5 ms·

> Southwest Airlines ticketing agents, cashiers at Nando’s Chicken, low-wage call center workers for Verizon overseas, become corporate sin eaters This is why

> Southwest Airlines ticketing agents, cashiers at Nando’s Chicken, low-wage call center workers for Verizon overseas, become corporate sin eaters This is why it is a good idea to be nice to the people you deal with on the front lines, and write a very politely worded letter to the head of the department at the company you are dealing with, and potentially letters to their boss, and their boss, etc. Mail it, if possible, as a follow-up to the email. I am sure people here need no instruction on how to find the appropriate person in the corporate structure to contact with their concern. These are the people who can get things done -- not just for you, but for everyone. Oh, don't forget that if you have a 401k you may legitimately be a stockholder in the company, so you can mention that if true.

markus_zhang 4y ago
How do I find the mailing addresses of the bosses? Actually how do I find the names of the bosses? Maybe from LinkedIn?
- teej 4y ago
  This is a real benefit of public corporations: anyone with significant ownership is public. The names of the owners and executives are trivial to find.
  - barbazoo 4y ago
    And at that level you get people who absolutely don't care if some Joe Shmoe was unhappy with their service or something.
    - falcolas 4y ago
      They also generally have another layer of protection from being contacted by plebs, err, customers.
- shagie 4y ago
  You don't need to. You address it to the corporate HQ and let the mail room deal with the proper routing within the organization. For example, Southwest. https://www.southwest.com/html/contact-us/index.html?clk=GFOOTER-CUSTOMER-CONTACT-US https://www.southwest.com/html/contact-us/index.html?clk=GFO... Write us Have extra stamps? Send us a letter. P.O. Box 36647-1CR Dallas, Texas 75235 And so: Manager - XYZ airport customer support c/o Southwest Airlines P.O. Box ...
barbazoo 4y ago
How would you go about finding out how to access the manager of some department within MegaCorp? All one can do these days is fill out some contact form and maybe someday getting an email from some noreply email address. I'm also chuckling at the thought of me mentioning that I'm a stock holder. This feels very detached from reality.
- phpisthebest 4y ago
  It has been known for awhile that most big companies have Executive Service teams that do respond to customer emails. the Website consumerist (are they even around anymore) used to publish these "ceo" email addresses. about 20 years when I worked as a 3rd party vendor in a Big Box retailer I had contact with many Regional Managers, they all had public ways to contact them, and those contacts where read, and if a customer complaint was it issue it would be sent to store manager given high priority Most people think like you do, "they are so big so they don't care" and depending on the reasonableness that may be true, I saw some really crazy things in my time (people always angling for free shit) but honest issues where dealt with.
- actually_a_dog 4y ago
  The simplest way to find out would be to ask the nice person in front of you who's trying to help you.
  - Macha 4y ago
    The base level staff often aren't allowed discretion to do more than "computer says no".
    - actually_a_dog 4y ago
      I said it was simple, not guaranteed to work. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't. But it's more inclined to work if you tell them that you appreciate their help and that they'd like to contact higher ups about the situation later.
- 4y ago
version_five 4y ago
Do you think the executives care about your letter? Stop going to the place that treats you badly, and if possible write an honest critical review of them. This is not perfect, but it has more hope of getting attention than a letter to an executive who almost certainly won't even see it. For better or worse, people vote with their wallets. There are lots of low cost versions of things I would never even consider (and any experience would have me running to write an unfavorable review) but there are lots of people who care most about cost. It's the reason why southwest exists in the first place.
- throwawaysleep 4y ago
  Anecdotal, but they have cared enough to get back to me and it mattered enough to employees I have written letters for to track me down.
- Eisenstein 4y ago
  I do think that some do. A well written, polite, short letter expressing a issue and how it is detrimental to an organization and how it impacts customers would be welcome by any competent executive or manager. If they don't want that knowledge, then I am sure that is common, but it is not ubiquitous.
  - wahnfrieden 4y ago
    Oh please
    - Eisenstein 4y ago
      Instead of dismissing things off-hand because they don't fit your assumptions, you may find it useful to spend a few minutes coming up with a thoughtful and critical response. Doing so might not only contribute meaningfully to discussion but it might let you work through how some of those assumptions may not hold up to real scrutiny.
      - wahnfrieden 4y ago
oefrha 4y ago
> I am sure people here need no instruction on how to find the appropriate person in the corporate structure to contact with their concern. Sounds like you live in a different world from most of us. In our world, complaining loudly on the Internet, whipping up an outrage is often the only way out; there are daily examples on this very forum.
akudha 4y ago
It depends on the importance of the business. Hospital mistreating the patients? Sure, escalate it. Try to get it fixed, as politely as possible. Local Dunkin behaving badly (my recent experience)? Just stop giving them my business. I can make my own coffee. I can also stop drinking coffee altogether. I don’t need them, and they demonstrated they don’t need me either. There is too much bad behavior around - it is not worth one’s time and energy trying to fix them all
JBlue42 4y ago
You're getting a few saucy replies but it does work and you don't even need a physical letter. Find the "Our Leaders", "Our Corporate Team" section of a companies website, drill-down to the best fit, send an email. Some executive assistant will pick it up and re-direct appropriately. This has worked for me with UPS and Verizon. The complaints were not run-of-the-mill ones though but specific to ongoing issues. I think the key is having a unique problem. Also, if you're in the US, it might seem futile, but you do have elected officials and a massive government bureaucracy that tracks all this. Include them on the email if it necessitates it. Every email or letter has to be recorded, by law, so, if it's ever needed as evidence in something, it exists.

