Complaints - where do you/should you draw the line?

MiuMiow

MiuMiow

O.G.
May 6, 2008
538
40
#1
After I had a lady tear me a new one over having only three teabags and three coffees in her room per day (complimentary coffee being offered in the lounge from two till four) I got to wondering about complaining. It seems to me that some people will complain about every thing that is not the way théy like it. Of course they do pay money, sometimes rather good money so can we frown on it?

Where should the line be drawn? Is it your good right to complain in order to get things just the way you want them? Or should complaints be kept for when something is actually 'wrong'?
 
#2
I think people complain too much about everything in general, and when they're paying for something and then feel entitled, it's so much worse. I guess it's one thing to throw a hissy fit over a messed up McDonald's order and another if you truly are paying exorbitant sums for top-notch products or services. But, stupid stuff like coffee and tea bags? That just makes the complainer look like a brat.
 
#3
I think that complaining should be in response to something going wrong. where in life do you ever get anything exactly the way you want it? I don't get everything the way I want it in my own house, & I live alone.

did the woman previously request additional tea/coffee bags? or was her fit of rage the first you ever heard of it? a little respect & civility all around does wonders.

society is becoming far too rude & self-indulgent IMO.
 
#4
Sounds like she is just a prissy pants!

I think a lot of the time, customers have learned that if they throw a fit or complain, then they usually get something for nothing. They have learned to play that stupid "the customer is always right card!" Who ever came up with that is an idiot! The customer is NOT always right.

I think 3 tea bags and 3 coffee bags is way more than enough, especially if the are free! I would think 1 would be more then enough. They aren't free to the hotel. I understand she pays to stay there, but many people work there too, and there are many bills that need to be paid.
 
#5
I'll be honest, I'm a perfectionist, and I tend to want things a certain way, especially when I'm paying for it. I don't care if its 50.00 or 100.00, I'm paying for it. I would never throw a hissy fit, or get loud about it, but I am going to request that the issue be fixed. I reserve complaints for when something actually goes wrong. However, this lady has some nerve IMO, for goodness sake they are free tea bags, and coffee. Why not be appreciative that they are giving you these things free, its a nice touch. She should have just bitten her tongue, and gotten over it.
 
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#6
I can't stand complainers and frankly think it's embarrassing to see so many whiny adults. My boyfriend and I went to the zoo with my mom yesterday (we are 22 and 23, respectively), and I was shocked at the number of parents there that were complaining about every little thing. I overheard some woman complaining about people taking pictures of the animals because "why would you do that?" Some people like memories, lady - have a great day at the zoo with your kids. I think some people will just find something to complain about in every situation because that's what they do, and, unfortunately, I think it will only get worse as some people continue to have a heightened sense of entitlement because too many other people are afraid to stand up to these complainers.
 
#7
Haha the other day me and my mom were talking about how we hate complainers and I was like, it's kind of ironic that we are complaining about complainers :P
Some people definitely need to realize that they are not the center of the universe. I was at work the other day (retail ugh) and I was ringing up a woman and there was ONE woman behind her. When she got to the register she started yelling at me about how long she had to wait (like one or two minutes!) and how she was in a rush and it was such poor customer service. Like she is sooo important that I should call someone else up so she does not have to wait for one minute! The customer is definitely not always right.
 
#8
depends. i do have a friend complains a lot about food when we eat out. it's kind of embarrassing to be with her sometimes. oh..she's just like meg ryan in when sally met harry....very painful IRL to be with someone like that.
 
#10
complaints should only be a response to when something is wrong. many of my relatives are chronic complainers.

my grandfather will eat half his steak and then send it back to the kitchen because it's chewy. my aunt will constantly complain things are too expensive. she has been known to complain about a $10 clearance sweater at loehmanns because 1 of the pieces of beading was a little loose (after she repeatedly tugged at it).

i don't think it's right or appropriate to complain all the time about nonsense. it seems to me that some people get a kick out of complaining. i would be embarrassed to act that way towards ANYBODY even if i'm paying for a service.
 
#11
I think complaints are best reserved for something that has honestly gone wrong.


If someone feels something needs a little tweaking (like the coffee/tea bags) then they should make a suggestion.


Or, you know, ask nicely: "May I please have some more tea bags in my room?"
 
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#12
Oh my God! I was in St Maarten with my parents and this woman would not stop *****ing about every. little. thing. And we were, um, fortunate enough to share the shuttle with her on our first and last days there.


I remember thinking, "Lady, you're on vacation in a beautiful place. Just shut up and enjoy it."


On the way to the airport a man that was with her tried to get her to calm down. That just annoyed her more.


An aunt and uncle of mine had so many negative comments about so many things this one time that I wanted to stand up and say "Okay! That's enough of the *****fest for one afternoon."
 
#13
While I didn't like the way this lady went about it, looking back on it she had a point (I guess . . . ):


Starbucks takes so many precautions to be sure that people don't have reactions! And I completely understand because sometimes it's literally a life or death situation, but sometimes there's only so much you can do!

We didn't use tongs in the pastry case because of fear of cross contamination. The only way we'd be allowed to use tongs would be if we sanitized them after each use and that's not practical. We switched to using pieces of disposable tissue.

We tell people that if they have severe nut allergies to not get anything from the case because they either have nuts in them or have come in contact with things that have nuts.

When we put out samples, we'd make sure to tell people it contains nuts.


So one day this customer is waiting in line and when she gets to my register she immediately goes, "Why did you put the peanut butter cookies in between the chocolate chip and the m & m cookies?" (We had one platter of cookies with three rows).


I had to tell her what I just mentioned in my post: severe allergies, watch out, either containting nuts or came in contact with nuts and so forth.

I think she wound up buying a Rice Krispie treat instead but not before complaining that those cookies were ruined for people with nut allergies.
(Like her daughter).




After that, the rule was one flavor of cookie on one plate. No more three rows of cookies on a big plate.
 
#15
love this thread!

I had a friend who I would go for drinks with once a month or so. One day I realized - wow, she just racks up all her complaints and loads them off on me. That was it. Plus, most of it was for naught - she complained about her old job, but meanwhile she had gotten a new one. She complained to me about being single, but meanwhile she was dating someone - and never told me.

I realized I didn't need people like that. Complainers definitely bring you down.
 
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