We in Britain are frequently being told that we don’t complain nearly half as much as we should do, usually when dining in a restaurant, in order to avoid creating a fuss. I for one experienced this, which is why I was willing to be pushed around a bit by a certain pizza chain, which shall remain nameless.

Their crimes weren’t particularly horrendous, but they were enough to make me disgruntled about the (phenomenal) bill. Seeing as this particular chain says it’s keen to hear my feedback, and I really resented paying full price for such a disappointing meal, I decided a complaint was in order.

Normally this would be the end of the matter, but I had a point to make and was keen to ensure that it was finished. So when I hadn’t received a reply within five working days – like the auto-responder told me to expect – I decided to confront them on Twitter. Shortly, I had a reply with another email address to send full details too so that I can receive a response “asap”.

So I politely contacted them here and waited two days but still I didn’t get a response. So I went back to Twitter and asked them why they weren’t getting back to me. They said they were sorry and would sort it out shortly.

A few minutes later I had received two emails from the different departments, both apologising for the delay and assuring me the matter was being looked in to. The next day I received a very apologetic phone call from the restaurant manager, who explained the problems they were having that night and asked what he could do to make up for it.

Phone calls are so much more personal than emails. In the event, there was no way I could utter the words “full refund”. Instead I received quite a large number of meal vouchers which he was quick to assure me didn’t need to be used immediately or in the same restaurant.

As often happens, decent customer service has left me feeling guilty for complaining in the first place. But I was annoyed at the time, and not only has the issue been dealt with but I managed to get one up on the big names whilst I was at it.

Should you feel disgruntled with the service you’ve received, I’d urge you to do the same and not let it drop! If we all complained a bit more, we’d all be much happier people.

I write all sorts of absolute tosh. Here’s some more of it.