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Most people don’t know: I wrote my dissertation on complaint behavior. I asked the question, “When are people most likely to complain?”
And I complain. My friends joke that when I die and go to heaven, the first question I’ll ask will be, “Where’s the help desk?”
Knowing me, it’ll probably be more like, “Where’s the f—— help desk? I can’t find my new assignment.”
But I think it’s important for everyone to complain — most of the time. By complain, I mean we need to give constructive feedback. Here’s why:
1 – Some businesses and other institutions really want to get better.
They won’t improve if they don’t know what’s not working. And only you can help.
The hospitals I visit all have feedback forms. So when I write, “The tech stormed out of the room when I declined that procedure,” they know (or should know) they’ve got some training to do…specifically on patient rights.
Yet there’s no way they’d know if I hadn’t complained.
2 – You may not be the first…or the last.
People often say to me, “Well, I’d complain but I’m just one person. They’ll ignore me.”
How do you know? They might have two complaints already and now you’re the third.
I once complained that a person in a professional organization had been rude to me on the phone. They wrote back, “We suspected she was rude but we were waiting till someone complained.” Now they can do something.
3 – You’ve got perspective.
Recently I went to a medical waiting room where the ubiquitous television was placed front and center. I complained. They gave me another place to wait.
Even worse, the TV was set up so most people wouldn’t see the screen. They’d see the side of the television set or even the back.
The room was very attractive. I suspect they hadn’t bothered to do a sight test.
Yes, I complain a lot in medical settings. I get frustrated that most of the time, they’re not even trying…even with a huge endowment fund.
Nobody with power will experience slow service. I recently had a ridiculously long wait at the DMV in Philadelphia. You can bet I’m telling my state senators.
Some things just have to be reported…like potholes in the street. How else will the crew know?
So bottom line: I don’t believe in complaining about something realistic. I don’t believe in asking people to violate the law to serve you. Sometimes things just happen. If the weather’s really bad, the planes won’t fly. Period. But how they handle the mess is another story.