markus_zhang 4y ago

How do I find the mailing addresses of the bosses? Actually how do I find the names of the bosses? Maybe from LinkedIn?

teej 4y ago
This is a real benefit of public corporations: anyone with significant ownership is public. The names of the owners and executives are trivial to find.
- barbazoo 4y ago
  And at that level you get people who absolutely don't care if some Joe Shmoe was unhappy with their service or something.
  - falcolas 4y ago
    They also generally have another layer of protection from being contacted by plebs, err, customers.
shagie 4y ago
You don't need to. You address it to the corporate HQ and let the mail room deal with the proper routing within the organization. For example, Southwest. https://www.southwest.com/html/contact-us/index.html?clk=GFOOTER-CUSTOMER-CONTACT-US https://www.southwest.com/html/contact-us/index.html?clk=GFO... Write us Have extra stamps? Send us a letter. P.O. Box 36647-1CR Dallas, Texas 75235 And so: Manager - XYZ airport customer support c/o Southwest Airlines P.O. Box ...

barbazoo 4y ago

How would you go about finding out how to access the manager of some department within MegaCorp? All one can do these days is fill out some contact form and maybe someday getting an email from some noreply email address. I'm also chuckling at the thought of me mentioning that I'm a stock holder. This feels very detached from reality.

phpisthebest 4y ago
It has been known for awhile that most big companies have Executive Service teams that do respond to customer emails. the Website consumerist (are they even around anymore) used to publish these "ceo" email addresses. about 20 years when I worked as a 3rd party vendor in a Big Box retailer I had contact with many Regional Managers, they all had public ways to contact them, and those contacts where read, and if a customer complaint was it issue it would be sent to store manager given high priority Most people think like you do, "they are so big so they don't care" and depending on the reasonableness that may be true, I saw some really crazy things in my time (people always angling for free shit) but honest issues where dealt with.
actually_a_dog 4y ago
The simplest way to find out would be to ask the nice person in front of you who's trying to help you.
- Macha 4y ago
  The base level staff often aren't allowed discretion to do more than "computer says no".
  - actually_a_dog 4y ago
    I said it was simple, not guaranteed to work. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't. But it's more inclined to work if you tell them that you appreciate their help and that they'd like to contact higher ups about the situation later.
4y ago

version_five 4y ago

Do you think the executives care about your letter? Stop going to the place that treats you badly, and if possible write an honest critical review of them. This is not perfect, but it has more hope of getting attention than a letter to an executive who almost certainly won't even see it. For better or worse, people vote with their wallets. There are lots of low cost versions of things I would never even consider (and any experience would have me running to write an unfavorable review) but there are lots of people who care most about cost. It's the reason why southwest exists in the first place.

throwawaysleep 4y ago
Anecdotal, but they have cared enough to get back to me and it mattered enough to employees I have written letters for to track me down.
Eisenstein 4y ago
I do think that some do. A well written, polite, short letter expressing a issue and how it is detrimental to an organization and how it impacts customers would be welcome by any competent executive or manager. If they don't want that knowledge, then I am sure that is common, but it is not ubiquitous.
- wahnfrieden 4y ago
  Oh please
  - Eisenstein 4y ago
    Instead of dismissing things off-hand because they don't fit your assumptions, you may find it useful to spend a few minutes coming up with a thoughtful and critical response. Doing so might not only contribute meaningfully to discussion but it might let you work through how some of those assumptions may not hold up to real scrutiny.
    - wahnfrieden 4y ago

oefrha 4y ago

> I am sure people here need no instruction on how to find the appropriate person in the corporate structure to contact with their concern. Sounds like you live in a different world from most of us. In our world, complaining loudly on the Internet, whipping up an outrage is often the only way out; there are daily examples on this very forum.

akudha 4y ago

It depends on the importance of the business. Hospital mistreating the patients? Sure, escalate it. Try to get it fixed, as politely as possible. Local Dunkin behaving badly (my recent experience)? Just stop giving them my business. I can make my own coffee. I can also stop drinking coffee altogether. I don’t need them, and they demonstrated they don’t need me either. There is too much bad behavior around - it is not worth one’s time and energy trying to fix them all

JBlue42 4y ago

You're getting a few saucy replies but it does work and you don't even need a physical letter. Find the "Our Leaders", "Our Corporate Team" section of a companies website, drill-down to the best fit, send an email. Some executive assistant will pick it up and re-direct appropriately. This has worked for me with UPS and Verizon. The complaints were not run-of-the-mill ones though but specific to ongoing issues. I think the key is having a unique problem. Also, if you're in the US, it might seem futile, but you do have elected officials and a massive government bureaucracy that tracks all this. Include them on the email if it necessitates it. Every email or letter has to be recorded, by law, so, if it's ever needed as evidence in something, it exists.