Have it your way ... or file a complaint. (Buying Power).

They really inconvenienced me," says Brenda Campbell about American Airlines. On a return Trip from St. Croix to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City, what was supposed to have been a brief layover wound up being an eight-hour wait in an overly air-conditioned airport in Puerto Rico. "At first they blamed the delay on the weather. A few hours later we realized it had nothing to do with the weather. There was no plane. We were waiting for them to find one and a crew." Campbell wrote several letters to the airline and each member of her party was finally given a $100 voucher. "I'm not sure that was sufficient for the inconvenience," she opines.

The "friendly" skies have become a little hostile recently and not particularly because of bad weather, airline bankruptcy, or potential terrorist attacks, but largely because of poor or questionable service. In fact, in 2002 the Aviation Consumer Protection Division for the U.S. Department of Transportation received more than 120,000 complaints about mishandled baggage during a one-month period, and more than 22,000 complaints from passengers who missed flights due to overbooking during a nine-month period.

Obviously, air travel is not the only industry with a high volume of consumer complaints. In 2002, PlanetFeedback (www.planetfeedback.com), a business intelligence tools and applications provider that provides feedback solutions to companies and consumers, received more than 8;000 negative fast-food related comment& and over 7,000 complaints about wireless telephone service. On any given day, interaction with hairdressers, wait staff, bank tellers, and store clerks may be a challenging, if not frustrating experience. Greeted with attitude instead of smiles or pleasantries, consumers may not always feel like "they're in good hands" or that "quality is job one." Many companies seem to have set too high a standard for their employees to measure up to. Whatever happened to the old adage "The customer is always right?"

There are a number of reasons customer service has been on such a decline:

* The deregulation of many monopolistic industries, including airlines, banks, telecommunications companies, and, most recently, electric companies, was supposed to provide better pricing and service options for consumers. But, in most cases, consumer rights have been the least of corporate considerations as companies compete for new business. For example, deregulation has exempted airlines from State consumer protection laws.

* With all the advancements in technology, the delay in response time and the inability to reach a live person on the phone (because of automated phone systems and online shopping) have proved disconcerting for consumers. In a 2001 survey by business research firm Jupiter Media Metrix, 79% of shoppers said they were less likely to shop online with the same company if their service inquiries went unassisted for too long.

* The tight economy has also impacted how companies and employees handle consumers. "During a down economy, when companies make cuts, they tend to cut customer service," explains Pete Blackshaw, founder and co-chairman of PlanetFeedback. "In the eyes of those making the budget cuts, customer care may seem like soft dollars when, in fact, it dramatically impacts the bottom line. So, consumers are the ones who suffer the most when the ax comes down on spending."

There are, however, many companies in the service industry that understand how important consumers are in the profit equation. Expels estimate that most North American companies spend about 3% of their revenue on measuring customer satisfaction, which includes greeting, purchase assistance, waiting time, courtesy, product knowledge, appearance, and job performance. Mystery shoppers are often employed to examine the one-on-one interaction between customers and employees, noting areas of success and areas that need improvement.

PlanetFeedback ranks the best and worst companies according to the complaints they receive online. Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp, Tracfone Wireless Inc., and Chick-fil-A Inc., are among those on PlanetFeedback's A list. Ramada, U-Haul, and AT&T Broadband/Local Telephone are among those on the site's worst list.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU RECEIVE BAD SERVICE

* Don't depend exclusively on your memory, Take notes. Write down the time, date, name of the person who performed the service, and any other pertinent information you can think of. This provides you with a documented record of events.

* Give it time. Some problems may not be resolved overnight. Some companies may have to investigate a situation to verify the legitimacy of the complaint. It took six months and several letters between Terence Williams, currently a student at West Virginia University, and TWA before he was reimbursed for the clothing he purchased for a seven-day cruise that was lost when his luggage didn't arrive in Miami where he was scheduled to transfer to the ship.

* Write an effective letter. Let the company know if you've suffered any special inconvenience or monetary losses, and estimate the amount of those losses. Tell the company how you expect it to compensate you for your inconveniences, such as a monetary settlement or a letter of apology. Be reasonable with your demands. Send your letter via a service that will give you a delivery receipt, so you can keep track of who received it and when.

* Take it public. Websites have become an increasingly popular complaint forum for companies and independent advocacy groups, as well as disgruntled customers. Consider logging your gripe with Websites such as PlanetFeedback.com, eComplaints.org, or NorthWorstAir.org. Some sites will construct an appropriate business letter for you to edit to your liking. PlanetFeedback will send your letter to the best contact at the companies listed in their database by e-mail, fax, or snail marl. You can also register to monitor the feedback and resolution from the company you filed the complaint against.

* Take it to a higher authority. If a problem has not been addressed to your satisfaction, file a complaint with your state or local consumer protection office, the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb .org), or the regulatory agency that has jurisdiction over that particular business, for example, banking, insurance, and utilities commissions. Formal complaints against airlines with the Department Of Transportation (DOT) should be sent to the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, Boom 4107, C-75, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590, or send an e-mail to [e-mail]. Consumers can also file online complaints with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at https://rn.ftc.gov./dod/wsolcq$.start up?z_ORG_CODE= PU01.

Other industry addresses can be found at www.pueblo.gsa.gov. Another option is to contact Call for Action Inc., (www.callforaction.org) a 39-year-old, nonprofit network of consumer hotlines that operates in conjunction with broadcast partners to educate and assist consumers and small businesses with consumer problems.

* Stop support. Don't continue to patronize a business that persistently gives poor service or resolves a complaint unsatisfactorily--and let the company know it. Too many consumers have become complacent and accept bad service, Studies show that for every 25 people who plan to log a complaint or offer feedback, only one ends up following through.