Like a crime scene investigator catching a serial killer, you keep meticulous records of every call you make to customer service. And then you lose the slips of paper (maybe you even scribbled on the backs of receipts, hm?). Instead of tossing your gumshoes, screw on your green plastic visor and bust out the Excel.

Here
s a downloadable Excel file to get you started, courtesy of the ‘I Will Teach You to Be Rich’ blog. They earned an appreciation for customer service record keeping. He used year-old notes to get Sprint to drop the $160 fee it tried to charge, after saying it wouldn
t, when he switched to Cingular.

As you can see because you
re opening the file right now, in one column you put the company, in another the date, then the time, then the name of the rep you spoke with and finally a list of the plot points of your conversation. Not only is everything tidily gathered, you can also sort by the columns, like if you
d like to bring up the call history for one company.

They’ve got the same thing on the other side so you are well-advised to be as equipped. They will strike again.

Use this whenever you Call Customer Service [I Will Teach You to Be Rich]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.