Over the years, in my attempt to write books, I have learned. For instance, there is a legal term “waive.” There is also a word, “canvass.” I found that out the hard way. My worst mistake was misspelling one of my books titles,”The survivers.”

I am not going to make excuses for myself. It was a dumb, stupid mistake, and a woman called me out on it. I corrected the mistake, and others went on to read and enjoy the book. I even got one 4-star review, though most were only 3 stars.

The thing is, the woman did me a great favor, or even a privilege, with her complaint, and I was genuinely thankful for it. Moreover, I will be grateful for any other corrections. You see, I really enjoy the affirmations, but I find the complaints more profitable.

I am not the first to realize that complaints are good things. There was a man who pleaded with his customers, “Please give me the privilege of hearing your complaints.” He built a retail empire because of it.

Lately, many submit an opportunity to use surveys to rate them. You know, the 1 to 5 star rating thing. Invariably, I notice many companies pointing to survey results, boasting about how many stars they have.

It is but one reason I refuse to take part in surveys. It is fine for some things such as books. However, sometimes I get the idea that big corporations seek not the complaints but rather the affirmations.

Immediately after I purchased my Chevrolet HHR, they had me take a survey. Three years later, I could not find a place anywhere to register a complaint. They wanted the affirmations right after I bought the car. They clearly have little interest in complaints three years later.

Actually, my purpose was to help them with my remark. Clearly, they weren’t interested.

Lately, Walmart has been requesting surveys from me. It would seem they were seeking complaints, but I suspect they just want to accumulate stars. In other words, they are seeking those wonderful accolades.

I was tired of deleting the surveys, so I filled it out. I’ll let you guess how I did it. I don’t think they will like me anymore.

For anyone else who might see this, they might decide against asking me to fill in their survey. Better to keep it simple. Just ask if I have any complaints. Better yet, provide someone to take my complaint to—that is, assuming they really want the privilege of my complaint.

Frequently, we customers don’t complain. If possible, we simply go away.