You hear a lot of companies advertise that if you are not satisfied, "We'll refund your money...". Well, recently I thought I would put that to the test. I had a very disappointing box of Multigrain Wheat Thins just before Christmas. They were very undercooked and not salted at all. Now, I know you are thinking that these are Wheat Thins for crying out loud, but I these are my favorite cracker and I want to make sure they haven't changed the formula or something. I called Nabisco and after a very brief conversation with a customer service representative, they were sending a coupon for a free large box of any crackers! Not bad for a 5 minute phone call. Moral of the story here is that, if you are not satisfied with a product, it is often worth the time to politely point this out to the manufacturer, vendor, etc. This will usually ensure that you are not out the money that you paid for it AND maybe you score some additional freebies as well? You never know until you try. Happy Complaining!
This is a great tip!! Most people dont take the time to inform product manufacturers and service providers when they are dissatisfied. Granted, many times the opportunity cost out weighs the benifit that will be recieved. Example: If you opened your brand new box of toothpicks, and realized that several were broken. Who would honestly complain about that? Rediculous.
ReplyDeleteBut coming from a marketing education background, and working in the marketing "world," I will say that companies WANT and LIKE to hear feedback from their customers. If something is wrong, they want to know about it. And even if something isn't wrong, they like to hear what customers think. And this leads me to MY helpful money saving tip.
This is particularly geared toward restaurants, but I'm sure there are other applications in which this clever tip might come in handy...
Very often, restaurants will place customer satisfaction surveys on thier tables. Usually they are small cards containing a few simple questions about your dining experience. You've seen them. Those seemingly annoying little pieces of paper poised between the salt and pepper shakers. Or sometimes, they come in the "black book" that contains the 5 other merchant slips that you're supposed to sign when paying the bill. Yes...those. You've likely glanced at them...but how often do you ever take the time to fill them out? My guess is never. But I am here to tell you that taking just a couple minutes (yes...they only take a minute or two) to fill out the survey card at your table can yeild grand rewards.
What's that? Oh...you want an example. Why certainly! I was at Wendy's a short time ago, and decided to fill out the survey card. Just for something to do. It took me about a minute. These survey cards most always have pre-paid postage, so I simply dropped the card in the mail box across the street, and went about the rest of my day. Then, about a week later, I recieved a letter from Wendy's in the mail. It thanked me for taking the time to provide feedback, and also included certificates for FREE sandwiches! I was so excited!
So then I started paying attention to the survey cards at other dining venues. (KFC, Burger King, Arbys, Applebees...just to name a few). They all have these cards. Some take on different forms. For instance, sometimes they are on your sales reciept. (e.g. "go to this website and tell us how we did"). But in many restaurants, these survey cards exist in some fashion. So the more surveys I filled out, the more Loot I got! Free meals, discuont coupons, and more!
So take the time to look for these surveys, and complete them! It's absolutely, 100% FREE to do! And Be honest about your experience! If it was good, tell them. If it was bad, Tell them! And most often, they will reward you for taking the time to let them know! Trust me. You wont be dissapointed!
Thanks, Jeremy! What a very well written, thoughtful comment! Keep coming back to the site.
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