'It's amazing what can be done when the CEO gets involved': Frustrated customer floods company execs with emails to get them to fix their computer

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Nov 11, 2023 11:00 AM EST

Using a little insider knowledge, this customer decided to find a solution to their computer problems. 

When your computer is broken, your emotions can range from mild annoyance to total panic. After all, many of us work from our laptops, so if they break down, we're out of a place to type out our emails. Getting the computer fixed is a whole process, too. Customer service reps may try to give you the runaround, even after you've waited on the phone for ages. They might try to upsell you products you don't need, which can be infuriating, too. This person had the right idea of how to get their device working once again. And thankfully, they did it without ever being impolite to a customer service rep. 

U/Leviathan41911 shared their story of malicious compliance, and people in the comments had a lot to say about the OP's methods. Apparently lots of people already knew about this trick, but I presume you have to do this sparingly. Otherwise, you will definitely be blacklisted from their business! 

Check out the entire tale below. Next up, this waiter only got a 10% tip, and he was so unhappy about it that he called out his customers right to their faces. 

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  • 01
    'You can escalate this all the way to the CEO and he wouldn't even do it'
    via Linkedin Sales Solutions on Unsplash
  • 02
    Not even the CEO can do it... okay let's find out. S OC This is from a long time ago, but I thought I would share. I bought a laptop from a large fortune 500 company. We will call this company Bell Computers. After about 2 years the hinges on the laptop broke and it was almost, but not quite, out of warranty. I called the service center and they refused to replace it. I called, got the run around, and each time they refused to fix it or even send me the part.
    via u/Leviathan41911
  • 03
    Eventually I was speaking with a low level customer service manager and I told them I would keep trying to escalate this until someone honnered the warranty. Then he replied "You can escalate this all the way to the CEO and he wouldn't even do it." Well it was at that moment, it clicked.
    via u/Leviathan41911
  • 04
    See, I used to work for Bell Computer company. I didn't know the CEO, Mr. Bell, but while I was employed there he would occasionally send mass emails out to the staff. The email was also a combination of initials and names, so it was easy to remember. Alright
    via u/Leviathan41911
  • 05
    then, let's play. I hung up the phone and drafted an email to Mr. Bell, CEO of Bell Computers, just like the helpful customer service rep said I should do.. I wrote in the email about being a former employee, how the run around with customer service was awful, how I just wanted the part to fix my laptop.
    via u/Leviathan41911
  • 06
    The next day I got a phone call from Mr. Bell's executive assistant. I spoke with her for about 15 minutes about everything that happened, she took my info and my computer service number and said she would forward it to the VP of customer service. I got an email the following day saying it part had shipped.
    via u/Leviathan41911
  • 07
    PatriarchSamael2 It's not about what you know, it's who you know.
    via u/PatriarchSamael2
  • 08
    offthewallness This statement is so underrated. It's literally how just about everything runs in the world.
    via u/offthewallness
  • 09
    gerbil_111 This is not uncommon. We used to call it a 'Marcus Bell expedite'. If you reached out to mr.bell, his personal team will respond to his emails and tag the replacement/ repair. It got done in a hurry. 306 Reply Share Leviathan41911 OP. I am guessing he doesn't even read emails from that address, probably just his team. If I was the CEO of a company like that I would use an email that was not standard to avoid getting flooded with emails.
    via u/gerbil_111
  • 10
    -5Leepy Yep, it works. And it's not who you know. I had problems with bank overdraft fees. The local branch kept saying there was nothing they could do, which is bs. I went to their corporate officer webpage and sent an email to every VP I could find. Got a response in a matter of hours.
    via u/-5Leepy
  • 11
    Mammall 3 coder2k I had to use this trick on a company named after a South American river. I had an issue with a promotional offer and no one knew how to fix it and kept giving me wrong information.
    via u/coder2k
  • 12
    LyraMorgan What I don't get: you still had warranty how can they just ignore that? You got the documents and all after all 69 Reply Share Leviathan41911 OP. Their argument was the hinges where most likely from a drop or some type of miss use (because we all know hinges never wear out) so it would fall under the accident protection warranty (which I didn't have) since they refused it was a manufacturer defect (what my warranty covered) they denied the claim.
    via u/LyraMorgan
  • 13
    kyuri85 My wife and I did exactly the same thing when buying our house four years ago. The housing company claimed to have lost a certain legal document and stonewalled us for weeks insisting we had missed our chance and that there wasn't anything that could be done.
    via u/kyuri85
  • 14
    A quick email to the CEO and a very apologetic response from their PA later, the legal document was magically found. Within 48 hours it had been processed and we were able to exchange contracts shortly afterwards. It's amazing what can be done when the CEO gets involved...
    via u/kyuri85

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computer repair boss workplace-stories jobs job malicious compliance email work coworkers malicious-compliance-reddit ceo emails execs computer workplace broken malicious compliance reddit
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