Dear LPG,

Having given this some thought, I have come to the decision that the British customer gets fobbed of because most of us don’t complain enough.  We let the local and national government, as well as the companies that supply so much of our goods and services get away with the things that they do to us. 

i.e. Why can you not report someone else’s phone if you suspect it is out of order?  Why do you have to wait so long to talk to someone while you listen to music on the phone interspersed with a recorded message explaining how important your call is to them?  Why you were badly treated by a tour operator while on holiday and now can’t get through to them let alone your complaint resolved.  

The companies and government departments we are reliant on are also reliant on us.  They can, and often do, capitalize on the fact that few of us bother to complain and the ones that do will accept that there is nothing they can do, if the person on the other end of the phone has some prepared statement that they can recite in answer to an issue that you have flagged up.

The reason for the British consumers’ ”I just can’t be bothered.” attitude toward complaining is usually time and emotion related.  There was so little time available to us when we were young enough to be working that we preferred to spend the spare time we had on less stressful pastimes, and then later in life we tend to decide not to upset ourselves with the anxieties and pressures that are part of the complaining process.  But there are a few years, just after we retire, when we are adjusting and discovering what we really want to do with the rest of our lives.  Then, we have the power to do some good.  Getting personal justice can, in so many ways, change the attitude of the corporate or governmental organisations around us.  The people, who in the future, will be faced with problems similar to the one you have had, and highlighted, can only benefit from your actions.    

So the next time you are really unhappy with the service that your telephone company gives you, or you feel that your GP has treated you unfairly, go a little further than accepting the unconvincing excuse they give for their unsatisfactory actions.  Tell them that their policy needs to be changed and ask to talk to the manager of the telephone advisor who is not providing satisfactory answers to your questions. And if that doesn’t work, access the Resolver website (►►►)   or get an IT savvy family member or friend to help you. This website can really help with the preparation of complaint letters and has lots of information about the best way to go about doing the job effectively.

You may just get the result you deserve, and even if you don’t; the that more people like you highlight a particular issue, the quicker it will get reviewed.

FF, Bromley