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moneysense.ca, 26/02/07
Money Tip: Write a Complaint Letter
Every so often a business will fail to live up to your expectations for customer service. When that happens to you, you may want to write a complaint letter pointing out why you think you’ve been unfairly treated. A good business will take action to correct any problem and may even offer you a coupon or a voucher as a gesture of goodwill.
Last fall, Air Canada misplaced our checked-in baggage that contained some sentimental items on a flight from Toronto to Ottawa. The airline claimed that it was still searching for the baggage four days after the bags went missing and finally, I decided to drive to the airport and search for the baggage myself. Thankfully, the baggage was stuck at the Ottawa airport with all the tags intact, though Air Canada kept claiming that they are “actively searching” for the bags. I shot off a complaint letter (Air Canada actually asked me to call their local delivery company and ask them why my bags are still missing) and forgot all about it but a few months later, I received an apology letter in the mail and a $300 voucher for any flight on Air Canada, valid for one year.
Related: Don’t get mad, write a complaint letter
moneysense.ca, 26/02/07
So my question is…to whom at air canada did you write the letter? Did you address it to the president’s office, or the customer service department?
Please LMK, as I often think our letters sink into oblivion in a big corporation.
Thanks in advance.
Craig
I had a terrible experience using the Home Depot website in ordering a garden shed and some other supplies. The main reason I had used the HomeDepot.ca website was because they gave free delivery.
Anyway, after far too many phone calls with the customer reps. I wanted to send a letter to formally complain about the service. Talk about a crappy system. The only contact information they gave on their website was their phone number. No addresses could be found.
Eventually, I convinced a service manager to give me the address to head office in Toronto, but that required a few phone calls.
So, not only did Home Depot get a letter about the crappy service they also got an ear full on how hard it was to get their address !! Definitely fits into what seems to be a far too common issue with most companies.
Some one did call me back, but it took far too long for him to offer me compensation for all my trouble. He should have jsut apologized and made his compensation offer rather than spending far too long telling me why I should continue to use buy from Home Depot.
I still have to wait and see if they have credited my account.
Needless to say I would recommend that if anyone is considering using the Home Depot website to order things to be careful.
Articles and blog posts about writing complaint letters to resolve a situation where the company has wronged the customer are a dime a dozen…have you considered looking at it from the other side? The mantra may be “the customer is always right”, but in my (thankfully short) time at one of Canada’s largest banks, I can tell you that the customer is most certainly not always right, and is very often an idiot.
“What, you mean you’ve maxed out three credit cards and a line of credit, you’re behind three months on an auto loan, there’s a large fellow outside named Guido who would like to talk to your kneecaps, and you want us to extend you some overdraft protection on your chequing account ‘just to get you through’?”
“You mean you’re actually going to write a complaint letter because we wouldn’t give you more credit? Uh-oh, we’d better change course and give you all the credit you want…”
Don’t just dismiss this as “well clearly, your hypothetical person was just one of those extremely rare morons”. First, “extremely rare” and “morons” do not belong in the same sentence when you work as a telephone banking agent. Second, there are going to be many times when the customer is truly in the wrong, but because we as a society have a fetish about providing “good customer service”, these people never receive feedback.
Perhaps you could explore “10 steps to cooling off before you write a complaint letter that you probably shouldn’t have even started”.
(God, I’m glad I don’t work there anymore… compared to that, “publish or perish” is paradise.)
Winawer, you’d love this website:
http://bbcamerican.blogspot.com/
It’s the blog of a Wal-Mart customer service person, pointing out how at Wal-Mart, often the customer is wrong… and dumb… and crooked
That was fantastic, thanks.
Craig: Actually, I contacted them through their website. I forget whether it was the main site or baggage claims.
Yikees! It looks like someone spent way too much time on the phone lines.
When we talk reality, the rule “the customer is always right” isn’t in fact a rule…it’s a slogan. It ranks right up there with “Because you’re worth it”, “Have it your way”, “Just do it.”, or “Do the right thing, buy a chicken wing.” It’s meant to make the customer feel good about themselves and gets them to buy something.
CC, when you are truly slighted, like you were, then it is good to write a letter of complaint. Sure it may be tough to get in touch with someone but it always pays. If you were (in fact) wronged, you should always look for a formal redress process. If you don’t exercise that process, you are denying yourself compensation you may be entitled to.
