A good result - What did you get when you didn't complain.
Discussion
Following on from the 'Complaint' thread, I have had several good experiences/results by not complaining.
A few years ago I had to fly from Sacramento to San Francisco to catch a flight with Air France back to Paris.
When I arrived San Fran., I found that I was too late to check in for the Paris flight and told to come back the next day.
The next day I arrived at the Check in Desk and was greeted with a lots of apologies about the previous day.
I assured the AF lady that it wasn't an AF failure but the German travel agent that had booked an incorrect flight from Sacramento.
The lady had to sort out several European flights which I was arriving a day late for and continued to apologise.
So after check in I went off to the Business Lounge to relax.
A few minutes later the Lady at the Lounge desk came over and, with apologies, informed me that AF were upgrading me to First Class as way of apology.
A few years ago I had to fly from Sacramento to San Francisco to catch a flight with Air France back to Paris.
When I arrived San Fran., I found that I was too late to check in for the Paris flight and told to come back the next day.
The next day I arrived at the Check in Desk and was greeted with a lots of apologies about the previous day.
I assured the AF lady that it wasn't an AF failure but the German travel agent that had booked an incorrect flight from Sacramento.
The lady had to sort out several European flights which I was arriving a day late for and continued to apologise.
So after check in I went off to the Business Lounge to relax.
A few minutes later the Lady at the Lounge desk came over and, with apologies, informed me that AF were upgrading me to First Class as way of apology.
I once booked a junior suite in a hotel at coastal resort in the Netherlands. A few days beforehand I had a call from the hotel apologising because an international conference had booked the whole place and my booking had been overlooked.
They offered to book me into a suite in a nearby hotel for one night and gave me the option of staying there for all four nights or moving back to them. When I said I'd like to move back to them I found they'd upgraded me to their best suite with all drinks during our stay on the house - which was nice.
They offered to book me into a suite in a nearby hotel for one night and gave me the option of staying there for all four nights or moving back to them. When I said I'd like to move back to them I found they'd upgraded me to their best suite with all drinks during our stay on the house - which was nice.
I had a bit of a discussion with Vodaphone when I moved.
The new place was indicated as having a usable mobile phone signal but
it hasn't and never has in my experience.
So, not being able to receive texts, calls or anything but email from the router, I
called them and asked what they could do about it. After many interchanges
and lots of tests, it was decided I needed a Sure Signal, which they'd sell me for £69 + p&p.
By then, I'd made the point that they were selling me a service that was worthless 'cos it didn't
work and could never work as it was. This brought the promise of an S/S FOC but one never showed.
After more interchanges, asking me to prove who'd made the offer, when and by what means (by phone actually)
I finally ordered a S/S and it went on my bill.
Once it was up and running (works perfectly know) I remade my point about thjeir selling a nonexistent product.
It took about 6 weeks to resolve but the result as a full refund. Result!
The new place was indicated as having a usable mobile phone signal but
it hasn't and never has in my experience.
So, not being able to receive texts, calls or anything but email from the router, I
called them and asked what they could do about it. After many interchanges
and lots of tests, it was decided I needed a Sure Signal, which they'd sell me for £69 + p&p.
By then, I'd made the point that they were selling me a service that was worthless 'cos it didn't
work and could never work as it was. This brought the promise of an S/S FOC but one never showed.
After more interchanges, asking me to prove who'd made the offer, when and by what means (by phone actually)
I finally ordered a S/S and it went on my bill.
Once it was up and running (works perfectly know) I remade my point about thjeir selling a nonexistent product.
It took about 6 weeks to resolve but the result as a full refund. Result!
I bought a used BMW a good few years ago and a day or two into ownership found a few things wrong with it. I booked it in for the necessary work to be done and was handed the keys to a (then) brand new Z3, despite not booking a courtesy car, and told it would be a few days till the work was finished so to enjoy the Z3 and don't worry about replenishing any used petrol.
My BMW came back all sorted three days later and I wrote a letter of thanks to the garage to say I appreciated the use of the Z3 and the flaws being sorted at short notice.
