Does anyone write letters these days?

[Bluemarlin]

Am I alone in my belief that a letter to a Chairman or CEO of an organisation illicits a response? With so many comments on forums and blogs, I think a letter has stand out and perhaps can enable a comment/complaint to be taken seriously. Can a well-written letter still make an impact?

[Ragwort]

Not sure - I used to work for a well known company and one of my responsiblities was to write the replies on behalf of the Chairman, Directors etc - they couldn't be bothered to do it themselves and very rarely even read the letter or the reply.

I have written a couple of letters recently following particularly bad service, not just moaning but trying to be constructive (after all many companies pay a lot of money for 'customer satisfaction surveys' etc) - both letters were ignored - although a few weeks after one of them was sent I was telephoned by the store manager but he was more interested in justifying what had happened rather than giving an apology.

I also make a point of writing if I have very good service as I think positive feedback is equally important (I clearly have too much time on my hands ).

[Bluemarlin]

Thank you. I thought this may be the case, but at least your letter must have been forwarded to said store manager-so someone noticed.
I agree that positive feedback is also important, but your comments do flag the utter contempt that bosses have for customers whilst courting profit and shareholders.

[Ragwort]

Totally agree with you Bluemarlin - so many companies pay 'lip service' to bleating on about how important customer service is but really don't care a fig about it. I read an interesting article today about how Waitrose and John Lewis partnership always comes top for customer satisfaction - they have a very simple formula - outstanding customer service (and no shareholders).

I see not many other mumsnetters are interested in this subject .