I have found that if I let the different companies know about the service received, I benefit one way or another, especially if they value their business. I have benefitted numerous times by informing them of some faux pas. The nicer you are the bigger the compensation/benefit.

I always call and talk to a manager or whoever is in charge if I have bad service or something is not right. I am always polite but want to talk about what happened, I believe communication is very important. Had just one bad encounter with fabric company who listed free pattern in magazine and then would not give it out. Finally called the magazine and then got the pattern, but one lady was nasty to me. My phone call got through to the Vice President of the company and he changed the way things were done, I did not talk to him, but the magazine people told him what I was experiencing. He had a meeting and made this woman contact me and she accused me of changing things. I told her to not list something as a 'free download now' if you do not mean it. I am glad I spoke up.

well sometimes it is too much trouble. I ordered 2 dresses for my nieces for a wedding and when I did not received the order after 2 weeks I called and they refunded the $ for that order and I ordered the same dresses again which arrived in 3 days. a week later I received the original order. I decided to return the dresses to the store (40 minutes drive) took me 45 minutes wait as they could not figure out why I was returning the dresses but did not need a refund. they were so confused that at one point I was tempted to take the dresses and leave! But honesty prevailed.

I have had 2 MINOR problems with pjs I ordered from pajamagram. As they were fairly expensive, I called to exchange them, but they let me keep the ones I got and sent me a new pair. I didn't even have to prove that there was something wrong - exceptional customer service. If someone doesn't know of a problem,they can't fix it, so give them a chance!

That's true. I have made complaints on occasion to a vendor or restaurant and try to be very civil when I do it. Most of the time I have gotten at least an apology and sometimes something extra - without always expecting something.

If you don't complain, they don't know they have a problem to correct! AND what type of pastry did you get? ;-)

It also sometimes pays to compliment a product as well. I have often called to tell a company how much I enjoy or like their product, only to have them send me coupons for my next purchase. And compliments are rarer than hens teeth, according to most I have spoken with. Companies do enjoy a "Way to go" pat on the back even more than a complaint. But those are necessary as well at times.

good for you