PAINTING DISASTER LEADS TO LESSON IN LETTER WRITING

I learned an amazing lesson last week that I thought I should share: Never underestimate the power of the written word.

You've probably heard it said before, but I have proof that it works.

As a journalist, you'd think I would have learned such a lesson already. I write stories that impact people's lives. Even something simple like choosing one word over another can have an impact. But until last week, I had forgotten what a valuable lesson it was.

You see, it started with a simple home decorating project that turned into a disaster, through no fault of my own.

After living with the white walls of my home, I decided to paint the living room in my house. I'd had great success with the bathroom walls, so I chose the same brand of paint but a different color.

Selecting just the right color took several days and trips to the store to get more color samples. I taped the paint swatches to the wall by my door so that I'd see them every day on my way out.

Once I'd decided on the color, I waited for the department store to put their line of designer paints on sale. When it happened, I bought two gallons, which should have been enough to cover my textured walls.

Because I bought both gallons of paint at the same department store on the same day, you'd think they would turn out to be the same color. WRONG.

But I didn't know that at the time, so I covered the walls of my living room with one coat of buckwheat-colored paint. When I opened the second gallon, it was gray, not buckwheat. I returned that paint for a gallon similar to the color already on my walls. But, alas, that color didn't turn out to be an exact match; it was two shades lighter than what I'd already painted. And after spending my entire weekend painting the walls I wasn't about to repaint the entire room.

So I put down my brush and picked up my typewriter. I wrote letters to the department store, district manager for the store and the paint company. I included samples of the three paint colors with the letters so that the managers could see my problem.

I didn't really expect much of a response, so I was surprised to get a phone call later in the week. The department store offered to mix up two new gallons of paint AND refund my money. I was shocked. About two days after that had been taken care of, I received a phone call from the paint company checking to see if the matter had been resolved.

By this time, I'd already finished my living room project and started on another with the remaining gallon of paint. I planned to get as much use out of the paint as I could, considering it turned out to be free.

Maybe customer satisfaction is important after all. I did get what I'd wanted: a refund. And my living room got painted in the process.

So if you've got a complaint or a compliment, make sure someone knows about it. It makes you feel better (at least I did after writing those letters) and makes someone else aware of the problem.

Laura Johnston is a copy editor for the Southeast Missourian.