How to get through to the right person
Joe Hanahoe got in touch to share some tips for getting a response from customer service lines. “Do anything to get around the standard customer service line. Get an e-mail address from any employee and use its structure and the MD’s name to get directly at him/her,” he suggests.
He bought McAfee anti-virus software that prompted a licence renewal after a month and then made similar requests all the time. “The UK support line just gave me automated responses and literally nothing else, except murderous intent.” When he started contacting people by playing around with e-mail addresses, “the whole of McAfee opened up and the most helpful customer service lady on the planet from the US of course got on the line and solved my problem.
“If this fails or you cannot be bothered, threaten to sue,” he continues. “Tell customer service that you are suing and need the exact name of the legal entity that you are dealing with. If they do not know, ask to talk to their legal department and/or request the address of their head office. Go to the Small Claims Court’s website, get the relevant documentation and forward to the head office.”
He experienced poor service with his broadband provider and when his complaints were stonewalled, he sent a one-page Small Claims Court form to their legal department after which the company agreed to “a full refund of all rentals and initial set up along with [I joke not] the €11 cost of the Small Claims Court form. I would have accepted a refund of the set-up fee and walked away.”
E-mail is definately the way to go. I found in the past that telephone calls get forgotten, letters and faxes get lost but an e-mail with receipt request gets results
Comment by Colm | February 27, 2008 at 6:49 amI’ve found that when email fails a printout of all correspondence bunged into an envelope seems to do the job.
A paper letter does seem to convey the fact that you are serious in that you’ve taken to time to write and post it rather than just lash off an email.
Comment by Des | February 27, 2008 at 8:35 pmTry sending email or calling when the MD’s secretary has gone home, but the MD is still in the office, e.g. 5.10 pm. The secretary will often filter stuff, so sometimes you need to bypass them.
Comment by Serial Complainer | February 28, 2008 at 11:19 am