Throughout my life there have been MANY instances where I was overcharged, neglected, given the wrong merchandise, etc. When this happens to me you better believe that I don’t just sit back and absorb the mistake. Here is some information on what I do, and have done regarding these issues.
ALWAYS call and speak to a supervisor when there is a problem. Usually it is cleaned up within minutes of your call but sometimes you have to stand your ground. Take a deep breath and realize the person on the other end is probably not the one at fault. Sometimes I have found that they want to speak down to me and I will not allow this. At this point I will ask who their boss is and write a letter, that more than not gets a direct response, especially when you ask for it.
Just yesterday I was getting tile layed and the contractor told me that a delivered bag of grout by Home Depot was the wrong color. This Home Depot is 3 hours round trip from my house. I immediately jumped in my car and drove there. I spoke directly with the manager on duty and the best he could do was $60 back from my delivery fee. I needed a bunch of things at the Home Depot so the $60 was an added bonus and happily accepted.
Another example was years ago when I had Sprint Cell service and I had 8pm night and weekends. I would call my wife from the Florida Keys almost every night at 8:05 or so. They were charging a bunch of these calls as prior to 8pm and didn’t want to change them. I spoke directly to the highest person on the totem pole and let them know that I would sue them for these charges if needed. All of a sudden, I was not be wrongly charged and they refunded the overage charges. I bet that I have saved at least a few grand from cell phone companies over history.
Waste Management was our curbside garbage company when we moved up here and they canceled their service to our house. I called them and spoke to their supervisor about my disappointment with them for cutting the service that was 6 months old. They refunded my setup fee and all fees due to me. I saved $40 for my one call.
The list goes on with Dish Network, electric companies, propane companies, gas companies, student loan companies, banks, numerous times with cell phones, and more. If it is not my fault, it is not my problem…and I have let a lot of people know this.
I think that everyone should do the same and not let companies take advantage of them. I always make the call even if it is minimal, simply for ethical reasons. If they are doing this to me, they are doing this to thousands of others who aren’t saying anything.
