demeaning Radio Shack customers, where your employees have a free-for-all, and help themselves to let go of their personal issues or problems at the expense of your customers. Also, I believe that Radio Shack is in violation of the rebate agreement. It's been nearly 3 months since the rebate was submitted, and yet no check was sent.

Your rebate tracking website has been showing a "Pending" check #: XXXXXX for $20 and yet no check issued or sent. My rebate tracking ID: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

As a result of this blatant disrespect of your customer, and violation by Radio Shack of its rebate agreement I will also submit this letter to the Better Business Bureau, The NYC Consumer Affairs Bureau, the NYS AG office, and, www.consumerist.com - a consumer protection website.

Disciplinary action must be taken against your CSR, Patrick, and I do expect an official apology from your company. This whole incident was not a miscommunication. It was clear lying and disrespect!

Respectfully,

Daniel V.

— BEN POPKEN

Ivan G. Seidenberg
140 West St
New York, NY 10007
(212)-395-1000

Alternatively, if you're trying to turbo your customer service problem and you want to get executive customer service, this is the transom to toss your issue over.

• Pubic hair from previous guests in the tub
• Tape covering holes around the washbasin peeling off the countertop
• Large cracks in the wall around the window

When he went to complain at checkout, he found the manager arguing with a guest who was stuck by a hypodermic needle left in her room. The manager insisted she must have planted it herself. All part of the reason why Hotels.com rates it a whopping one-star.

The Hotel might beg to differ with that ranking. When Adam booked it, the phone agent told him this hotel boasted Travelodge's "Honor Roll" premier status.

Adam's letter to the president ofTravelodge, asking for a refund, inside.

"8/22/06

Ken Greene, President
Travelodge Hotels, Inc.
1910 8th Avenue, N.E.
Aberdeen, SD 57402-4090

Re: Travelodge Reservation no. XXXXXXXX

Dear Mr. Greene

I stayed August 18 and 19, 2006 at the Travelodge Santa Cruz Riviera, located at 619 Riverside Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95060. When I made my reservation I was told by the phone agent that this location carried Travelodge's "Honor Roll" elite quality designation. This designation must have been made either several years ago, or by someone who has never visited this hotel. It is dingy, dirty and unsafe. It feels unclean from the moment you walk into the lobby, and gets worse as you make your way to the room. Furthermore, to charge between $130 and $200 a night for a hotel in such poor repair is unconscionable. I understand that rates are unusually high in resort towns like Santa Cruz, but cleanliness and safety should be included in that premium price. I've stayed in fashionable hotels in New York for less and never felt like I had to ask local friends to use their showers, which I did this time upon finding the unsanitary conditions at this hotel. I've listed some of the various problems with room 122 below.

In the bathroom:
Tape covering holes around the washbasin peeling off the countertop
Laminate worn and broken on the bathroom countertop, exposing deteriorating plywood underneath
Large cracks in the wall around the window
Pubic hair from previous guests in the tub
Large patch screwed into a hole in the wall with filth around the edges and screws
Paint chipped off the grimy bathroom cabinet hinges
Filth around the edges of the countertop

In the bedroom:
Badly stained carpet
Paint peeling off the walls
Large holes in the drywall around power outlets (fire hazard)

I intended to take these issues up with the manager upon checkout, as he had not been on duty when I checked in and found the room in such a state, but I could not, as he was embroiled in a protracted dispute with another guest when I tried to check out. The other guest had been stuck by a discarded hypodermic needle that had been left in his bed by a previous guest, and the manager was arguing that the guest had probably planted it, and that he wouldn't be giving a refund, or even a discount because the guest couldn't prove he hadn't put it there himself. I'm sure this level of neglect and hostility is not in line with the Travelodge brand, but it will forever color my thoughts on the company if this cannot be resolved.

It is my sincere request that you refund my credit card for this stay. I tried to find another hotel and was unable to, or I would have just cancelled my second night of the stay. I can't imagine this is the sort of property you want representing your brand.

Kindest regards,
Adam L."

She writes, "What I don't want is the blank stares, the curt answers, the reluctance to answer simple pharmaceutical questions about side effects and such, and I certainly don't want to be kept waiting as my prescription languishes on a shelf because two pharmacy staff members can't decide which brand of mayonnaise is better in a bowl of potato salad."

She just wants to walk in, get her scrip, pay for it and walk out. Is that so hard? Apparently, yes. Since sending the letter in January and receiving no reply, she now drives "many miles" out of her way to CVS.

Her letter, inside.

January 20, 2006

Walgreens
David Bernauer
200 Wilmot Road
Deerfield, IL 60015

Dear Mr. Bemauer:

I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with the customer service I have received at multiple Walgreens locations in both northern Minnesota and around the Twin Cities area. I have been getting my prescriptions filled exclusively at Walgreens for over ten years. At this point I'm not sure if the convenience of a nationwide pharmacy network is worth the problems that I've had, which I will now enlighten you with.

Without fail, Walgreens has some of the worst customer service on a regular basis that I've ever experienced. It doesn't seem to make any difference which store I visit, I'm always greeted with the same rudeness, ignorance, and unapologetic apathy from both pharmacy staff and the regular retail employees and managers. The retail employees' attitude I can understand. I've been there. I worked in retail for many years. I remember being an underpaid teenage retail worker and I have reached a point where I fully expect to be treated poorly from these people. The pharmacy staff, on the other hand, surprises me. For a bunch of diplomaed professionals, they sure are a cranky lot.

