GraysonPhyleus

Just out of curiosity, you did start with [bugzilla.mozilla.org] before contacting the Mozilla Corp Board of Directors, correct?

angrykeyboarder

RodericaNekromantix

We have this remarkable tool called email, there are no security guards at the entrance, no secretaries screening the calls or reading the letters; this is rare, direct access to the head honchos.

As always, follow the steps, then think twice before using EECB. We all appreciate that it shouldn't get wasted.

mmmmna

These days though I am more often on the receiving end and I see an increasing number come across my desk where the consumer has not even tried to resolve the issue with customer services. One case last week was mailed to me before even trying to contact the service desk! Our Customer Service team have a great first time call resolution record, so I get irritated when they are not given a chance to help. Always very keen to hear from customers whn we have failed to meet expectations, so my advice again carpet bomb away, but only after trying the common portal first. Crying wolf too often will result in customers who need help being ignored in the white noise.

C-Emptor-esq

Steaming Pile

Steaming Pile

I plan on sending my letter to several of the CEOs and Executives at Ticketmaster, as well as the North American CEO for the ticket promoter, Live Nation. I will also try and forward the letter to the band booking agent and possibly the band management. TM said that even if they could give me my real seat that they'd need to contact all these people to make sure it'd go through.

Any advice? A lot of you seem to have good experiences with these, so I'm hoping some of you can pass on some words of wisdom. I used the "Complaint Letter" article as a basis, aswell.

FootAJ

teejaystudio

Buran

kimberlyb1983

David J. Curtin is their EVP, and based on the format of the email used for their domain registration, it looks like it would be david.curtin@tvmax.com

malfean

How does one EECB (or postal-equivalent) when the company that is trying to rip you off does everything it can to be incognito? The company is TVMax, a privately-owned cable-television firm that has a horrid reputation, and with which I was forced to do business due to an exclusive contract with an apartment complex.

In short, they're trying to rip me off for almost $500 for equipment they picked up and said they didn't. Their story is that it's my word against theirs.

The CSR people have refused to transfer me to supervisors "Because we don't have any supervisors" and because "We're all supervisors," and have said over and over that I have no claim/case.

This is all the info I can find on them:


     From their website, tvmax.com:
     --------------------------------------------
     1-866-TIME-4TV (1-866-846-3488)
     10300 Westoffice Dr., Suite 200
     Houston, TX 77042-5329


     From a WhoIs Lookup:
     -------------------------------
     TVMAX Holdings, Inc.
     Mikell, Ted
     ted.mikell@tvmax.com
     1111 West Mockingbird Lane, Suite 1000
     Dallas, TX 75247
     214-634-3800
     Fax: 214-634-3838


Literally, all I can find after hours of searching every which way I can think of is just this little bit of information. No press releases, no Board of Directors (private company and all), no nothing but lots of bad reviews.

I'm at a loss and really concerned that this is effectively a criminal enterprise existing only to rob a captive audience.

Do y'all have any suggestions on anything I can do besides filing a complaint with the city cable franchise office, the Better Business Bureau, and contacting the "consumer protection" departments of local television news outlets?

irishdaze

Spent 50 minutes on the phone with the CC "escalation team". They claimed it was a limited quantity promotion. Nothing they could do, etc. Funny how the rep who took the order over the toll-free line hadn't mentioned that...

Filed a BBB complaint. Disputed the charge with my MasterCard bank. No action.

Then I stumbled on your EECB article. Had a response within 48 hours of sending the email. After a few questions and answers I received a credit for the difference.

All's well. Thanks again :-)

swtrekker

Raiden47

A friend of mine was trying to buy a house that was bank owned. His real estate agent told him up front that it was going to be a major pain and that all agents in the are avoided any properties owned by that bank. Seems that bank subcontracted out the management and sale of bank owned properties and the company they subcontracted to was impossible to deal with (taking multiple weeks to respond to offers, and then responding incoherently etc.).

