Rarely am I the squeaky wheel. I let things go. I don’t complain too much. The only exception to this is when it comes to consumer injustices. I will write letters of complaint. I will speak to managers. I will make you feel bad for ever crossing my path.
I don’t raise a fuss randomly. I’m actually quite logical with whatever my complaint it. I’m not one of those kooks who complains just because they want their way or they are scamming a business. I’m legit. Really.
About a year ago, I had an issue with my camera. I thought I figured out how to fix the camera on my own, only to find that the fix was just a band-aid. I contacted the Canon people to see if they could fix it. It turned out that they could… for a fee. Or I could opt to buy a different model that had been refurbished. Nothing else was offered to me and I was not willing to do either option, so I just dropped the idea.
Flash forward to earlier this month. I happened to visit the Canon website where another customer happened to post that she had the same issue I had and Canon offered her free shipping and offered to fix the camera for free. Wha?
Do you hear that in the distance? It’s a squeaky wheel.
Yes, I raised fuss. I contacted them. I presented them with the evidence. I questioned them about fair treatment. The result? This squeaky wheel got the grease. I was offered free shipping and they fixed the camera for free. Why does the world work this way? ack. Why do we have to complain to be treated fairly?
October 29, 2009 at 9:12 am
I’m right there with you… after working retail through college, I realized that if you holler loud enough and generate a tremendous scene, you’re far more likely to get whatever you want.
Now, you were totally in the right with your camera — so glad they took care of it (as well they should have)! But many of these whiny jerks who came into the bookstore where I worked were just looking for another way to cheat the system… and they usually succeeded. Ah, corporate-owned craziness!