The MD replied and said you're very welcome, have a free service on us for your understanding. I kept the letter and produced it when the car went in for its major service. Not only that, but a few things came up during the service and it was all taken care of free of charge. Hundreds of pounds saved just by being nice instead of complaining.
My BMW came back all sorted three days later and I wrote a letter of thanks to the garage to say I appreciated the use of the Z3 and the flaws being sorted at short notice.
The MD replied and said you're very welcome, have a free service on us for your understanding. I kept the letter and produced it when the car went in for its major service. Not only that, but a few things came up during the service and it was all taken care of free of charge. Hundreds of pounds saved just by being nice instead of complaining.
I got upgraded from Business to First on Emirates DXB-LHR flight a few years back when I was repatriating back from Africa. The seat I had originally selected in BC was broken and the rest of the cabin was full; got upped to seat 1K for nothing along with all the trimmings. I'll probably never have a shower again whilst 45,000 feet in the air but I'm glad I got the chance.
B*gger that, complaining is the way to go I think. My brother always complains (very politely) the moment something isnt quite to plan or as they would expect.
They have had free flights, free meals free holidays, free drinks etc . Typucal example, they went for a meal with friends. Friend snagged trousers on nail protruding from chair= free bottle of wine and free desserts.
I swear they are professional complainers. Me, I tend to excuse other peoples f*ck ups. Although they do pay more per head for holidays than pay for my whole family, so I guess our expectations are different
They have had free flights, free meals free holidays, free drinks etc . Typucal example, they went for a meal with friends. Friend snagged trousers on nail protruding from chair= free bottle of wine and free desserts.
I swear they are professional complainers. Me, I tend to excuse other peoples f*ck ups. Although they do pay more per head for holidays than pay for my whole family, so I guess our expectations are different
covmutley said:
B*gger that, complaining is the way to go I think. My brother always complains (very politely) the moment something isnt quite to plan or as they would expect.
They have had free flights, free meals free holidays, free drinks etc . Typucal example, they went for a meal with friends. Friend snagged trousers on nail protruding from chair= free bottle of wine and free desserts.
I swear they are professional complainers. Me, I tend to excuse other peoples f*ck ups. Although they do pay more per head for holidays than pay for my whole family, so I guess our expectations are different
Doesn’t always work, a friend of mine from back in the day, Danny Murphy, was always “at it”, trying to get something for nothing.They have had free flights, free meals free holidays, free drinks etc . Typucal example, they went for a meal with friends. Friend snagged trousers on nail protruding from chair= free bottle of wine and free desserts.
I swear they are professional complainers. Me, I tend to excuse other peoples f*ck ups. Although they do pay more per head for holidays than pay for my whole family, so I guess our expectations are different
One night in the very late fifties, we’d been kicking the gong around in Soho, a beer here, a beer there, in dimly lit cellar “clubs”, dancing and listening to music, and eventually wound up in some greasy spoon, like a Wimpy, or a Golden Egg, at the Marble Arch end of Oxford Street.
We’d all ordered and were enjoying what we liked from the menu, when Danny took a rusty nail from his pocket, and inserted it under the yolk of his egg.
He summoned the waiter, indicated the nail, and said, “See this? We ain’t paying for anything here, I could have choked on that.”
The waiter summoned the manager, who said, “Hello Dan, how you getting on?”
Danny said, “Do I know you?”
The manager said, “You should, you tried to pull the same stroke about a year ago, now cough up, or I’ll call old Bill.”
Defeated, we pooled our resources, paid up, and slunk off into the night.
covmutley said:
B*gger that, complaining is the way to go I think. My brother always complains (very politely) the moment something isnt quite to plan or as they would expect.
They have had free flights, free meals free holidays, free drinks etc . Typical example, they went for a meal with friends. Friend snagged trousers on nail protruding from chair= free bottle of wine and free desserts.
I swear they are professional complainers. Me, I tend to excuse other peoples f*ck ups. Although they do pay more per head for holidays than pay for my whole family, so I guess our expectations are different
My brother in law is the same. I'm sure he has an actual problem as he seems to get a kick out of it. They have had free flights, free meals free holidays, free drinks etc . Typical example, they went for a meal with friends. Friend snagged trousers on nail protruding from chair= free bottle of wine and free desserts.