My friend liked the house and had the time (corporate relo so he was being compensated) so he submitted a very reasonable offer. Sure enough, the agent was right and the subcontractor responded as expected.

The bank in question was a public company. My friend bought 100 shares in the company and then called investor relations. He stated that "I'm a stockholder and I'm also trying to do business with you guys. Why are you making it so difficult?". The next day he was on a conference call with the CEO and a few key execs.

All public companies have an investor relations department. The contact info is usually quite public. Their job is to deal with stockholders. You might need some magic to convince them you're a stockholder but once that's done, you're in -- these departments have a direct line to the CEO.

In this case, it helped that he was telling them something that would save them buckets of money (they were sitting on lots of inventory and were getting the runaround as to why it wasn't moving).

steve54

kalilhasa

I will use them in the future.

Thank you so much.

ThePopoversAreDone

Maybe just bad luck?

ThePopoversAreDone

I actually used this technique to have the last word with the Executive VP of a venture capitol firm who was sleeping with my (then) wife. His site had lists of their executives, clients, and potential customers (most WITH email addresses).

Last I heard, he lost his job, is going through a messy divorce, and is now a teller at a credit union.

Life is good.

nord117

Caroofikus

On a side note, there are still a few excellent cable techs out there. One of them gave me his personal cell # to call if I had any problems, and periodically called me for the next two months to be sure I wasn't having anymore problems. I now ask for him by name regardless of the circumstances, and when they say they can't guarantee he'll come, I just tell them they're wasting their time because I won't let anybody else in my house.

Bresnan's corporate contact info is on their website if anybody needs it.

Caroofikus

My favorite response: After numerous frustrating calls up the line about a brand-new water heater that broke down 24 hours after purchase, I tracked down and left a message for an executive. I wasn't home when he called back, but he told my husband that "it is as if your wife bought a chicken and we handed her a serpent." Which exactly captured my dissatisfaction. He had the guys out to solve the problem that day.

maines19

Just be sure you have your ducks in a row and if you are arguing with a government or medical entity that you have checked for current and future requirements in ALL applicable areas (perfect example: if you think that your child needs to be tested for ADD/ADHD or other learning problem, you need to know that the laws governing the steps you have to take to get this done are not only local, but state and federal).

The last and best thing to do when talking to any sort of entity about anything is to maintain a written record that includes dates, times, names, phone numbers called, and notes on each stage of the conversation with names and ID numbers. As long as you have the notes to back up the phone calls - or recordings if you have that capability - with persistence you have over a 95% success rate.

This has worked for me with Verizon Wireless, Charter, EMC Mortgage, Benson, MN School District/Police Department/City Council/Human & Family Services, the state of Minnesota, several juvenile drug treatment centers and rehab units (for my daughter who is a recovering meth addict - 3 yrs clean) and too many others to list.

Weyrlady

MandM813

Below is the "short" story of my favorite and most successful use of the "Lawn chair strategy"

Years ago I had my home phone "ported" over to my cell phone by cingular. I was told that it would be no problem at all. (they lied). In summary, they set up a second account for the new number but left both accounts active. Soon I started getting two identical bills. At first I didn't realize that they were separate accounts and only paid one each month. Then the disconnect notices began to arrive! After countless calls to cust. serv. and 3 visits to the retail store, it was still NOT resolved. The last straw occurred when my service was cut off while out of town. (after being ASSURED that all was straight).
When I returned, I was livid and knew that another call or polite visit would continue to resolve nothing..... then I had a brain storm!

I loaded into my truck the following items:
- Folding lawn chair & table
- Cooler filled with soft drinks
- Bag of chips
- A 1000+ page novel

(you probably see where this is going already)
Yes, I set this all up just inside the door of the Cingular store. I just wish I had a camera phone at the time so I could attach photos of the bewildered faces of the employees and customers HE HE HE...
Within minutes a lowly rep cautiously approached me and asked if he could be of assistance. I replied that I doubted anyone but the general manager could resolve my issue. He quickly scampered to the back room. seconds later the GM approached me and with crumbs on her lips asked in a sickening sweet voice if she could assist me. I replied :
"I hope so, because there are only 2 ways I will leave here...
1) With my issue resolved BEYOND my expectations
once and for all.
or....
2) Forcibly by 4 police officers carrying me by each of my limbs kicking and screaming!

