Gripers Anonymous: It Pays to Complain
It was a day to forget. The parking brake pedal on my son’s pickup broke off and fell on the floor. The service manager at the dealership where the truck was purchased bluntly informed me it was not a covered item under the very expensive extended warranty, which we had purchased. A waitperson at a favorite restaurant gave very poor service and was rude to boot! Finally, the insurance carrier rejected a claim, an obvious error on their part. Enough was enough. I sat down and typed letters of complaint to the three companies.
The dealership called and told me to bring the truck in to be repaired. They even waived the $25.00 deductible! The restaurant sent an apology and a coupon for two free meals. The insurance company reexamined the claim and paid the provider. I was brimming with the feeling of success.
Later, when I thought about what was accomplished, I realized two important things had occurred.
First, I became a satisfied customer. But more importantly, I had given the management of those three organizations time to realize there was an unhappy customer and time to examine the situations. In each case, it worked out in my favor. There have been other times I have not been as fortunate.
At my bank there is a sign that lists a number of promises the bank makes to its customers. The last item states that the customer is not always right but does deserve to be heard.
Complaint letters come to hospitals and physicians daily: bad food, nurses with cold hands and errors in billing or claims processing. Some complaints are frivolous and reactionary. However, many are legitimate and deserve your close examination.
Either way, it is in your best interest to review each situation and give the customer, your patient the proper attention, which they deserve. You may not always give them the answer they are looking for, but you have shown care and concern for their situation. Hard feelings are softened.
You can be sure that if I had not received prompt and responsible responses from the people I wrote to, the situation would have intensified in my mind considerably. Think how your patients feel.
Problems addressed promptly and considerately can reduce the types of complaints that end up on the boss’s desk or get mentioned at the monthly board meeting.
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