On occasion something happens where I wonder if I should report an employee to corporate. You know the drill: They are rude, or break something, or otherwise don't provide the best customer service.
I typically err on the side of "maybe they are having a bad day," so I don't raise a stink. I don't want to get someone in trouble if their gruff demeanor was a result of tough personal circumstances, particularly if a negative review could hurt them financially or psychologically, thereby making their situation even worse.
But sometimes people simply do wrong. And I wonder if I am being too lenient in staying quiet with my dissatisfaction.
Selfishly there is another reason I am reluctant to tattle: my own safety.
Consider the last time I had my carpets cleaned:
Halfway through the job, one of the men approached me, arms outstretched to hand something to me. "Yo, the lamp broke." He looked angrily at me (as if I had created the situation) as he shoved the pieces of broken glass into my hands, cutting one of my fingers.
No apology. And clearly, he wasn't interested in taking care of the broken glass himself, nor did he think to ask me for a trash receptacle rather than harming me with broken glass. I am glad it was just a finger.
When the carpet cleaning company called later to ask about the service, I hesitated. The carpets indeed looked super-clean, but Broken Glass Man knew where I lived. I feared telling them of the situation because I worried about retaliation. After all, unless this man breaks lamps and cuts customers on a regular basis, it would be easy to identify me. On the other hand, general complaints like "rude" wouldn't necessarily point him my direction.
I told the representative that a lamp was broken, but I did not inform him of my cut finger. The caller insisted they would pay for the broken lamp, but of course they did not.
Now that some time has passed, I'm considering writing a letter to inform them of why I am no longer using their company. But I know that isn't effective. After all, it was a single employee who caused a problem, so it doesn't really make sense to boycott the entire company. Plus, it is unlikely they'd know which employee was so negligent, so there would be no consequence (which was exactly why I didn't report it in the first place, since I worried I'd end up harmed.)
I admit I'm torn, because I'd like to get my concerns out, but I'm too chicken to face the consequences.
Last week I wrote two complaint letters: one to a company that responded immediately to me via twitter, and then apologetically and respectfully via email and another that has not bothered to respond at all. Similarly, I wrote a letter to a camp that was housed on the same campus as my boys' camp because a staffer of that other camp was rude. I have not heard back from them, either.
In some ways I'm glad I haven't heard back. I get nervous. I don't want them to get angry at me. And yes, I don't want specific employees to come after me. It is irrational and shows just how little I value myself to be afraid of speaking up, but I'm trying to break through that so I will no longer be a doormat.
But in preschool, we were taught not to tattle!
