I affectionately refer to my computer as “the cooker,” even though, like all my computers, I did give him a name.
“Wylder” always houses numerous columns under construction. Often, “we interrupt this program for an important announcement” such as another column because, sometimes, the signs line up, shove us in a certain direction, and we must follow.
Last week, my sign was literal – a roadside banner for a company I’ve done business with. We talked about it here back then. A business installed a sidewalk for me, broke the corner off my newly installed bluestone porch, patched it shabbily and ran, then, ignored my calls and cards for nearly a year.
This can be the modus operandi of any business, local or global, which has an obligation to a consumer that they would rather not own up to. It’s easier for them to ignore us than it is for us to remain pro-active. Filing a complaint with Small Claims Court didn’t occur to me (shame on me). I did, though, warn numerous clients.
This isn’t unique to any of us. Though most businesses are forthright and good in a crisis, some aren’t. Consumers can be ill-treated, if not cheated, then ignored by the people who have taken payment in exchange for services either incomplete, poorly rendered, not rendered as agreed to, or not rendered at all.
Sure, through a lifetime, everyone gets a bad haircut, or has a dry cleaner melt their buttons (In the old days buttons weren’t plastic). It happens; that’s life, but when any business – whether the guy on the corner or a large commercial industry – sells the promise and doesn’t deliver, what can we do?
Well, I’m no lawyer. These are just the fruits of only my own personal experience, but we do have options. Firstly, sometimes, big formats like the Better Business Bureau are too big as jump-off points. They work if needed, but smaller often works well, so it’s a better starting point before we go full tilt.
Most businesses, large and small, have their own simple format to remedy complaints. Depending on what our issue is and with whom, the best place to start is with the business, by phone, if we can. America still has “411.” Websites also have phone numbers listed, as well as online forms, which we can fill out. Then, if necessary, we can move to a letter by certified mail to a street address. We should make a sincere effort, but save all contact materials, just in case. If the business owner or website contact doesn’t respond, we should inform them before we proceed to something else.
America is a very litigious nation, so we’ve got lots of options. We should know that Small Claims Courts work wonders but, unfortunately, some states require local filing. That means filing where the business, with which we have our problem, is based. However, the rules do vary from state to state. So, our own state may offer options. Pennsylvania law actually offers filing where the business is based or filing in the location where the discrepancy occurred. For example, if our issue is with an airline, we can file a small claim out of the location of the airport from which we flew.
For genuine safety issues or larger issues that go neglected by businesses, we have the really big boys like the aforementioned BBB. Be certain to engage only those that apply; boards like the National Transportation Safety Board are formidable, but specific. Even most of these have online complaint forms; it’s the easiest first step. Still, from small businesses to Small Claims Court, up to federally regulated agencies, we do need to prove our claim. So, starting at the bottom and working our way to the big guys (which we always hope isn’t necessary) we must keep records.
Whether the proof is in our: local receipts; flight numbers; hotel receipts; and all attempts at contacting the party involved – emails, snail mail, dates and times of phone calls to what number; cost and records of the infraction including wherever we went, why, and what it cost – we’ll have to prove our claim.
Fighting businesses, especially the big guys, is tough. Most of them feel that if they continue to just ignore us we’ll go away and, sadly, in many cases they’re right, but we do have rights which are protected for us, so Google around, ask for help, and remain diligent if you have a legitimate issue.
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