I swear they are professional complainers. Me, I tend to excuse other peoples f*ck ups. Although they do pay more per head for holidays than pay for my whole family, so I guess our expectations are different
We were at a pizza place years ago and he had eaten everything but a tiny bit of salad which was still on his plate. The young lad came over and picked his plate up so my BIL said he hadn't finished it yet and chuckled. He always does this passive aggressive chuckle after this type of thing.
Another time we were (coincidentally) eating pizza and it was the only time I wanted a hair to be on my pizza rather than his pizza. What frustrates me is instead of being pleasant about it to the manager he goes full on difficult customer and asked if his staff had gone through any food hygiene training.
Cheeky b
d once asked me if I'd be cooking his veggie food on a different grill on my BBQ as we'd been cooking meat. I had a second, smaller grill to on top but he then said the meat juices may still go on his food. I'm pretty sure he doesn't check with the waiter every time he eats out that he doesn't check this. Frank7 said:
covmutley said:
B*gger that, complaining is the way to go I think. My brother always complains (very politely) the moment something isnt quite to plan or as they would expect.
They have had free flights, free meals free holidays, free drinks etc . Typucal example, they went for a meal with friends. Friend snagged trousers on nail protruding from chair= free bottle of wine and free desserts.
I swear they are professional complainers. Me, I tend to excuse other peoples f*ck ups. Although they do pay more per head for holidays than pay for my whole family, so I guess our expectations are different
Doesn’t always work, a friend of mine from back in the day, Danny Murphy, was always “at it”, trying to get something for nothing.They have had free flights, free meals free holidays, free drinks etc . Typucal example, they went for a meal with friends. Friend snagged trousers on nail protruding from chair= free bottle of wine and free desserts.
I swear they are professional complainers. Me, I tend to excuse other peoples f*ck ups. Although they do pay more per head for holidays than pay for my whole family, so I guess our expectations are different
One night in the very late fifties, we’d been kicking the gong around in Soho, a beer here, a beer there, in dimly lit cellar “clubs”, dancing and listening to music, and eventually wound up in some greasy spoon, like a Wimpy, or a Golden Egg, at the Marble Arch end of Oxford Street.
We’d all ordered and were enjoying what we liked from the menu, when Danny took a rusty nail from his pocket, and inserted it under the yolk of his egg.
He summoned the waiter, indicated the nail, and said, “See this? We ain’t paying for anything here, I could have choked on that.”
The waiter summoned the manager, who said, “Hello Dan, how you getting on?”
Danny said, “Do I know you?”
The manager said, “You should, you tried to pull the same stroke about a year ago, now cough up, or I’ll call old Bill.”
Defeated, we pooled our resources, paid up, and slunk off into the night.
heisthegaffer said:
We were at a pizza place years ago and he had eaten everything but a tiny bit of salad which was still on his plate. The young lad came over and picked his plate up so my BIL said he hadn't finished it yet and chuckled. He always does this passive aggressive chuckle after this type of thing.
Were his knife and fork together on the plate in the officially approved "I have finished" position?Or were they still akinbo in the officially approved "I am still eating" position?
We booked an overnight stay in an hotel near an airport, to catch a flight the next day.
Checked in, early evening then went to the bar/restaurant for a meal, we ordered a meal and a couple of drinks.
The drinks arrived at the table and we were chatting away.
The food seemed to be taking a while but we weren't bothered, it wasn't as if we had anywhere else to go.
A waiter arrived apologising profusely about the non arrival of the food, and offered us a free found of drinks, ten minutes later the food arrived.
After eating I had to go back to our room to check on something, on the way there I found a credit card, on the floor, which I handed in at reception.
When I got back to the bar, I mentioned to the bar staff that I'd found the credit card and handed it in, in case anyone came looking for it.
Turned out it was the waiter's credit card.
The waiter turned up with more free drinks and told us the rest of the evening was on him and our meals had been paid for!
Checked in, early evening then went to the bar/restaurant for a meal, we ordered a meal and a couple of drinks.
The drinks arrived at the table and we were chatting away.
The food seemed to be taking a while but we weren't bothered, it wasn't as if we had anywhere else to go.
