Experts Detail Ways To Effectively Complain To Companies

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - When Angela Thompson bought her husband a tool chest from Sears, she had no idea the ordeal that was about to begin.

Unfortunately for Angela, a charge for the tool chest was showing up twice on her credit card and she needed a refund.

It sounds easy to fix, but after four calls to customer service, she had gotten nowhere.

"I couldn't get any help that way and at that point, I was so frustrated," says Thompson.

So, she wrote an e-mail detailing her dilemma, and she sent it to Sears.

"I found a list of Sears' executives' names online and I e-mailed them all," she says.

She didn't stop there either.

Thompson e-mailed the Better Business Bureau and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office. She went on the Sears Facebook page and posted her problem.

Guess what? It worked and she got a call from someone at Sears.

"He was great, he apologized for the situation and said we are going to take care of it," she says.

Sure enough, Thompson had her refund a couple of days later.

"You have to be tenacious if you want results," says University of Pittsburgh marketing professor Cait Lamberton.

She says Thompson did everything right in her quest for a refund.

According to Lamberton, there is a skill to complaining and getting results.

First, don't be afraid to complain. Companies want to hear from you.

"They can gather all kinds of information just from the complaints that they get. It's market research without doing anything. So, for them, they'd rather hear than not hear," Lamberton said.

Also, be prepared, have paperwork, receipts, account numbers ready and available.

"Be specific. This is what I would like to do. Who's the person who can help me with that?" says Lamberton. "Provide them an opportunity to make it better."

Be loyal and let the company know if you're a repeat customer.

"If they know that you are a repeat customer, something goes wrong, they are going to take more action to fix it," says Lamberton.

Most of all, be nice when you complain.

"Think rationally about what is going on and remember that the person with whom you are interacting probably didn't create the problem for you personally," says Lamberton.

If you're not sure how to compose a complaint letter or e-mail, use this sample complaint letter from the FTC.

You can also visit these websites for help:

www.bbb.org
www.attorneygeneral.gov
www.ftc.gov

Thompson says she was always very nice, but firm about what she wanted.

She also refused to take no for an answer.

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter