Don Novello, "Citizen Lazlo! - The Lazlo Letters, Volume 2"
I didn't purchase this. I'm glad. A friend of mine happened to give this to me, saying I should read it. This is yet another example of how my to read pile got so out of hand. It is also an example that I need new friends.
This is by the guy who did the Father Guido Sarducci character on Saturday Night Live. In this collection, he has taken the namesake of Lazlo Toth, who spends all of his time writing letters to politicians and corporations. Sometimes he offers advice, sometimes he complains about a product, and a lot of the time he asks for things. Sometimes people answer him, more often than not they don't. And sometimes he is caught, a victim of his own popularity.
I think this might have been funnier if I had read this over time in a bathroom. Looking at all these letters in a row, you can't help but see the similarities, and it gets old fast. The best letter actually comes from a response from a worker at Kellogg's, who has grown tired of his letters and basically tells him that he is an idiot.
But this brings up an important point about how customer relations work. When Novello (Or "Toth") complains, he usually gets an answer with an apology, along with some free stuff. In a couple of letters he gives the products praise, and most of these go unanswered. If they are replied to, it's just a cursory note saying thanks - no free stuff for you.
Why not? They already like the product so why not make them continually happy? I did the same thing with Burger King when they first started their 800 number. If I complained, they fell all over themselves trying to woo me back with free vouchers (even though there was no actual problem in the first place). I tried calling once to give praise, to which they thanked me for the call and got off as quickly as possible. They only respond to anger, and a person who is just trying to be nice is given the brush off.
No wonder everybody in customer service is always in a bad mood.
Did I mention that I work in customer service?