For Stephen: Could I possibly get the address for the person at Home Depot Head Office you contacted. I too am having difficulty getting some satisfaction or answers. We have been getting a bathroom installed here in London for the last five weeks. Inferior contractor, yet Home Depot won’t address our concerns. This has gone on too long and still far from completion and costing $9500.00!
Thanks
Ed
For Stephen and Edward: Would also appreciate the address for the person at Home Depot Head Office. I am also caught up in a bathroom reno disaster here in London. Contractor’s manager skipped with the money – what should have been a 2 week job now in it’s fourth month, with no sign or plan of completion. Just one delay after another. Fiasco is so big that the London Home Depot store now has a “Special Cases Manager”. He must be busy as I haven’t heard from him in a month.
Thanks, Doug
For Doug and Ed: I’m planning on writing a letter of complaint to HD head office in Canada. Just did a search on Home Depot Canada Head office, and found the following address:
1 Concorde Gate, Suite 900
Toronto, M3C 4H9
(416) 609-0852
For Stephen: Could I possibly get the address for the person at Home Depot Head Office you contacted. I too am having difficulty getting some satisfaction or answers. I recently had wood floors installed which took approximately 7 weeks to get the materials and get the job done. Not to mention the contractors provided terrible service. In addition, Home Depot has me waiting for 3 weeks now to get compensation for all the trouble they caused. I live in Queens, New York and would never recommend Home Depot to anyone for any large scale projects.
Thanks
Mellissa
The following email is from reader ES:
Would like to get an E-Mail address of someone at Home Depot, British Columbia main office to complain about there service. I have been waiting for almost two weeks to get measured for my carpet, and keep getting the run around. Not even a phone call from them
Not sure if this is the way to go about asking this, but for what it’s worth…
Questions for Steven indicated above (2 Steven//Feb26, 2007 at 12:06 pm).
1. It’s been almost a year now… what was the outcome? Did the Depot use common sense or cents??
2. I’ve been dealing with the Depot’s Customer Service / Credit Services since July 2007 simply requesting proof of purchase(s) to NO AVAIL. Luckily for me, I’m a bit of a legal houndog by way of my office adminning & customer service background myself. I’ve record of every communication associated with this simple request. At this very moment (Thursday, 31 January 2008) I have yet to hear back from the mighty american giant box store here in Canada. Funny though, I have received all their promo stuff (even sent in my name and account number) tempting me to buy more.
My question here?? What is that head office address in Toronto, cuz I can’t find it or have them give it to me either!! Who knows, maybe were dealing with the same clerk/rep/manager/supervisor/associate/flavour of the day dude!
IN CLOSING…
Anyways Steve, if you can help me out in any way (or anyone else out there for that matter), I’d gratefully appreciate it. All I want are the copies of those little pieces of paper we all sign when using their almight credit card to pay for our purchases.
Also, before closing, just let me say that even though I don’t know the “actual figures”, we all know for every such “vocal” complaint, there’s a whole pile of silent ones. Smarten up depot dudes… you’re in Canada now (remember the Hudson Bay Co.)?
Use your heads… use some common sense. I don’t care who your ship captain is here in Canada… Go big or go home!
Think I’ll get a response from the Depot??? I’ve got nothing to lose. Think they do? Who knows.
Thanx.
It has been a year today since they started my bathroom. It was finally completed just before easter last year. I went right to the head office in Atlanta and they contacted the store. The story the store told and mine conflicted however I did persevere and got $1500.00 off the cost. It was a horrific experience and the craftsmanshop inferior. I kept at it until it was to some degree what I wanted. Never again. I also contacted Mike Holmes not that I think that made a great difference. All I got was an email response that is like a template of whatever Home Depot sends out to their “held hostage” clients. All in all just plain inefficent and only after I threatened that I wanted everything out that had been done and my money back did I get action. It was just by chance I had this web site on my “favourites” and sorry for a late response to those of you who inquired after my posting. Buyer beware!
Special Order Doors – East York. We had HD come in and measure our openings. Turns out that we needed custom order, more$$$. After waiting 6months, (one order screwed up) they finally came last week to install them. I would give the installers a 6/10. They left holes in the jams with no insulation, no flashing on the doors to prevent water getting in. AND they notched up all of our NEW based boards.
A whole lotta of paint and poly-filler to cover up the mess. Should have done this myself and save HUGE $$$. Now the letter to HD HQ to complain and get these guys back to finish the work. Beware buyers. If you can remotely do this yourself DO IT!
