Are you a complainer?

[marykissmouse]

I have been temping in the customer relations department of a food manufacturer and I am astonished at the things people complain about. I am not much of an 'official' complainer myself (too lazy!) but I am interested in hearing the best complaints you've made / heard someone make.

I rarely complain but I work in retail. I had a woman last week who came in with a product she bought from us a week previously. Her grandson had broken it and she wanted it replaced free of charge because she gave us her business originally. The manager did give her discount. I was The cheek astounds me.

Customer sat right under the air con unit in the height of summer - complaining she was cold and requested it was switched off. Was most indignant that she HAD to sit on that particular table and complained to HO that we wouldn’t cook the rest of the customers because she wouldn’t move tables.
Customer complaining that her sons birthday had been ruined because they booked last minute and there was a wait on food - by the time the complaint got to HO the son was autistic, had been looking forward to coming for weeks and me gently saying we cannot guarantee fast service for large parties who don’t book in advance meant I deserved the sack. She neglected to tell them that she called me a fucking cunt
One woman refused to buy the more expensive cut of steak and sent it back - was apoplectic that we wouldn’t just swap it and charge for the cheaper one.
One guy ‘found’ a hair in his food - we didn’t charge for the meal even though it was suspicious and his friend then insisted he shouldn’t pay either and they both became aggressive. After they’d left it turned out another customer saw them putting something in the food but was too scared to speak up.
Customer complained because she disagreed with the sugar tax and I wouldn’t charge her for a diet drink but actually give her full sugar version
Customer booked a very large party at the wrong restaurant online - apparently it was our fault that we couldn’t accommodate them and she would be having all of us sacked
Older couple weren’t happy with their food and tried to blame the chefs being foreign for the issue. When I didn’t laugh along with their blatant xenophobia I was miserable and unprofessional
Woman absolutely furious that we did the happy birthday song for a few kids and not hers - she didn’t tell us it was the kids birthday.
The amount of people who don’t read the t&cs about discount vouchers is shocking - one voucher per table has always been the rule. We physically cannot put more than one on the bill but they are always twattish when you won’t manually reduce their bills to peanuts because they thought they could use them all together.
A woman complained about me because her many feral children DESTROYED my section of the restaurant and apparently I was too involved in cleaning up after them when I should have been fussing over them.

If something is wrong, I'll complain, I'll be polite to the call handler or whoever is taking the complaint as its usually not their fault, but it's also not mine that the product is broken/wrong/crap and I don't get the point in just not going back to the shop, I'd rather give them a chance to rectify the problem then boycott it.
I also contact companies to pass on praise if someone has been particularly helpful, like a delivery driver or someone in their shop.

This ^ 100%.

Re. earlier comment about complaints and returns to M&S!
I used to work for a company in the late 80s/early 90s that supplied clothes to M&S. At the time (I don't know about now), M&S would accept any returns because they were automatically debited to the supplier. M&S didn't lose out at all. We used to get clothes coming back that had loose buttons!

I am an ex retail worker.
As a result I will complain if it's warranted, but nicely as pp above. I can remember feeling much more inclined to help customers with an issue if they started off by being polite! Having said that, if I'm treated in a rude manner I won't be so nice!
I've also had to deal with some mad complaints in my less than illustrious career.
Apparently it was all my fault that another shop had told someone they could get X item at our shop but we didn't actually sell it. They got quite cross and it was also my fault that they'd had to come "half way across town".
We you know, there are these things called telephones so you could ask and save yourself the trip you utter arsehole.

I have complained about badly cooked food in restaurants. It's never been a problem - either the item has been replaced or I've been offered an alternative and money off.

Working in hospitality is simply bloody awful.
A customer in a hotel I worked at complained that the LOFT suite ceilings were too low and was given a return visit for free. We went to the room after they'd checked out to find they'd used the flannels and hand towels as toilet paper. Dirty bastards 🤢

I recall a customer loudly complaining that we didnt sell chicken wire. It was a toy shop.

One of my family members always complains when we go out to eat.

