It's a valid point. I guess I've just always been the type to follow through with my threats. If I say I'm never going back there again, I won't. I'm very stubborn like that. Ever since I was 8 years-old and I closed my very first bank account. I wrote the bank a nasty letter saying it was because they let my parents steal all my allowance money back. And these days, if I ever decide to leave my credit union, it will decidedly NOT be for BoA because of all the terrible things I've heard from their customers.
The cable company was a little harder to shake. I gave them chance after chance after chance. Finally, when I'd had enough, I wrote in the memo line on my final check to them that I would never use their service again and I would tell all my friends to do the same. (Don't use Charter) I rent apartments and people ask me which direction they should go for their internet and tv needs, I direct them to "the other guy."
Once I saw a guy complain about Dell customer support, not on an open forum, but on his personal blog. Dell has representatives monitor that kind of thing. Before you knew it, someone with a Dell username left a comment with some helpful suggestions and a number to call for personal assistance. This kind of thing DOES matter to some big companies.
So, I guess what I should say is, "Put your money where your mouth is." Say what you mean and mean what you say. It may not be the easy thing to do, but you'll feel a lot better when you don't have to waste your energy on complaints and ill will.
The longest contract I've ever heard of is two years. That's a long time, but it still has an end point. Around 1.5 years in to a service I hated, I'd be doing my research, trying to find the most suitable replacement. I'd probably do that research online.
Utilities, fine. I'll concede. You get what you get with those. (But even they have someone to answer to.) So if we can say the power/heating company, and in some areas the cable company, you have just about everything left where you are free to make your own choices. I talked about a gas station and a sub shop in this post. I'm certainly not tied down to either one of THEM. I'll bet everyone can think of a few places they could easily stop giving their hard-earned money to.
The cable company was a little harder to shake. I gave them chance after chance after chance. Finally, when I'd had enough, I wrote in the memo line on my final check to them that I would never use their service again and I would tell all my friends to do the same. (Don't use Charter) I rent apartments and people ask me which direction they should go for their internet and tv needs, I direct them to "the other guy."
Once I saw a guy complain about Dell customer support, not on an open forum, but on his personal blog. Dell has representatives monitor that kind of thing. Before you knew it, someone with a Dell username left a comment with some helpful suggestions and a number to call for personal assistance. This kind of thing DOES matter to some big companies.
So, I guess what I should say is, "Put your money where your mouth is." Say what you mean and mean what you say. It may not be the easy thing to do, but you'll feel a lot better when you don't have to waste your energy on complaints and ill will.
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Utilities, fine. I'll concede. You get what you get with those. (But even they have someone to answer to.) So if we can say the power/heating company, and in some areas the cable company, you have just about everything left where you are free to make your own choices. I talked about a gas station and a sub shop in this post. I'm certainly not tied down to either one of THEM. I'll bet everyone can think of a few places they could easily stop giving their hard-earned money to.
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