Taking a stand

Friends and family often joke that I should make a profession out of complaining.  I think it's because I'm a journalist I honestly believe it's my duty to take a stand against shoddy customer service when others just don't have the time, energy or patience.  
It's time-consuming, frustrating and often dull.  I have no idea how many hours I've spent on the phone on hold listening to crappy musac.  (We recently went to a friend's wedding - the Flower Duet from Lakme still takes me back to British Airways' woeful handling of the Gate Gourmet strike which meant us getting spat out of a Heathrow Terminal instead of holidaying in Cairo).  But there's nothing like the satisfaction of a result.  
Minor triumphs include:

• Forcing Southwark Council to rebuild our Victorian front door after mistakenly crow-barring it open, changing our locks and not bothering to tell us.
• Insisting British Telecom compensated a friend for hijacking her telephone line leaving her without phone or broadband for months (particularly painful as I'd recommended them in the first place).
• Chasing Swiss Air for 3 months after they told my husband they'd carry his bike to and from a race in the Himalayas for free then charging us a fortune when we arrived at Delhi airport.

On the flip side, I really do believe it's equally important to thank people when they deal with a problem quickly or, even better, when a company takes pride in making buying its products and services a really enjoyable experience.   So I'll also be charting those moments of pleasure when someone makes that extra effort that makes me smile.