Needless to say, she invited me to her private office and I ended up leaving peacefully with my bill(s) straightened out, a new phone and a $250 credit towards future service!

I have used this technique a few times, once at a large Hospital billing department and once at a Bank

Again, it is very important to use this ONLY as a LAST resort and ONLY if you are 110% confident that your issue is valid and the resolution you seek is fair.

greg2112

Anyhow, my business line in my home was working intermittently. After five useless services calls, five different stories about what was wrong, and finally one guy blaming it on inside wiring (when I pay for inside wiring service), I was pissed. I crafted a strong but polite email titled "Why I'm switching my business to VOIP" and then fired it off to what I hoped was the CEO. I did this on Thursday night then promptly left town on Friday for a two week business trip.

My first response actually came on Thursday night: a "read receipt" from the CEOs email system. I guess the CEO had a Blackberry. :-)

The next day I had voicemails from the president of Centurytel Missouri, the statewide head of service, the local zone head of service, and two other guys I can't remember. As I was traveling (and still pissed but beginning to enjoy this), I ignored them. More calls came in on Saturday. By Monday, the voicemails were sounding desparate ("PLEASE call us back!"). I finally called the service guys back on Tuesday, and by the time I returned from my trip, the problem was solved. :-)

Geez, if they'd only done that sometime during those first five calls...

bugsplatt

jefino

My clamshell-style phone was not working...the screen was not getting power, and the two pieces were not securely attached, but still attached.

I brought it into the Sprint store in my neighborhood, and the guy there told me that I could purchase another phone, since it was one week after the warranty period...which was fine. Then, he was playing around with the phone, and the two pieces came apart...he handed me back the two pieces, said 'sorry' and asked which phone I wanted to buy.

I ended up coming in there with a phone in one piece and leaving in a huff with a phone in two pieces after the manager offered me the same deal...phone was past warranty, but it had not been 2 years since my last phone, so I could buy any phone in the store for full price.

I called Customer Service and ended up with a guy that could waive the 2-year requirement, so I could get a $150 discount on the phone. I chose a phone, and he told me it would be at my house in the morning. Two days later, I called customer service again, and asked what the problem was...I was told that they guy who offered me that discount was not allowed to do so, and my order had been cancelled. I asked how I was supposed to know that, and they told me that they left me a message...on my bleepin' cell phone number, if you can believe that. Even though it was clearly annotated in my account that my phone was destroyed.

I asked to talk to a supervisor and asked if he could help me out with the discount...he said no. I informed him that I had given Sprint PCS approximately $5K over the years, but he did not seem to care. I asked to talk to his boss, and he told me it would not help, because no one was able to give me that discount. I assured him that someone in the Sprint corporate structure would be able to give me the discount, and I would make sure that person also knew the name of the customer service supervisor that would not help me.

I got the e-mail format from the press releases section of the sprint web site, and I got the list of executives from Yahoo finance. I sent an e-mail, and got a phone call in less than 2 minutes, from the secretary of the CEO, telling me that they would take care of me. I then received a phone call and incredible service from a lady who is in charge of the Sprint PCS accounts for Sprint executives...that is her only job. I got a free phone with accessories and became a happy Sprint customer once again.