A waiter arrived apologising profusely about the non arrival of the food, and offered us a free found of drinks, ten minutes later the food arrived.
After eating I had to go back to our room to check on something, on the way there I found a credit card, on the floor, which I handed in at reception.
When I got back to the bar, I mentioned to the bar staff that I'd found the credit card and handed it in, in case anyone came looking for it.
Turned out it was the waiter's credit card.
The waiter turned up with more free drinks and told us the rest of the evening was on him and our meals had been paid for!
I remember i took my first girlfriend away for her 21st to a nice little spa place in Cheshire.
One of them places you book a couple of treatments with a nights stay/ dinner etc.
when we checked in they told us that one of the ladies had called in sick so one of our treatments had to be moved to the next day, i just thought no problem it is what it is i suppose.
Anyway they upgraded us free of charge to have a private spa suite which had steam room, jacuzzi, sauna the lot, and free wine and champagne !
Mrs wasn't there when they told me they was upgrading for free so i just said i had paid for it
One of them places you book a couple of treatments with a nights stay/ dinner etc.
when we checked in they told us that one of the ladies had called in sick so one of our treatments had to be moved to the next day, i just thought no problem it is what it is i suppose.
Anyway they upgraded us free of charge to have a private spa suite which had steam room, jacuzzi, sauna the lot, and free wine and champagne !
Mrs wasn't there when they told me they was upgrading for free so i just said i had paid for it
Arrived at our beach hut in Maldives for honeymoon. After 2 days we were called to reception who told us they were full and they needed our beach hut... Would we like a free night trip out on the yacht? Oh, and an upgrade to a deluxe water bungalow for the other 11 nights.
7 staff looking after 3 couples on the yacht - night snorkling, manta ray watching, deep sea fishing, and then the upgrade
7 staff looking after 3 couples on the yacht - night snorkling, manta ray watching, deep sea fishing, and then the upgrade
On a flight from Singapore to Brunei, in business for some reason. The young stewardess starts going round the 30 or so business people and hands out these little gift boxes to everyone, gets to me last and was 1 short. She was genuinely upset/distraught, these were little Swarkovski (sp?) crystal animals being handed out as gifts and she had mis-counted.
I wasn't fussed, I smiled and told her not to worry and after apologising profusely for 2 minutes she carried on.
The good result was as I was leaving the plane... she was stood at the exit door with a bag containing two nice bottles of champagne as an apology for the missing crystal and a thank you for not making a fuss.
Result in my book!
I wasn't fussed, I smiled and told her not to worry and after apologising profusely for 2 minutes she carried on.
The good result was as I was leaving the plane... she was stood at the exit door with a bag containing two nice bottles of champagne as an apology for the missing crystal and a thank you for not making a fuss.
Result in my book!
In 2001 I decided to go in for my second Caterham, and by this time I knew a little bit about the cars, and following on from my 'entry level' Beaulieu first model, I specified a Supersport kit, that came with a De Dion rear axle, 6 speed box, Brooklands screens (as well as a standard windscreen and weather gear), Momo removable wheel, and BRG/yellow band livery. Being a polisher rather than a racer, I opted for the 1400 K Series engine, which would both keep the cost down a bit and make it less likely that I would make a fool of myself in it one day.
I waited the customary three months, and still no news of my order. I recall there were delivery problems with K Series engines at the time - possibly something to do with China, but I can't remember the details.
One day I got a phone call from the salesman at Caterham, and he gave me the disappointing news that there were simply no 1400 engines to be had anywhere, and they couldn't put a date on my order, but they were prepared to supply a 1600 Supersport instead - at no extra charge!
Of course, I asked the salesman if he could give me a day or two to think about it. He seemed a bit surprised about this! So I said, only kidding, when can you deliver?
Anyway, shortly after, this was pulling up at my door -
And when I peeped in the back -
My garage was busy for a few weeks -
But eventually, this was sitting on the drive -
I waited the customary three months, and still no news of my order. I recall there were delivery problems with K Series engines at the time - possibly something to do with China, but I can't remember the details.
One day I got a phone call from the salesman at Caterham, and he gave me the disappointing news that there were simply no 1400 engines to be had anywhere, and they couldn't put a date on my order, but they were prepared to supply a 1600 Supersport instead - at no extra charge!
