10) Start with the Supervisor
Work your way up with your complaint. If a person can’t help you, ask for their supervisor. If they can't help you, ask for their supervisor. If you've entered the complaint centrifuge via a call centre, follow the script of our call centre insider: 'There’s got to be somebody there supervising you guys. You put me through to them now.'

9) Be Persistent
Don’t give up on your complaint. You may get frustrated, you may feel like you’re getting nowhere in your quest – but keep your eye on the prize: customer satisfaction. As our on the shop floor insider explains, just when you think you've hit the wall with your complaint, 'the manager comes in and ... says 'Fine, we’ll give you a refund, no problem.'

8) Don’t Get Angry
If you're tempted to blow your top, stop. No one likes dealing with a jerk – and as our professional complainer says, ‘When somebody’s screaming and yelling, they’re not making sense most of the time… It’s much more threatening to stay calm than it is to scream and yell.’

7) Don’t Let Them Put You on Hold
No one wants to hang out in on-hold limbo. For starters, there's no guarantee you'll ever have your call picked up again. "You have every right to tell them not to put you on hold," says our call centre insider.

6) Avoid the Sympathy Trap
You’re on a roll. Your complaining effectively and you’re winning ground. And then the person you’re complaining to drops the sympathy card (which generally involves a lot of nodding and phrases like: “That must be frustrating” or “I an understand why you’re upset.”) It’s a tactic, says our call centre insider. They’re not trying to be nice - “they’re just trying to control the conversation.”

5) Write to the top
Our professional complainer says writing a letter is a far better method of complaining that voicing your beef over the phone: "I really think the phone is an ineffective way to complain. I always go right to the top and I always let it filter back down to where it should be handled to begin with. When you use the phone, other people have the ultimate weapon: they can hang up on you… And there’s no record that you called."

4) Document Everything
As you move your complaint up the ladder, it's important that you keep detailed notes of all your interactions with the company, including when you spoke with them, what was said, and with whom you spoke (get their full name!) Our professional complainer says "it’s really crucial" that you keep tabs everything, "because when you do escalate the complaint to a higher level, you need to know who you spoke to. That way, they know that they’re accountable for what they’ve said."

3) Spread the Bad News
When you've gotten a raw deal, your best weapon is word-of-mouth. Our consumer survey consultant crunches numbers on customer dissatisfaction. Her recent study found that "51 per cent of consumers who hear a negative story from a friend ... will actually not shop at that store." Hit the company where it hurts: the bottom line.

2) Demand Compensation
Don't settle with an empty apology - you'll end up feeling unsatisfied and the company likely won't learn from its mistake. "I do think it’s a good idea when you complain to ask to get something for your trouble," says our professional complainer.

1) Just Complain!
Maybe it's a stereotype, but we Canadians are pretty notorious for our quiet kindness (or is that apathy?). But holding our collective tongues isn't getting us anywhere. "We all benefit by complaining," our consumer survey consultant says. "We benefit because hopefully retailers and other companies get the lesson… The bottom line is [we should complain] so that companies improve the kind of service that consumers are experiencing today."