Life is too short

We read at the iMember offices today that we are shaking off our quiet British reserve of saying "Oh yes, the soup is lovely" - when presented with a luke-warm bowl of watery slop; or "They fit perfectly" - when your new pair of running shoes has given you 13 blisters on their first outing. Instead we have become a nation of complainers.

Every 1.2 seconds we (Britons) make a complaint about something or someone and, according to the Ombudsman Service's research, it is energy companies getting the majority of the complaints, followed by shops, internet providers, transport companies and tour operators. That is, by our calculations, 72,000 complaints every 24 hours. Now of course it may be that many of these complaints are valid but on the other hand, they take a lot of time to make and at the end of a lengthy complaining process, you may not end up with any type of resolution.



We think maybe life is too short for these complaints - so instead, why not make sure you are getting all the benefits from these various companies that you should be. When you signed up with your energy supplier you were possibly promised money off here or discounts there - can you remember? Did the shop that you took a loyalty card from promise you excellent member benefits - can you recall? All the companies and shops out there want YOUR business and they want to keep you happy and attract you with a mountain of benefits to get your business. Millions of pounds worth of benefits go unused every year simply because we don't remember we have them.

So if something's gone a bit awry and a complaint is brewing - perhaps think again, don't waste time complaining, approach the problem from a different angle and ensure you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to from these organisations. Register (for free) with iMember at wwwiMember.co.uk and we will remind you of ALL your member benefits and discounts.