What's frustrating is, sometimes she doesn't want anything done about the issue (well it can't be too big of an issue!). But feels the need to call the waitress over and tell her over and over of the mistake. The poor waitress keeps offering to replace whatever it is but the family member declines and just keeps going on and on embarrassing the poor waitress and bringing the mood down on the table.

An example would be in a Turkish restaurant she ordered a white wine spritzer, but they didn't put any soda in there when she received it. She called two people over to explain to them what a white wine spritzer was, they didn't speak English terribly well and she just made them feel embarrassed. They kept offering to put soda or lemonade in it and she declined. Afterwards she said the wine was nice enough that she didn't need the spritzer...

So why complain?!

I agree with what a pp said re: having a lot more sympathy and time for customers who are polite and pleasant, and wanting to do everything possible that you can for them. However I find it interesting that the organisation I'm at seems to want to appease the unreasonable ranting customers. I suppose they're the ones who will do reputational damage but it can be wearing and seems unfair.

I complained to a magazine, but I hope that it’s not as insane as it sounds.

A (now defunct) mag had one of those ‘free posh body lotion for every reader whilst stocks last, available from x date’ promotions on. I happened to be walking past the store in question (HoF) on my way to work just as it opened and thought, ‘I’ll drop in and pick up that free gift, why not’.

The woman on the HoF counter told me that there were none left. At opening time, on the first day that the promotion was running. Damn right I complained - nicely - to the mag (and was sent the stuff that HoF should have given me). I (and other people) had been swizzed, so a complaint was reasonable.

If I have to complain about something I will, but am very polite about it, and often do the ‘shit sandwich’ approach - positive, complaint, positive.
I have been known to publicly shame on Twitter but this was a ridiculous and hurtful GDPR breach by a company (ELC wishing my dead baby a happy 6th birthday) rather than bad cafe service etc.
My friend is a serial complainer. Seems every interaction has to involve a wrong footing by he provider and subsequent ranty email. She can’t help herself.

To add, my cousin is a holiday rep so has an entire repertoire of ridiculous complaints she’s received. Funnily enough most seem to have the goal of a freebie as compensation...

If it has made me loan to my DH or regret buying something, I complain. I used to be quite passive and got so fed up of feeling like I wasn't being listened to.

I took on an energy supplier this year after they sent an engineer out who wanted to speak to "the man of the house" about what was happening. I pay the bills (which were hugely incorrect because of this wazzock not fitting the meter correctly) and have the company hell.

*moan

youcanthaveitchyteeth I'm a restaurant manager and have encountered most of these too, got to love hospitality!

I once watched CCTV back of a man put a STONE in his salad before calling me over to complain about it. Some people will try anything to get out of paying.

The heating/air con complainers who don't understand that they don't represent the whole restaurant is a classic.

Christmas party season is the absolute fucking worst though.

I was in a hairdressers once and a lady came in with GHD hair straighteners. She wanted the hairdresser to replace it because her idiot daughter had put them on her bedroom carpet while they were switched on and left them and guess what - carpet and straighteners caught fire! I was open mouthed. The hairdresser was very nice about it and I think she did change them. I couldn't believe it!

I always email the ceo. I don’t moan to call centres.

Dh complains in restaurants, but when they’ve sent him an 8oz burger raw in the middle twice & ive eaten my steak while that’s been going on you should complain. He also likes hot food and will send back lukewarm food.

I work in a restaurant and just want to second what pp's have said about wanting to go out of my way to put right a genuine complaint that is made politely. When people are nice about it I want to do whatever I can to make sure they have a good experience.

But rude arseholes can piss off quite frankly, I'll do the bare minimum to help them. I couldn't care less if their meal is ruined.

Online somewhere there's a list of complaints made to travel agents. It must be a spoof as some of the complaints are too ridiculous to be true, but very amusing nonetheless. One complaint that stuck with me was the lack of proper biscuits like custard creams in the local shop in Spain or somewhere.

@Owletty I mentioned upthread about my cousin the holiday rep. The complaint list reads like a spoof but sadly many are true

This thread in Classics www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/1174221-Thickos-on-TripAdvisor has some spectacularly funny holiday complaints, Owletty!