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Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
How to get the best of shoddy shops, crooked car-dealerships, and heartless HMOs--without having to hire an attorney.
The Miss Manners of the consumer kvetch shows readers how to go postal, with complaint letters designed to melt the heart and sting the conscience of the most obdurate, negligent, or customer-hostile corporations.
Drawing on her experience as a pen-for-hire for irate consumers--and on the advice of clients, attorneys, and CEOs--Ellen Phillips shows readers:
- Who to write to, what to say, what to ask for
- The names and addresses of over 600 major companies
- How to draft personal petitions covering everything from tenant-landlord disputes to workman's compensation
- Suggestions on what steps to take to avoid litigation
- Consumer Smarts for automobile buyers
- How to protect yourself from fraudulent business solicitations
- Navigating the courts to ensure the well-being of your family and children
- Help in getting proper coverage from your HMO
- And--because sometimes the world is on your side--how to write the perfect thank- you note.
Delightfully readable, easy to use, and filled with the addresses of hundreds of corporate customer relations offices and state and federal agencies, Shocked, Appalled, and Dismayed! is an essential resource for anyone who wants to reach out and scold somebody.
Rarely does a day go by when most of us do not have to deal with surly salespeople, cheaply made products, or vast and indifferent bureaucracies. Most of us endure this with a stoicism worthy of Seneca himself. After all, what's the use of complaining? It all seems to fall on deaf ears, anyway.
But the world needn't be like this, according to Ellen Phillips, consumer consultant and founder of Ellen's Poison Pen, Inc. Since 1988, Phillips has been helping frustrated consumers to get refunds and apologies from everyone from the corner druggist to massive insurance agencies. In her book, Shocked, Appalled, and Dismayed!, Phillips shares the secrets of writing letters of complaint that get results. The first few chapters cover the general dos and don'ts of writing effective letters of complaint (remain calm, use polite language), along with useful advice from legal experts (don't embellish, stick to the facts). The chapters that follow target specific problems we all face at some time in our lives, ranging from getting bumped from a flight to the secrets of successfully dealing with your HMO. Each chapter contains bullet points, illustrative anecdotes, and a number of example letters, most of which were based on actual letters sent on behalf of Phillips's clients. On top of all this, Phillips also provides an appendix listing the names and addresses of over 600 major companies, government agencies, and consumer organizations. Phillips believes that we should get what we pay for, and after reading her book, you'll be able to stand up for your rights with confidence.
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| Badly written "Acknowledgements" |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
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As an educated person, I am shocked, appalled and dismayed to find so many divine references in the Acknowledgment section of the book. Ellen writes "... Thank God for family!... Thank God for friends!... Thank God for publicity!... Thank God for attorneys who have faith in me!... Thank God for helpers!... Thank God for professionalism!... Thank God for people". I was nauseated after reading just the Acknowledgment section. Not sure I can carry on reading the rest of the book.
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| Shocked, Appalled, & Dismayed: Highly Recommended !!!!!!!!! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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THE KEY TO ALL YOUR TROUBLES: How to Complain EFFECTIVELY
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After reading the stories of many posters on this site, I can really feel the emotion and frustration and feeling of despair, like no one cares, coming through in your words. Many of you, I am sure, have asked yourself "Why won't the company help me? Aren't I the customer? Isn't the customer ALWAYS right? Isn't it against the company's best interest to deliver poor service to the consumer? Shouldn't these companies value their patrons, who make their continued existence possible?"
I bet many of you after asking those questions have been overcome by a resounding dead silience in which your mind seems to answer with a cold, heartless "NO". --No the company does not care about you, because they know, for the most part, that the small portion of people who actually do complain and try to contact the company, will eventually give up after running into un-navigable telephone menus, rude "service" and support people, and a barrage of deception and hostility that they know will take you more time to overcome,investigate, and pursue than the average busy person has available to them.
Has this happened to you more than once in your life? If so, you may be karmically reaping the fruit of your failure to address the matter the first time it happened, because you felt it was too HARD and TIME-CONSUMING. But, if you really think about it, aren't the things that take the most effort, usually the most satisfying when you finally triumph in the end? Would it be worth all the money, time, and potential for happiness you could lose in the future, to invest a little bit of time now to defend your right to be treated fairly as a consumer and an individual?
