We get it. You think you are the main character. Your needs come first, over and above everyone else. When something goes wrong, complaining straight to the CEO is what you do. After all, you had such a bad experience that the CEO needs to know so they can affect change, right?
Wrong. The entire concept of complaining to the CEO reeks of entitlement and a level of selfishness that boggles the mind. You can not convince me one bit that this is justified. Let’s have a look at the example that triggered me.
Complaining to the CEO
Someone decided to post a copy of their e-mail to the CEO to an online forum. Perhaps they were expecting a whole host of supportive posts from other people. Who knows, but I can tell you right now, I don’t usually copy any complaints I make to public forums for comment. Here it is in its entirety.
Ms Embleton,
For the first time, and perhaps the last time we flew on Aer Lingus. My spouse and I flew from Belfast City to Edinburgh on Monday 6 July. Because of the strict baggage requirements Aer Lingus imposes on their customers I purchased a ticket that included a checked bag. I did that even though our bags would all fit as carry on in the overhead lockers. My bag would have been a couple of kilos over the 10 kilo weight limit. I preemptively paid extra because of strict baggage requirements Aer Lingus imposes on their customers as I doubted that the agent would allow my bag as carry on. I was correct.
Our flight from Belfast City to Edinburgh was 50 minutes and arrived early. Upon arrival we then waited another 50 minutes for our checked bag. Please tell me why we should had to wait another 50 minutes for our checked bag.
Quite simply we should not have waited another 50 minutes for our checked bag. Nor should have the other 25-30 people on the flight.
Swissport does not make these operational decisions, Aer Lingus makes these operational decision. The result is poor service. I paid for baggage transport not for baggage wait times that equaled my flight time. That is embarrassing. As such, I am requesting a refund of £10 as that is the difference between my ticket cost of £113.88 and my spoused £103.86 . As we booked directly on Aer Lingus’s website my credit card details are on file so processing a refund should be straightforward. I do not want a credit as the chances on flying Aer Lingus in the near future is nil.
Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve waited longer than 50 minutes for bags arriving in Miami on American Airlines. Did I fire off an elaborate e-mail to AA’s CEO? No. I retrieved my bag and carried on with life. This drivel above being sent to the CEO for attention blew my mind.
Is a complaint to the CEO ever justified?
The short answer is: NO! Is the CEO a member of the customer service team? No. Is it their job to read and respond to e-mails from customers? No. So no, no, no, no, no, no.
Overall Thoughts
The entitlement that one must have to feel complaining to the CEO is justified is absolutely breathtaking. What these people fail to realise is that the CEO probably never sees the e-mail. Spare a thought for the Personal Assistants who have to wade through the CEOs e-mail and forward the customer complaints to the customer service team to deal with.
However, it does seem to be a thing. I have delved into the cesspit of complaint groups on Facebook, where people actively recommend to others to e-mail the CEO or other internal staff – and then provide the e-mail addresses freely. Just unbelievable, and I am not even a CEO!
What say you? Have you complained to the CEO? Is the CEO your first port of call anytime something goes wrong? What do you think of the people who do this? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by David Syphers via Unsplash.
Baggage Claim by Chris Hardy via Unsplash.
CEO reading e-mails by Gabrielle Henderson via Unsplash.
I disagree with you and can always count on you for obnoxious takes.
Thanks for the laugh.
You’re welcome! 🙂
It is the CEOs job to know what is going on in the company he/she runs and put policies in place to fix problems. One way to do that is listening to your customers. The local people obviously don’t care and watched this go on. It also probably is beyond their scope to fix it. How would the CEO ever know about this unless he hears it from the customer?
A CEO who hides behind his/her desk and does not want to hear from customers or know about any problems is one that will not be very successful in the long run.
Obviously I disagree with your obnoxious viewpoint.
I completely agree that a CEO needs to know what is going on within a company and a good CEO will always have this information. I never claimed otherwise.
Customers e-mailing the CEO directly to have service failings rectified is a step too far.
We will just have to agree to disagree pm this one!
In a rare circumstance I disagree with you on this one.
This particular complaint was a tempest in a teapot. It’s ludicrous for someone to contact the CEO over such an annoying but trifling matter.
That said, at least here in the USA service has taken a monumental downturn in the past decade or two and the fact often is that many companies have a culture where the front line people are powerless, don’t care, or both. In a situation like that with a (hopefully) more valid gripe, and presumably after at least trying regular channels first, I can absolutely see about reaching out to the top where there’s at least a chance of some sizeable problem being addressed. If the bottom ignores you, try the top…
On a complete non sequitur, if it’s not prying too much I didn’t know where you were based. My wife and I will be in Ireland – Killarney and Dublin – for the first time in November and if you’re in the area and feeling moderately sociable I thought I’d offer to buy you a drink if circumstances permit. If not, no harm done.
Glad you agree this particular complaint is a tempest in a teapot – I couldn’t agree more!
Good points though, with the change in customer service. That’s all very fair and of course, then I think people would be justified – as you said – after trying regular channels first. It’s the going straight for the top that bothers me. Some people appear to e-mail the CEO even mundane queries, which is just bizarre.
I’m in the capital, so perhaps if the stars align we might be able to catch up to say hello. You’re brave coming in November to Ireland, it will be dark and cold, but at least you’ll have that authentic feel. Plus there’s something nice about the city not being overrun by tourists. Makes the bars to snuggle up with a drink and some music a lot more attractive too, in my opinion. I am sure you will enjoy it!