When you've got a real beef with a company, does it help to write a letter to the CEO? The GripeLog has heard testimony on both sides of that question, but one reader recently made an interesting point. If you're going go to the trouble of writing a company's big cheese, make sure you send the letter certified and restricted.
"A number of years ago I had some problems with a very large bank," the reader wrote. "My wife worked with another bank, so I got her to get me the name of the President/CEO/Chairman of the Board for the bank I had the problem with. I wrote a letter explaining the problem. Then I took advantage of a readily available but little utilized service from the United States Postal Service. I sent the letter Certified Mail with Restricted Delivery.
"With Restricted Delivery the specified person or authorized agent must sign the receipt for the item," the reader explained. "The authorized agent must be authorized in writing. You can imagine what happens when the postman shows up at Microsoft or in my case the main office of a major band and refuses to release the letter to anyone other than the addressee -- Bill Gates or the bank president. Eventually the letter gets signed for and it will be read. The response I got was a letter detailing the steps taken to correct the problems and an apology. The letter also included the office number and cell phone number of the president's administrative assistant with instructions to call if there was any further difficulty.
"I have used the restricted delivery option on several more occasions and although one problem did not get resolved the way I wanted it to, it has always gotten the attention of the party to whom it was sent," the reader added. "It has also always gotten an immediate response from the receiving party. It is amazing what knowing that not only does the person who sent the letter have proof that it was delivered, but also has proof that to whom it was delivered. It is real hard to state later in court that you have no knowledge of the situation when the other party has your signature on a receipt for the information in question. I have found the restricted delivery option to be cheap insurance when dealing with large organizations because I end up having an even larger organization - the U.S. government backing me up."
What's been your experience? Does it do any good to complain to the CEO, or is there a better way to get a problem with a company you do business with resolved? Post your comments on my website or write me directly at Foster@gripe2ed.com.
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