Squeaky wheel

[Greg44]

I finally had enough! We have used Surf laundry soap for years. Lately I have noticed when the load is finished I have white specks left on my clean clothes! I then have to run the load again to get them all out. >:(

So I called the customer service number on the box. A very nice lady (well trained) took my complaint and said it may be the "product" is old (which could be true - I stock up when on sale) or over full loads and not enough water to allow those specks to flow out of the wash.

The latter could also be true as I have been trying to use less water.

Anyway the nice lady sent me two coupons for FREE 40 load boxes! Such a deal.

Has anyone had positive (or negative) results by calling the number on the product?

[CathyA]

I've had some good results by calling customer service.....but what I wanted to say is: You really do need enough water to agitate the clumps of soap out. What you could do is add the soap after the machine is full and swish it around a bit.

I tried to conserve by using cold water and had alot of those spots. My washer repair guy told me that these detergents aren't meant to dissolve in cold water. I use warm now, which is barely warm and it helps. But you just can't sprinkle detergent powder on the top of your clothes and not use enough water. That's just the way it is. :)

[Greg44]

I have always added the Surf first - before I add any clothes, swished it around some so there are lots of suds, then add the clothes, mostly we always use warm, but our warm is on the cool side...

[KayLR]

Just so ya know...it works the other way too. Once I called the manufacturer of my deodorant because I had been thinking how long I'd been using it--more than 20 years with good result. I told the representative how I appreciated it not being changed for so many years. I also told her my mother-in-law had recommended the brand when I was a new bride. Well, thatmay have done it. I received a $10 coupon for Revlon products!

[nswef]

I had a lovely experience with Jockey. The underwear I bought had a problem with the elastic cover- they asked me to send it back in the POSTPAID envelope they sent me and they replaced all three pair. I was most impressed and sent off a thank you email which they responded to enthusiastically- said they put it on the bullentin board! I try to remember those good events rather than those who do not respond or who are unhelpful.

[Jinger]

I recently had a similar experience. Gregg. For about 40 years I have bought Scott toilet paper. Lately, I notice that the roll has shrunk...the actual size of the roll has been cut by about 1 inch in length and there is less paper on the roll. I sent an email to the company expressing my disappointment and received coupons for a substantial amount off 3 more 4 packs.

I'm still not satisfied though and want to find a brand that hasn't shrunk its roll in length. My son says I am turning into an old codger!

http://iliketomakethings.blogspot.com

[jp1]

I've had some good results by calling customer service.....but what I wanted to say is: You really do need enough water to agitate the clumps of soap out. What you could do is add the soap after the machine is full and swish it around a bit.

I tried to conserve by using cold water and had alot of those spots. My washer repair guy told me that these detergents aren't meant to dissolve in cold water. I use warm now, which is barely warm and it helps. But you just can't sprinkle detergent powder on the top of your clothes and not use enough water. That's just the way it is. :)

We use liquid detergent and warm water and never have any problems. But we also have a front loader washing machine and use just a little bit of detergent.

This reminds me of a woman I saw years ago at the laundromat who was literally using a broom handle to jam as many clothes as she could into the washer. I wondered why she even bothered washing her clothes since they were obviously not going to get clean at all.

[Life_is_Simple]

I have sent letters/emails to companies telling them how much I liked their products, and "do you ever have coupons for them?"

Often they would send me coupons.

One company sent me 6 boxes of brown rice crackers - different varieties. They were a health food company, which did not have coupons. I loved those crackers!

[Wildflower]

I recently had a similar experience. Gregg. For about 40 years I have bought Scott toilet paper. Lately, I notice that the roll has shrunk...the actual size of the roll has been cut by about 1 inch in length and there is less paper on the roll. I sent an email to the company expressing my disappointment and received coupons for a substantial amount off 3 more 4 packs.

I'm still not satisfied though and want to find a brand that hasn't shrunk its roll in length. My son says I am turning into an old codger!

http://iliketomakethings.blogspot.com

There are so many companies these days that are shrinking their products, but the price is the same, and they must think we, the general public, are too stupid to notice! It irritates the heck out of me! >:(

[CathyA]

Its been awhile, but I called with a comment about La Preferrida (?) salsa and they sent me this huge box of tons of their products!! Unfortunately, right after that, it was in the news that someone complained that there was a dead bird in one of their jars, and I lost my appetite for their stuff. haha

I also called and complained that the makers of Tylenol never offer any coupons for their regular strength product and they sent me a bunch of coupons, and told me to call every time I needed more. And they made sure I wasn't over-using the Tylenol, which I thought was responsible of them.

