First was the TD Insurance debacle. I had to go through several different channels to have them reverse a transaction on my account which should never have been charged in the first place.

Then, I had a tear-inducing situation with Rogers, when they decided they would renew my contract without my consent. In fact, they had even told me they wouldn’t require a contract extension when I changed something minor on my account.

After talking to one awesome customer service rep, and then another rude representative, they escalated the issue to another department (after refusing to allow me to speak to a supervisor or manager). An awesome Rogers rep on Twitter confirmed that they changed it back after hours of being on the phone and almost bursting into tears because I cannot possibly be stuck with that horrid company for an additional three years. 

So, needless to say, I got my way for both of these. Because I was in the right. I’m not going to coach you on how to get your way if you want $100 worth of monthly service for free just because that’s what you want and you think you should get what you want. But if a company screws you over, just because they can, here’s how I’d deal with it:

Collect Yourself

Give yourself a couple of hours after the incident so that you don’t panic and call them over something that could be worked out on the website. I’ve done that before and it made me feel pretty dumb.

If you give yourself an hour to cool down, you can then re-read the policy that you think they breached, or recollect a memory of the situation that went wrong so that you can accurately describe it without stuttering or forgetting key details.

Stay Calm

As a bonus of giving yourself time, you will likely calm down and see things with some clarity after a cooling period. If you’re not calm yet, give yourself more time. Your ability to talk calmly with the sales representative will be detrimental to your success of solving the problem.

Have you ever had to deal with an irate or overly emotional person? It’s torture. If you’re calm and agreeable, the person on the other end of the line will want to help you.

Be Nice, but Firm

When you decide to act on the complaint, you can always start by tweeting the company. They are usually very receptive to social media complaints, because everyone else can see them. If you would prefer not to use your phone minutes talking to the company for hours, they will usually call you to solve the problem.

When you do talk to them, you should never start off the conversation on the wrong foot. You are asking this person to help you, and to solve the problem for you. If somebody called you up and was rude to you, would you want to help them? Likely not.

Remember, the person you are talking to is just doing their job. They didn’t create the policy, and they are likely not the person that made the mistake on your account to begin with.

Calmly and nicely explain the situation. I’m not suggesting that you be passive aggressive, because that won’t work either. Be firm.

Ask to Talk to a Supervisor

If the problem is severe enough, ask to talk to a supervisor right away, because explaining the situation to an associate will just deplete your patience and you will likely need to talk to a supervisor anyway.

If the person on the other end won’t help you (and that will happen), ask to talk to a supervisor. The associate usually either freaks out a little and solves your problem right then because they don’t want to bug their superior, or transfers you to the supervisor who will, 80% of the time, solve the problem right then for you.

If All Else Fails

If the supervisor or manager, or sales associate won’t solve the problem for you, but you know you are in the right, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

Many people don’t know about this resource, but the BBB is there to capture consumer complaints about companies who are acting unethically – the BBB protects the consumer. Consumers are in a vulnerable position, because our money is on the line. Companies usually take complaints that go to the BBB very seriously, because the BBB rates the companies.

I had to file a complaint with the BBB about the TD Insurance situation, after which they fixed the issue right away. They called me to fix the issue, in fact.

Don’t go filing BBB complaints because you threw your iPhone in the bathtub and Apple won’t replace it for you, or you took a chainsaw to your couch and The Brick tells you that you’re SOL – but if the company is infringing on your rights, and you’ve exhausted all other methods, it’s a great tool to help you out.

I’ve had to deal with some shady companies and using these steps usually help me resolve the issue.

How to Deal With Terrible Companies (Or, How to Get Your Way) is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.