Well, Doug & Edward, as someone who works for THD (as a specialist, in our top installed services store in Canada) there’s not way the manager ‘skipped out’ with the money, or the store had no control over what was going on. In reality, we don’t pay the installer until you’re satisfied with the job. Possibly, the project co-ordinator was such an idiot that they confirmed, key’rec’d and sent off your job Purchase Order without actually confirming with you that, yes, things were satisfactory.
Otherwise, if anyone needs an install in the Toronto area, generally the folks at the company’s Leaside store (flooring or Kitchens, meaning David, Philipp and George for flooring, or Janet/Maria for kitchens/bath will go the distance… they’re actually people who know what they’re doing and talking about….)
I too made the mistake of ordering something from Home Depot online. The air conditioner arrived with the box opened from the bottom (an old retail trick where they open the box from the bottom, put the item on display and then repack it so that it still looks new)
The unit was damaged, had packing material missing and a vital piece of installation hardware.
It was obvious that whoever shipped this to me was fully aware of what they were doing.
Now I’ll just see if writing to them does any good.
Home Depot Head Office
Annette Verschuren – President
1-900 Concorde Gate
Suite 900
Toronto, Ontario
M3C 4H9
1-800-553-3199
I’ve been trying to get my mismatched, misinstalled, incorrect windows fixed or refunded since the day after they were installed over two years ago. Despite the fact that Home Depot has never disputed that they were wrong, even sending out representatives last summer (July, 2007) to, once again, establish the fact that they’re wrong. I’ve gotten nothing but the runaround, lies (claiming the windows are waiting to be installed; setting fake installation appointments) or non-responsiveness from the store, the contractor and now the “Customer Resolutions Specialist” at head office in Atlanta, Georgia. Despite her letter of apology, my many calls go unreturned.
Here’s her number, fellow Home Depot victims … tell her you got it from Lee-Ann in Ajax … let them know the word’s getting out!
Amy Robinson
Resolution Specialist in Customer Care – Canadian Division
1-800-654-0688 ext 82690
I too am a victim of Home Depot in the amount of $26,000.00 for kitchen and bathroom renos, and replacement flooring for dining room and living room. This started back in Sept 07, and the job has been one big mess up with measurement errors, installation of ceramic flooring with the wrong design, lying about sealing the grout, and botched workmanship. Never ever use Home Depot for anything! I am absolutely disgusted with this company. I am trying to find the correct address for the home office to write a compliant, and I am also writing to onyourside@thestar.ca
which printed an article of similar circumstances of other unsuspecting consumers.
I too like all of you got messed up big time by Home Depot. It’s getting cold here in Canada now and i still do not have carpet on my concrete floor with carpet nails all over and it has been over 2 months already.. just makes me wonder how they get away with it!!! Corporate rules??
I always found the customer services of Home Depot are poor that is quite a different from TV ad. You may get a frienly advice if you have a question as TV ad, but reality is totally different. I’ve a few bad experience from the store on Hwy7/Warden and Hwy7/Yonge about their poor customer service associates. They don’t accept customer response by email on Home Depot Canada website.
I went in to the new homedepot in Pickering i didn’t like the way the people set up for the grandopening. the signs looked crooked and very sloppy set up. i was very disapointed with the whole look of the store appearance i won’t be going back there again
My former boss and I actually published a book on how to write a good complaint letter. Feel free to check our site where you can download a free chapter.
http://complainforfunandprofit.com
Here are the top three mistakes that people make when writing a complaint letter.
Mistake #1: Angry letters don’t work. Nobody likes to deal with someone “screaming” at them… even in print.
Mistake #2: The writer doesn’t clearly state the problem, or how they want to be compensated for their troubles.
Mistake #3: The letter fails to make a “human connection;” the best complaint letters express disappointment… they’re personal.
How does someone who likes to write letters, including letters of complaint, get a job doing just that?
You did fairly well. You got your luggage and a potential $300 for having to put up with Air Canada’s incompetance. My girlfriend and I were not so lucky, and it becomes clear that their so-called “Customer Service” has no great interest in satisfying customers, but rather focus on the penny-wise pound foolish practise of denying liability for mortal fear of setting expensive precidents.
