My Complaint.com » Author http://my-complaint.com A place where you can complaint about everything and everybody... even yourself Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:44:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Flip Your Complaints to Get Them Heard http://my-complaint.com/flip-your-complaints-to-get-them-heard/ http://my-complaint.com/flip-your-complaints-to-get-them-heard/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:12:58 +0000 admin Author and entrepreneur Seth Godin has a handy suggestion for making complaints—to customer support, bosses, or anyone, really—that will actually get heard and acted upon. The secret? Reverse your starting preface, and leave out the word “but.”

It’s easy to start off a complaint about your phone, your job, or your snow shoveling service by presenting your situation as an angry fact: “I’ve been a customer for X years, and this is ridiculous!” Seth suggests that starting your complaint with a positive assessment of where you’re at, followed by a little opening for improvement, will fare much better:

The important capping point is to never use the word “But” to make the transition between your satisfaction and your one niggling issue.

If customer service calls, in particular, are where you’re getting your high blood pressure these days, try a little reciprocity or being a “better customer”, in addition to some positive-thinking judo, to get your way.

]]> http://my-complaint.com/flip-your-complaints-to-get-them-heard/feed/ 0 Cookbook Authors Address Reader Complaints http://my-complaint.com/cookbook-authors-address-reader-complaints/ http://my-complaint.com/cookbook-authors-address-reader-complaints/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:54:47 +0000 admin Cook from enough cookbooks, and you’ll have the experience of following a recipe and being disappointed in the results, whether it’s dough that never rises, cookies that spread too thin during baking, or flavorless pot roast. If you’re a cookbook author—the person ultimately in charge of making sure the recipes work—you don’t want to hear complaints from readers, but, as prolific cookbook author Rick Rodgers told PW, sometimes “bad recipes happen to good people.” How to handle reader complaints is up for debate. Many authors are content to run corrected versions of any problematic recipes in subsequent printings; others post guidance on their Web sites. But one prominent cookbook author is taking a more proactive approach to addressing criticism.
Erin McKenna, author of last spring’s popular BabyCakes:received widespread acclaim for her tasty treats and stylish approach, but many home cooks had trouble with her book’s recipes. Marika Collins, who writes the blog Madcap Cupcake, wrote about her trials with BabyCakes’s recipes for spelt biscuits (wet dough; flat biscuits), gingerbread (undercooked, despite baking an 30 additional minutes), vanilla frosting (greasy), chocolate chip cookies (melted into one giant cookie), and ginger-peach corn muffins (raw and “sunken”). Collins calls herself “an experienced baker who is familiar with alternative ingredients,” says she’s “good at reading instructions,” and that she “read the book cover to cover, with particular attention paid to the section on measuring. In fact I followed the instructions to the letter.” Posts from readers on the BabyCakes blog reveal similar issues. And at Food52’s Piglet cookbook tournament two weeks ago, judge Helen Rosner, books editor at Eat Me Daily, said she chose Well-Preserved by Eugenia Bone over BabyCakes because BabyCakes’ “maddeningly vague ingredient lists,” “inconvenient timelines” and “surprising expense.”

On November 4, McKenna responded by posting a video online, in which she teaches a friend who failed at making BabyCakes’s banana bread the correct way to follow the recipe. “For my reputation, I wanted to clear the air,” McKenna told PW. “We were getting such mixed reviews from customers. Some people would buy the book and send us pictures of what they did and it was perfect. Other people were posting on Amazon about the recipes and saying they’re all wrong, and they don’t work, and the book is a piece of trash.” McKenna said the video (pictured, right) was meant to be “a clever way to get people to understand a few things they needed to be clear on,” such as using her preferred brand of flour and melting coconut oil before adding it to the batter.

]]> http://my-complaint.com/cookbook-authors-address-reader-complaints/feed/ 0 Pesticide Poisoning in Farm Workers in Central America 1982 http://my-complaint.com/pesticide-poisoning-in-farm-workers-in-central-america-1982/ http://my-complaint.com/pesticide-poisoning-in-farm-workers-in-central-america-1982/#comments Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:00:33 +0000 admin http://my-complaint.com/pesticide-poisoning-in-farm-workers-in-central-america-1982/ default Pesticide Poisoning in Farm Workers in Central America 1982

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Author: markdcatlin

Keywords: Worker Exposure to Pesticides in Central America 1982RR

Added: April 11, 2009

]]> http://my-complaint.com/pesticide-poisoning-in-farm-workers-in-central-america-1982/feed/ 0 Ralph Nader http://my-complaint.com/ralph-nader/ http://my-complaint.com/ralph-nader/#comments Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:00:17 +0000 admin http://my-complaint.com/ralph-nader/

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]]> default Ralph Nader

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Author: hudsonunionsociety

Keywords: Ralph Nader Public Defender Consumer Crusader presidential nominee Occupational Safety and Health Administration En

Added: April 6, 2009

]]> http://my-complaint.com/ralph-nader/feed/ 0 On the common complaint of parents that children are spoilt http://my-complaint.com/on-the-common-complaint-of-parents-that-children-are-spoilt/ http://my-complaint.com/on-the-common-complaint-of-parents-that-children-are-spoilt/#comments Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:00:44 +0000 admin

Author: pitstop4performers
Keywords: D. Sathish Babu Founder
Added: February 5, 2009

]]> http://my-complaint.com/on-the-common-complaint-of-parents-that-children-are-spoilt/feed/ 0 1998 Nissan Maxima SE loud/worn exhaust http://my-complaint.com/1998-nissan-maxima-se-loudworn-exhaust/ http://my-complaint.com/1998-nissan-maxima-se-loudworn-exhaust/#comments Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:03:46 +0000 admin http://my-complaint.com/1998-nissan-maxima-se-loudworn-exhaust/ After 10 years and nearly 167K miles, the original exhaust has finally worn out, thanks to the many MI winters its been thru. So far no complaints from the neighbors, but man this Max sure is LOUD!!

Author: wns808
Keywords: 1998 Nissan Maxima SE exhaust loud worn rust
Added: August 12, 2008

]]> http://my-complaint.com/1998-nissan-maxima-se-loudworn-exhaust/feed/ 0 Tow Yard Complaint http://my-complaint.com/tow-yard-complaint/ http://my-complaint.com/tow-yard-complaint/#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:00:05 +0000 admin

A very upset lady calls and complains to a towing company.

Author: dekjeter13579
Keywords: OnStar tow yard complaint cars turds poop
Added: August 12, 2008

]]> http://my-complaint.com/tow-yard-complaint/feed/ 0 George Carlin http://my-complaint.com/george-carlin/ http://my-complaint.com/george-carlin/#comments Mon, 09 Jul 2007 01:14:28 +0000 admin George Dennis Carlin (born May 12, 1937 in New York, New York)[2] is a Grammy-winning American stand-up comedian, actor, and author.

Carlin is especially noted for his irreverent attitude and his observations on language, psychology, and religion along with many taboo subjects
This is a selection of his Complaints and Grievances Routine

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