Take Advantage Of Customer Service

Poor customer service is one of my biggest pet peeves, but I've found that a legitimate complaint made politely often gets results. Here are a few examples:

• Amazon.com upgraded my order to second-day UPS delivery when they repeatedly delayed shipment of an item.
• Dannon sent me coupons for free bottles of water when a six-pack that I had purchased included an empty bottle.
• SKS Bottle & Packaging included the wrong shrink wrap in my original order, so they sent the correct one without any additional charge.

Almost every company has an 800 number, or better yet, an email address, which makes contacting the company easy. Here's an article with tips on composing your complaint. I try very hard not to attack the company and instead to give them a chance to correct the problem.

Additionally, any time you call a customer service number, get the representative's name and write it down. Do this every time, whether you're calling your credit card company, your cell phone service provider, your health insurance carrier, etc. Also write down the date that you called and what you were told. This makes it easier to follow up should a problem arise in the future.