Of course, I asked the salesman if he could give me a day or two to think about it. He seemed a bit surprised about this! So I said, only kidding, when can you deliver?
Anyway, shortly after, this was pulling up at my door -
And when I peeped in the back -
My garage was busy for a few weeks -
But eventually, this was sitting on the drive -
My brother used to work for BA so we got cheap flights. Problem was you were the last to get on the plane, only after all passengers had boarded including last minute standby and they were about to close the doors. This often meant your hold luggage didn't get on the flight with you. So you were prepared and had 24-48 hours of kit in your carry on.
One time we flew into Newark. Our luggage wasn't on the carousel. We wandered off to the usual desk. Unusually we weren't the only ones, there was a queue of indignant people and the girl behind the desk was taking quite a bit of flack. When it got to our turn she was all apologies and we said it's not your fault, you weren't loading the stuff in Heathrow. We're prepared for this anyway. The formalities were completed and we said have a good night and headed off. Duly our bags arrived the next day.
A week later we are leaving and at the staff check desk it just happens to be the same girl from lost luggage. She remembered us and we told her our luggage got to us no problems.
Those Club Class seats on the return were very comfy and the plane didn't seem full enough for us to get upgraded by necessity.
One time we flew into Newark. Our luggage wasn't on the carousel. We wandered off to the usual desk. Unusually we weren't the only ones, there was a queue of indignant people and the girl behind the desk was taking quite a bit of flack. When it got to our turn she was all apologies and we said it's not your fault, you weren't loading the stuff in Heathrow. We're prepared for this anyway. The formalities were completed and we said have a good night and headed off. Duly our bags arrived the next day.
A week later we are leaving and at the staff check desk it just happens to be the same girl from lost luggage. She remembered us and we told her our luggage got to us no problems.
Those Club Class seats on the return were very comfy and the plane didn't seem full enough for us to get upgraded by necessity.
So being furloughed and Mrs T6 working I've had some time on my hands,
Fences repaired & painted, The garden looking like Kew,
Garage cleaned and organised,
Upstairs freshened up & painted,
House spick & span & dinner on the table daily,
The very few things she's asked/commented on done immediately,
Due to lockdown our finances are better than expected as the running events we booked up for have been cancelled/postponed and the hotels/rooms booked have been refunded
She said on Friday ….. "That watch you've been looking at ….. Why don't you treat yourself"
Fences repaired & painted, The garden looking like Kew,
Garage cleaned and organised,
Upstairs freshened up & painted,
House spick & span & dinner on the table daily,
The very few things she's asked/commented on done immediately,
Due to lockdown our finances are better than expected as the running events we booked up for have been cancelled/postponed and the hotels/rooms booked have been refunded
She said on Friday ….. "That watch you've been looking at ….. Why don't you treat yourself"
Flew in to Montreal a few years ago and headed for the Avis desk.
No pre-booked GPS in car and advised that they were waiting for units to come in.
I said, "No problem" and asked if I could wait.
A few minutes later a guy came in ranting that his pre-booked GPS wasn't in the car.
Avis guy explained and pointed at me in the same boat.
Guy carried on ranting.
Finally another Avis chap came in with a couple of GPS's.
He handed out the GPS's but also gave me a new set of keys Loudly stating, "We've upgraded your Car to an E-Class Mercedes as a thanks for your patience".
No pre-booked GPS in car and advised that they were waiting for units to come in.
I said, "No problem" and asked if I could wait.
A few minutes later a guy came in ranting that his pre-booked GPS wasn't in the car.
Avis guy explained and pointed at me in the same boat.
Guy carried on ranting.
Finally another Avis chap came in with a couple of GPS's.
He handed out the GPS's but also gave me a new set of keys Loudly stating, "We've upgraded your Car to an E-Class Mercedes as a thanks for your patience".
Years back I bought a TV from John Lewis and paid to have it delivered. When it arrived they delivered two! I called and told them I had an extra TV and they apologised, thanked me for my honesty and arranged for someone to come and collect the extra one. A few days later I got a thank you letter and a £50 gift voucher!
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