I don't know if they're underpaid, overworked, or if this attitude has trickled down from the corporate level. Frankly, I don't care. All I want to do is walk in, get my prescription refill (which I have already submitted via wallgreens.com), pay for it, and walk out. What I don't want is the blank stares, the curt answers, the reluctance to answer simple pharmaceutical questions about side effects and such, and I certainly don't want to be kept waiting as my prescription languishes on a shelf because two pharmacy staff members can't decide which brand of mayonnaise is better in a bowl of potato salad.

I can honestly say that to this day I have not once had a good customer experience at a Walgreens store. Why do I keep going? Laziness, I suppose. Perhaps it's a sort of self-flagellation. Maybe somehow I've been conditioned to accept this behavior over time.

Sincerely,
[PikaPikaChick]

C.C.: Jeff Rein, President and COO

—-

Note that this letter was sent in January. Haven't heard a peep out of anyone at Walgreens since then. I, like JPac, have been happily driving many miles out of my way to get to a CVS and their almost ludicrously good customer service."

A reader identifying himself as "re-flex" has a wife, eight months pregnant no less, who works very hard to keep her company's website working well for the users, against the odds. She goes through a lot to do a good job, but was floored recently by an email, passed up through the ranks, with stamps of forwarding all around, that said simply, "Your website sucks!

She was floored, which, doctors say, is not good for a pregnant woman.

Same shoe, other foot, after the jump...

"Dear Consumerist:

I enjoy reading your website very much.

You often publish stories that spotlight the consumer's perspective in the eternal consumer-corporate struggle.

I thought you'd like to hear a small story about how life is, or can be, on the other side of the front lines.

Remember when writing those letters of complaint to your various corporate offices to make sure that whatever comments you give are constructive—useful in rectifying whatever problem it is that you are experiencing.

My wife works for a major healthcare organization. She's in charge of its website. What this means is that she manages a team of roughly six people and many, many consultants (graphic designers, HCI experts, etc.), as well as "interfaces" as best she can with various other relevant departments (such as IT, Regulatory Compliance, Legal, etc.) to put together the roughly 10-million-dollar a year effort that you see when you enter in www.hercompanynamehere.com.

She works hard at this job. There's been many a time that she's been working toward a deadline and she and her staff don't get home until three, four in the morning—only to grab a quick nap and head off to work again at six AM. It's a very frustrating job for her, because she has to try to negotiate through the politics and opposing interests of many diverse, stubborn groups to try to get a web site together that is useful to the end user.

Firefox grabbing a larger share of the market? —She has to try to convince the coders to test the site on Firefox. They don't want to do that because, obviously, it's more work for them—they'd rather just tell the end user that they need to be using Explorer for the site to work right.

Mac users having trouble with the site? —She finally got the developers to acknowledge that Apple has a large enough part of the market to make sure the site is opimized for Safari as well.

Front-end web server incompatible with the legacy database system, the latter which houses a million or so client records and sits on a computer in some other city? —Somehow there has to be a system implemented—within budget—that puts all this together so that the healthcare data the end user wants to see is displayed within a few seconds of him or her clicking the "Submit" button. The technology is daunting enough, but trying to get the hundreds of people responsible for those systems to play nice is a whole new circle of hell.

Basically she sits in meetings from seven in the morning till six at night, fighting to make sure the end user gets as good an experience in logging into the website as is humanly possible, given the restrictions placed on the process by budget, politics, time, and talent of personnel. And she's eight and a half months pregnant.

So it was in the spirit of wry irony, yesterday, that she received a letter from an end user giving critical feedback about the website. I'm looking at that letter right now.

It's obvious that this note has been passed up through all sorts of various departments till it reached her desk. It has all sorts of stamps on it saying "Received" and "Copy to: Marketing and SBM Team" and "Record as:" and such. There's a note on it that says, "This is from a member. Can you have someone take a look at this? Sally, can you have someone call the member and get some specific feedback? Thank you, Leslie" and "Jim: See page 2. FYI." Everything has been stamped in triplicate and photocopied in quintuplet many times over.

And what does the note say? Here is the comment, verbatim:

"Your web site sucks!"

Insert Nelson Muntz "Ha-ha!" here.

She was quite deflated by this letter. After trying so hard to get it right—it's tough to be made to understand that someone out there disagrees. It's even harder to have to work with a comment that is so utterly non-useful and uninformative.

No, she is not permitted to simply disregard the letter as the work of some asshat. Her responsibility—both professional and personal—requires that she follow up on this.

So when you write your letters of complaint, remember that a person like my wife might end up reading your letter; and, depending on the words you choose, she might be so startled by them that she gives birth on the floor of her office while surrounded by slack-jawed, wide-eyed, spittle-dripping subordinates. Not saying that's what happened here, necessarily"

We're all "up with people" but if we received that email, we would toss it. If a user doesn't care enough to elaborate on why it sucks, they don't care enough to see their 'complaint,' such as it is, resolved. It's part and parcel of being on the front line. We're surprised that if her company is so concerned about the website customer service, why someone lower on the rungs couldn't have replied to the user, "What do you mean?"

Any company that has a website needs to be ready for the slings and arrows of the rabble. If they can't take getting critiqued publically, they should shutter up shop.