While I find it sad that we must resort to tactics like this to get satisfaction, I am here to tell you that it works.

jwm68

HappyNow

I just read about the Executive Email Carpet Bomb on your site. I did not know there was a name for this but I used this tactic successfully many times at a job I had. I worked for a company that did accounts payables via direct deposit. I would have to call and say I am calling on behalf of company A and they are changing their payments away from sending a paper check to electronic. Many times, I would get a "snotty Suzie Q" who said, "We don't do that etc." I would ask for Suzie's supervisor etc and of course she would not give it out. I did have the luxury of already having an email address or two so I would search their website, find the executives names and email the mass emailing. I would also mention the dates we talked to Suzie Q and her tone etc. I can not count how many times within hours of emailing the company would A) not call us back but had gone to the our site and filled out the registration to be paid electronically. B) An exec would call and apologize and say they have no issues with getting paid electronically etc.

bnissan97

MikeWas

My company publishes email addresses of all the board members and execs. However those emails do not make their way to those people. They are sent to a collective mailbox managed by tenured CSRs.

The syntax is not even close to the real email address syntax.

Essentially, to get email to an exec you need to know the *real* email address.

toddkravos

asherchang

After seeing yet another "Get the New York Times delivered to your home" commercial on tv, I decided to do an EECB. I used the technique described to figure out the likely email configuration for several key executives. Amazingly, I received a prompt reply from two executives. The corrected the issue and my NYT showed up the following Sunday.

breny

I went through the normal channels and wasn't satisfied.

I figured out the company's email address scheme & found the list of executives.

I sent an email to all the head honchos and was quickly contacted with someone who clearly was ordered to do what was necessary to make me happy.

This is a great way to fix a problem when a company won't listen.

chefmitch

SkippyKilimanjaro

http://www.grandecom.net/news_offers/?cat=1

I, of course, wrote a great review of them on DSLReports.com but, unfortunately, I had to move to a different town and got Charter Communications: TERRIBLE!

mobbo

mhii

Shit rolled downhill and the issue (which, in our defense, was very hard to diagnose) was fixed within hours.

I'm finding it hard to believe that it's a coincidence that you posted that CEO's contact info just a week before he got an email that lead to results exactly like you described in this post.

Hamm Beerger

ViviKat

With virgin wireless I got resolution of a complaint after escalating to two levels of supervisor and pointing out that it was going to cost them more to talk to me than to just resolve the issue.

My ISP (sonic.net) the CEO reads and responds in the sonic.* newsgroups but there service is so amazingly good I've never had to bug him.

jpp123

phildeaux

suckonthat

MrWashy

In theory, yes. But in practice, no. I t makes sense that if this technique gets out then it will become useless. However, considering how few people know about doing this combined with the amount of time, effort, and skill required to do it effectively, I don't think this is something that will be rendered useless anytime soon.

getjustin

After several rounds of emails with the Exec and his underlings, they gave me a full refund for the item.

anamika

I recently had problems with my cable company and I filed a complain at the city's cable franchising office. Not quite the same, but it was so effective that I am now paying less than I was when I first signed up under their new customer promotion.

So yes, exhaust the normal channels but don't give up. If you've given it a fair effort and you know you are in the right, escalate.

davere

mredraider

Homer

njtrout

Canadian Impostor

Greeper

Almost as important is keeping your letter short. You might even have to lose some of the tiny details and nuances of your claim in order to do so.

Finally, don't be an ass. They'll be more like to help you if they think you're nice. They'll want to screw you if they think you're a jerk.

geofffox

I went the Exec. Asst. route because I figured she'd be more likely to actually read and act on my letter. I also knew the switchboard would give me her contact info, which saved me some snooping time.

AuntNi

G

playdoh

xkaluv

ryanprice

Greeper

inthepit

Ben Popken

I sent it to Steve Jobs, Jeanne Tolouse and another person. It got resolved several days later although there was a bit of teeth pulling.

Hackoff

Increased use of Executive Carpet Bombs will degrade the effectiveness of the technique.

Kornkob

scoobydoo

ReverseCarpetbagging

This was after they got sick of the bad press in the local paper (some of which has been published here) and said "if there is anything we can do contact blahblahblah..."

Apparently, they just meant "we'll throw you this so you THINK you'll get something done, then we'll just excuse away our problems and do nothing. Just like we've been doing."

Buran