I also called and complained a number of years ago that my fairly new GE stove was defective.........got shocked while stirring a pot, the timer broke, the oven liner rusted out (all within an 18 month period), and the guy wrote me back and essentially said "Tough sh*t lady!"

I've had good luck with most of the other places I've called. But I do find it a bit funny that when you complain about certain products, they say they are sorry and give you coupons to that very product. haha

[grendel]

I once wrote to McCormick spices to complain that their "Daily Grind" pepper mill broke on the third twist. I told them I was disappointed because I use no other brand but McCormick, and I had always been pleased with their products in the past. They gave me: and apology, and explanation for what went wrong, a check for the amount I paid, a bunch of coupons, and best of all a chart of herbs and spices and how to use them. This was in the early 90s, and I still use that chart.

I still use McCormick spices exclusively.

[loosechickens]

We got really sick from a dinner at a Red Lobster once.....we isolated it to the Alfredo sauce because that was the only thing that both of us ate.......since the Red Lobster was still open, we called to notify the manager, thinking that they might still be serving that Alfredo sauce to customers, and he just blew us off, as though we were just complaining, and said, "well if you are ill enough to go to the hospital, call us".

So I got online and wrote an email to Red Lobster, complaining, not so much that both of us had gotten sick (I've worked enough in restaurants to know that happens), but because the manager had NO interest in what had caused it, or that he might still be serving that tainted food to customers.

They sent us a really nice letter, and a coupon for $40 for Red Lobster, although it was almost a year before either of us could face going into a Red Lobster again, and when we did, we went to a different one and definitely didn't choose the Alfredo sauce, hahahahaha.

[Mrs-M]

Letting the ol' squeaky wheel sound is good sometimes. Many, many years ago- crowding twenty, I opened up a can of Heinz beans (with real pork) and as I was scooping the beans out of the can I thought to myself, "what pork"? It had always been a contentious issue with me but I had never allowed it to get under my skin, that is until that day. For some unknown reason I decided enough was enough. So I drafted up a simple (short and sweet) letter relaying my displeasure and about six weeks later a letter arrived. Heinz had actually taken my letter seriously and along with a letter of apology was $6 worth of coupons to use towards my next purchase of Heinz beans.

[Mrs-M]

P.S. Grendel. What a beautiful profile picture. :)

[redfox]

I have a friend from college whose Uncle took assiduous care of his Ford sedan. When it turned over 500,000 miles, he wrote to Ford (they were from a very small town in southern Missouri). The company sent him coupons for some quarts of oil and a brochure about their new models. I thought that was about the most ridiculous response! Talk about a missed opportunity! The company could have made a big deal about the quality of their product, and been a bit more generous.

[Float On]

I have a friend from college whose Uncle took assiduous care of his Ford sedan. When it turned over 500,000 miles, he wrote to Ford (they were from a very small town in southern Missouri). The company sent him coupons for some quarts of oil and a brochure about their new models. I thought that was about the most ridiculous response! Talk about a missed opportunity! The company could have made a big deal about the quality of their product, and been a bit more generous.

Makes me laugh because FORD dealerships/service centers are very much interested in always trying to get you to buy a newer model. We bought our show truck from Ford and used their service center. As soon as it hit 100,000 miles the service center pressure to 'buy new - you just can't trust this truck to get you where you need to go now that it's at 100,000 miles. I finally got so fed up I went back to our first repair shop who was quick to point out that most of the parts we'd hired Ford to replace....hadn't really been replaced. I never did get a reply to the complaint I mailed to Ford. And now that that truck has gone way over 300,000 miles I should write another letter to Ford.

I've always called to complain if a product isn't right - always recieve coupons. I think the most fun conversation I had with a customer service person was when I called an ice cream company because our container of peanut butter chocolate ice cream was missing the peanut butter swirls. They refunded the amount, sent coupons for free containers and put me on an automatic mailing list to get coupons for 6 months.

I've also called to say how much I like a product and been rewarded with coupons.

Regarding laundry - I have to use liquid detergent, I can never get powder detergent to mix well in our hard water.