If you are already at the point where you are willing to invest a little time actively pursuing effective resolution, you may be asking yourself "But how?" Ahh, that is the rub, isn't it! Well, guess what: I think I may have the answer you are looking for. While doing an AMAZON search for books on complaint writing, I came across the title: "Shocked, Appalled, and Dismayed! How to Write Letters of Complaint That Get Results", by Ellen Phillips. I ordered this book from Barnes & Noble, along with others, and did my comparisons. Ms. Phillips' book won HANDS DOWN. I encourage you to do your own research, but if you feel you don't want to spend the time, I will give you a headstart. It is as if Ms. Phillips recognizes the labrynthian maze before us, and having travelled the maze before, she knows where the trapdoors are, how to avoid pitfalls, and she offers us the keys to the doors of opportunity and effective complaining.
Here are a few of the important keys Ms. Phillips provides:
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1) Try to talk to a representative on the phone. This is always the first step. If they agree to and follow-through on a solution you approve of, then you are good to go! You should even consider writing a commendation for them.
But, in case they are uncooperative, uncaring, ineffective
, and/or deceptive,
2) ALWAYS document EVERYTHING! This includes (for each person you speak with):
* Name of the person you talk to and their REPRESENTATIVE ID NUMBER
* Time you called
* Amount of time on hold
* What you called about
* The resolution you sought
* Level of cooperativeness of the representative
* Did the representative seem competent?
* What promises did they make? (dates, times, dollar amounts, when someone would call back, etc.)
* Did they refer you to someone else (a supervisor, or another department)?
3) The most effective route to satisfaction is ALMOST ALWAYS to write to the TOP person first. Don't bother with low-level, call-center representives, or counter clerks who likely have very little ability to take the action you would require (reimbursement, replacement, repair, apology, etc.). Instead, write to the CEO, President, Board Chair, etc., to ensure the best possibility of getting your concerns addressed in a timely and effecive manner.
4) Always send copies of your letters to regulatory agencies, and anyone else who is an interested party. In her book, Ms. Phillips lists the names of hundreds(?) of agencies for your convenience. In fact, the only real thing that is antiquated about this tome, are the SPECIFIC names for the officers of the listed organizations and regulatory bodies (eg: Attorney General - Janet Reno). It takes relatively little effort in this day and age to do a Google search for the current names.
5) Better Business Bureaus are useless. They have no real mandate or requirement to help you in your dispute with their member companies. From my own personal experience, I have known this to be disappointingly true. In my opinion, though you might find some informative articles and publications on their BBB sites, as a source of relief and satisfaction they really seem to miss the mark by a mile.
6) Ms. Philips concienciously makes us aware of special laws which apply in various scenarios, that the general public is mostly oblivious of.
These are only a few of the marvelous insights offered by "Shocked, Appalled, and Dismayed"!
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You may notice that the copyright on the book is 1998 (revised in 1999)--10 years ago (I am writing this 08/26/08). Never fear! This book is not antiquated in content. Ninety-Eight percent of the content in this book is still relevant today.
For those of you like me who prefer books that list various examples, scenarios, and case studies, this book does not disappoint! I highly recommend "Shocked, Appalled, and Dismayed" to anyone who wants to know how to complain effectively to resturants, airlines, hotels, car rental places, auto mechanics, dead-beat parents, etc. For a balanced view, there is even a small section, including multiple examples, on writing THANK YOU notes and letters.
It took me 3 hours to craft this recommendation. After the enormous satisfaction and cornucopia of information I received from Ms. Phillips' book, I would be karmically remiss were I not to write this recommendation. My goal is to help you help yourself by giving you a "map", if you will, to the small dirt path, that leads through a dense jungle, to a heavily guarded, forbidden city where you will FINALLY find all the answers you have been seeking. Again, don't take my word for it: do your own research and find out for yourself!
I hope you find this review helpful. Now, go out into the world and make it a better place by standing up for yourself and showing those who would hold you down that your are not going to take it ANYMORE!
Good Luck!
Peace and blessings,
Kristobal
**** [DISCLAIMER: This document is a collection of opions, not a statement of fact. Neither the author of this book (Ellen Phillips), nor the author of this review (Me) is responsible for actions you may or may not take based on your readings, understandings, and interpretations of this review.]
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| Pretty Basic |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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Clearly this book provides the basics on writing letters of complaint. Most of it is just common sense (not so common these days). If you treat business people the way you would want them to treat you, it usually works out in the end. I didn't find much new in it. The contact addresses are helpful, but then most of them can be found on the net.. and more current
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| Shocked, Appalled, and Dismayed! How to Write Letters of Complaint That Get Results |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Very insightful and useful. I have used some of her template letters for airline complaints. In the past, I used her writings for a labor complaint and got $18,000 from my former employer.
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| Need in Elctronic Form |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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This is good book but I wish it was available in downloadable electronic form which will make it more useful in practice by cutting and pasting.
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