That's great!

Did you know that Sara Lee owns Bali, Hanes and Playtex too? My DD used to work for a Bali, Hanes and Playtex store.. we were a little shocked to see her paycheck came from Sara Lee!

No, I would have never guessed that either Lyd. How interesting. I love Bali undies. Skimp Skamps to be exact. I should have had them send me coupons for them instead of hot dog buns huh? LOL

Those are undies are a whole different kind of bun/cover.

I am so glad you got a response. Gives us all hope that someone cares about what they are doing!

Trish

it was like the time we purchased a canned green beans from sam's...del monte was very prompt and we'd already returned the rest of the cans for a refund...they sent us one, too. (our beans were so salty they couldn't be eaten)

I emailed Hidden Valley a complaint (more of a suggestion) a month or two ago, and they were going to send me some coupons, too. They never came...
:-(

If you still have their email Rita, sometimes they have a reference number on them. I'd shoot it right back to them and say "sooooo, whar's my coupon"????? :) Seriously, I'd rattle their cage again.

Trish, that IS a whole bun of a different color, isn't it. LMB(buns)O.

Good news about Del Monte Susan.

I just complined to Toys R Us about their Thomas the Train event on Saturday. We took the boys there at 10 minutes to 11:00..they were supposed to start at 11:00. At 11:25 they finally started to set up the tables for the kids to color. Then they had a girl doing story time while they colored and the kids got a wooden train. Well the employees all acted as if they hated being there, the girl reading was so quiet you could barely hear her. The kids that came up a few minutes later were informed that they can't have a train because they had to be there for storytime! No where was that mentioned in the email we got. Our boys got the train because we were there...EARLY! But the poor kids that got turned away were so sad, I felt so sorry for them. The employees were so boring, you'd think they'd have someone more upbeat to get the kids excited. I told them in my email it was the most un-eventful event I'd ever take the kids too. So boring and most people standing there were so disappointed. This is their response I got a few minutes ago....

Dear Vikki :

Thank you for taking the time to share your comments with us. We value all your feedback, positive and negative, as it helps us to understand how our guests feel and gives us an opportunity to evaluate any possible issues. Hearing from you has helped us to do just that. Your comments are important to us, and we have forwarded them to our Corporate Office where they will be reviewed. Again, we appreciate your feedback, and look forward to serving you again in the future!

Vikki, I am sorry that the Thomas the Train event did not meet your expectations. I am sorry that the store was not prepared.

As stated above, I will forward your concerns regarding this event to the appropriate department. I am sorry for the disappointment this caused you and your grandsons.

If you have other questions or concerns, Vikki, please call 1-800-869-7787.

Sincerely,

Toys "R" Us Guest Relations Team

I am not counting on hearing anymore from them...just feel better that I let them know how poorly it was put together.

I'm glad they were at least apologetic Vikki. I'm very glad you emailed them. They needed to know what a bust that was. How sad for them to disappoint childen too. It's one thing when adults walk away from an event feeling underwhelmed, but so hard to try and make a child understand. Sounds like to me that they need an employee or two called on the carpet or maybe served a pink slip.

Sara Lee is very good at replying to complaints,and also following up with the coupons.A few years ago i wrote them about this bread i got,think it was garlic/onion or something like that.It was a delicious bread.but you couldn't make a sandwich with it as it had sooooooooooooooooo many air holes or whatever they're called that the filling kept falling out.They sent me several dollar coupons for SL products along with apologies.

I'm a firm believer in letting companies know when i'm dis-satisfied with their product,or rave about it.The only one that never bothered to respond to me was Breyers ice cream several years ago.
Kathi

There's been a few times I've written to companies for either excellent service/products or bad service/products. Haven't done anything in years but I was so angered when I bought some Dial foaming soap that I looked for an address to email. It was the foaming type and only squirted out the soap. It was on a buy-one-get-one-free so it was cheap, but I have pump bottles so I didn't need just pump bottles. I had purchased a bottle of "Target" brand that foamed great and I got hooked on it. Then I saw this on sale I bought two. Anyway I got an email back, similar to the above and they did send some coupons, for a free bottle of foaming soap and then there were some token coupons for 25¢ off laundry soap and 10¢ off a couple other things for me to "enjoy". I kind of chuckled that they were kind of chintzy with the other stuff but they did replace the stuff and didn't ask for it to be sent in like some companies might. I certainly wouldn't be paying postage to send it in. I was a little annoyed that they didn't respond to a question about it that I asked. On one type, they advertise that it kills e-coli but it doesn't say that on the others. I asked if they were all the same that way and they never answered. I've looked at the contents and they're all the same basically. I might try writing again. But I probably won't buy more at least for a long time since I refill the foamer bottles with diluted dish soap.

My cousin had some stuff that the company asked to be sent in but the company sent a prepaid mailer to ship it and sent replacement product. Don't remember what it was but that surprised me.

I contacted Unilever in Canada regarding their Cinnamon spread (they do becel among other products) and they promptly responded along with coupons. Also contacted Nescafe because a jar of coffee seemed off - again prompt response and coupons. The customer service representative I telephoned asked for the product stamp number to trace the batch - sometimes they get over cooked and the product can go off.

First and foremost though, I always approach companies with respect and courtesy. Asking them if they can help and not demanding.

Good luck to everyone whenever you need help.

Cheers,
McPeg

Several years ago (while they were still making them) I opened a can of Campbell's chunky chicken noodle soup to microwave for my lunch at work. It contained SEVEN half-inch pieces of noodle, TEN pieces of soggy carrot, and ONE half-inch piece of chicken.

They got a letter, Erma Bombeck style, noting the deficiencies and suggesting improvements. I told them that the broth was pretty good, but that it was not what I was after. I also mentioned the inconsistencies in flavor of the V-8 I drank every day.

I got an obvious form letter, along with a lot of coupons I couldn't/wouldn't use. It seems that the quality-control problem just wasn't a problem, and there was a standardized response.

Years ago, I bought a Lean Cuisue(sp) frozen dinner and found a hair in it. I called the total free # and the lady I spoke to was stunned. She asked for the bar code# and sent me a letter of apology and some coupons. Also, I phone the number on the can of Frebreze to let them know that everytime I sprayed, the liquid leaked out onto my hand. The lady said that they were getting many complaints regarding that and said that she would sent me a coupon for a free can. A few weeks later, I got a letter, no coupon but some sample packets of cover girl cover up. BTW, the letter referred to a complaint about the cover up, which I never complained about because I don't use that product. I just let it go and never did call back regarding their error.

I'm glad you got such a good response from Sara Lee.

I emailed Estee Lauder about how helpful one of their store representatives was, and they mailed me several very nice travel size products.

Coupons are always good, Summer, since they didn't gross you out and turn you off their product. They seems to have a method down pat for keeping customers happy.