At the moment our trip losses due to Air Canada total $513., for which Air Canada sent a $200 voucher. Some of the highlights of this lost amount are $25 for food voucher reimbursement, which the AC desk in Halifax said would be reimbursed to us since the hotel they put us up at had no restaurant, but which AC customer relations refused to reimburse. Next would be $146 lost for the night we could not stay at the Mountain Vista in Big Bras D’or (due to the plane which eventually took us to Halifax arriving two hours late from Montreal, making it impossible to catch a flight to our final destination – Sydney, as we could not give 72 hours cancellation notice). This also resulted in $63. wasted for a lost rental car day, since AC finally got us in to Sydney a day late. AC was at their peak when we were told (several times as if to give it more credibility) – after we’d got up at 3:45am to make a 6:45 return flight, and had stood in the check in line for ten minutes – that the plane which was supposed to come in to take us to Toronto could not land in Sydney the previous night due to the local weather. This was a lie. On August 3, the Sydney skies were clear and calm. However, the weather situation in Toronto was a mess. So by claiming local weather in Sydney which was the problem, they attempted to vest themselves of liabilty for the delay – and scheduled a make-up flight for nine hours later. Nine hours to wait at the Sydney airport, tired, and with both of us having to be back at work the next day (which again, thanks to AC, did not happen)…great fun. We also got to waste two hours sitting on the plane after landing in Toronto (waiting to be cleared to approach the aiport and disembark) due to the AC backup in Toronto. This made it impossible to catch a flight home that day, resulted in wasting an expensive night in Toronto, economic highlight being the $180. room charge. Being American, we also discovered that the cell phone calls to contact our accomodations, rental car agency, etc. know how our plans were being screwed up carried a “roaming charge” of $71.
Documenting this and submitting the letter to AC “Customer Relations” resulted in a letter back saying how sorry they were that we were inconvenienced, but due to “clause 9 of the conditions of contract”, AC isn’t really responsible for anything, and as a result, won’t reimburse anything…but as a “gesture of goodwill” are putting forth $200 for future travel credits. $200. future travel credits for an airline whose incompetance and dishonesty cost us $513 on our last trip. Gee, putting that to use – and hoping AC doesn’t waste more of my time and money – is really tempting.
I WAS JUST INFORMED THAT WAL-MART WILL BE CHARGING FOR BAGS .IN THE NEAR FUTURE:
1/ I JUST STOPPED SHOPPING AT ANOTHER STORE JUST FOR THAT REASON.(THRIFTYS,200.00 + A WEEK)HERE ON THE ISLAND (CAN. SUPER STORE I NEVER SHOP THERE FOR THAT REASON)
2/ THE BAGS ARE MADE FROM RECYCLED MATERIAL(GOOD) I US THEM FOR …ALL… MY GARBAGE
3/ BECAUSE THERE RECYCLED ,THEY DECOMPOSE BETTER IN THE LANDFILLS.(GOOD ALSO)
4/LETS SEE,, YOU MAKE MONEY SELLING TOTE BAGS (WITH YOUR LOGO ON IT) FREE ADVERTISING, AND NOW YOUR GOING TO CHARGE FOR EVERY BAG WHEN SOMEONE HAS NO TOTE BAG. LETS SEE SAVINGS A FEW THOUSAND A MO. TIMES ALL THE STORES ACROSS CA.
5/ QUITE A BIG INCREASE IN SALE (INCREASE GOING TO GO UP UP UP.)
6/ NOW I’LL HAVE TO BY PLASTIC BAGS, THAT TAKE LONGER TO DECOMPOSE IN THE LANDFILL AND MORE MONEY FOR YOU. I THINK NOT ,I’LL JUST SHOP ELSE WHERE WHEN THAT HAPPENS.
THANK YOU AW JONES
I have a recent situation where I purchased a GE WASHING MACHINE DRYER COMBO, Model GBVH5300KOWW, which had been recalled due to faulty wiring, and was considered an extreme fire hazard. I also had some problems with the dryer, when run for a longer period of time(for a sleeping bag) would start to smell of rubber or something burning. After I went to the store, Port Coquitlam location in BC, and complained I was put off for a period of 3 months by excuses such as the vendor needed to be notified and authorized for delivery charges, etc. A refund was initially authorized but after so many months after I went into the store 5 times, a dept manager said to me ” you can get it rewired and the dryer is still under warranty ” and refused my return. I have since written the store manager and the above addresses and received no answer. I am extremely angry about this as I do not want to accept a refurbished appliance which is defective and a fire hazard. The company in Canada has made no effort to notify previous buyers about this item, which have sold thousands, which is negligent of them in my view. Home Depot Canada has certainly become a money hungry sleazy operation, and tried to bully me into accepting a substandard product. Don’t waste your money on this appliance and reconsider your choices, the customer service and followup after your purchase with Home Depot is nonexistent and frrustrating.