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There are so many times on a regular basis where I am disappointed with the customer or technical support provided by someone who has sold me something. It's almost as big of a source of frustration to me that these customer service failures happen than the original problem! So, here's a few suggestions on how these issue can be handled better and perhaps you can find a bit more service from those you buy from.
Patient persistence
When something goes wrong, don't start yelling and cussing. Its the quickest way to get zero support from those you are talking to. In fact, many companies will allow their reps to discontinue even talking to you if you are behaving in an abusive manner by cussing or yelling. So, keep your cool and you'll do much better. In fact, its nearly impossible to get better service if you aren't fully rationalal and calm.
Document everything
I'd love to tell you that we live in an honest world and your word was enough to get you what you deserve. But, thats not true. The fact is if you can't prove it then it never happened. So, whenever you talk to someone in a customer service position and you feel that things may not be going well just make a note of the rep's name and contact information. A lot of times they will not give you their last name but if you get a badge or extension number and a first name they can be tracked down later if things go wrong. A lot of times you will not be able to contact that person back but the mere fact that you have their information means they will take just a little more care in dealing with you and also that you can enough information to pursue a legal case if needed. Sometimes this is enough to get the person you are working with's attention and get that service you deserve.
Don't be afraid to be tough
Here's a woman who paid quite a bit of money for her laptop and received the worst possible customer service. Note, she documented everything, followed up on time and when she wasn't satisfied she took stronger actions to get her message to more people. Woman Sues Best Buy For $54M Over Lost Laptop. I know, you are thinking $54m is a crazy amount of money and she admits she has no hope of winning the money, rather she's trying to get her message out to force Best Buy to improve their policies.
I know another person who wasn't happy with the service he got after a big screen tv purchase and spent the rest of the day at the front door of the store telling people how upset he was and all the details about what went wrong. Wouldn't you believe that within a few hours the store's management invited him back in and fixed his problem the right way.
You've got to remember that any company is going to push the full legal envelope and stretch that to make sure that they are not doing anything that will cost them money, even if it means they are dishonest or misleading to their customers. So, you've got to push the full, legal envelope too. If you stay within the law and the company does not you've got a fighting chance of earning proper customer service.
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