Crest White Strips–guaranteed to brighten your teeth

Do you sometimes find it difficult to deal with large companies?

You get stuck on the phone waiting to talk to an agent and when you finally make contact with a real person, he’s unwilling or unable to help.

Actually, there’s a solution.

Here’s how I helped two companies do the right thing and allowed them to keep my goodwill.

A few months ago I bought a box of  Crest White strips. They were expensive. ($40.00 +tax), but I felt they would be worth the price if they worked as promised.

Unfortunately, I got some defective strips.  But I wasn’t overly concerned because there was a written guarantee on the box and on all the supporting material.

I called the toll free number, followed the instructions, and waited for a the replacements that never came.

I again called the toll free number, but everything’s voice recorded–so I wasn’t able to talk to a live person.

Finally, I went to the Crest Facebook page and wrote a summary of what had happened.  I quickly got a response on Facebook and Crest forwarded a money VISA card to cover my purchase.  They also replaced the White Strips.

At the same time I was negotiating with Crest, Verizon was giving me ulcers.

Verizon’s cell phone signal is strong in most places, but weak in my neighborhood and totally undependable in my house.  It’s maddening to have poor phone service at home.

I complained to Verizon and after a long winded debate, they graciously agreed to allow me to opt out of their two year contract with no penalty.

I didn’t change carriers initially, but finally lost patience and moved to another service a few months later.

I was shocked when Verizon sent me a notice that I had been hit with a $120 penalty for breaking my contract.

When I called, Verizon confirmed they had given me permission to break the contract, but said I only had three months to do so.  Of course, no one told me at the time that there was a time limit.

After multiple phone calls, they agreed to cut the penalty in half, but not give me full credit.

So I went to their Facebook page and posted my complaint.  They immediately sent a message asking for my phone number.

The social media representative  called right away.  He listened to my story and waived the entire penalty.

There was a time when consumers like us were powerless.  Now because of social media, the playing field has been leveled.

It’s good for us but it’s also good for the companies.  They get good honest feedback in real time.  They  maintain our goodwill—while letting the world know what good folks they are.

David Sher is a co-founder of Buzz12 Marketing. You can read more of his posts by looking for the “David Sher Posts” category in the sidebar of Buzz12’s website.

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