The Squeaky Wheel

Complaining the Right Way to Get Results, Improve Your Relationships, and Enhance Self-Esteem

De: Guy Winch Ph.D.

Narrado por: Guy Winch Ph.D.

Although life was physically more difficult in the days of the horse and carriage, we complained much less back then, and when we did, our complaints were more likely to get results. Today we complain about everything - yet do so with remarkable ineffectiveness. Most of us grumble, vent, and kvetch, neither expecting nor getting meaningful resolutions. Wasting prodigious amounts of time and energy on unproductive complaints can take an emotional and psychological toll on our moods and well-being. We desperately need to relearn the art of complaining effectively.

Psychotherapist Guy Winch offers practical and psychologically grounded advice on how to determine what to complain about and what to let slide. He demonstrates how to convey our complaints in ways that encourage cooperation and increase the likelihood of getting resolutions to our dissatisfactions. The principles he spells out apply whether we're dealing with a rude store clerk, a bureaucrat, a coworker, our teenager, or a spouse or partner who's driving us crazy.

Complaining constructively can be extremely empowering and it can significantly strengthen our personal, familial, and work relationships. Applying our new-found complaining skills to customer service representatives, corporate leaders, and elected officials increases the odds that our comments will be taken seriously. If we all complained more effectively, squeaky wheels could change our own lives as well as the world for the better.

©2010 Guy Winch, Ph.D. (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

worth the time

great stories and useful ideas and tools to complain effectively, the deadpan delivery of it all was a little monotonous

couldn't get over his voice

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

It is overall a good book, reminds us of using common sense, courtesy and judgement when "complaining". I had a hard time listening to it, because my brain did not like his voice.
For that reason I had to force myslef to listen till the end, and won't re-listen as I usually do to get all benefits from it. I would not recomment it for these subjective reasons. Go for it if the narration doesn't matter to you.

What aspect of Guy Winch’s performance would you have changed?

Have someone else do the narration

Valuable information on effective complaining

The author seems a tad biased in his assumption that the listener is the one being served, not the service employee, but once you get past that the info is good: one of the best bits was how being active and trying to change things for the better often does work, because the majority never will bother.

You (and two likeminded friends/pseudonyms) can change the world once you formulate your complaint right!

EXCELLENT! So very interesting AND HELPFUL! I learned a lot.

Really interesting. You can really learn because he covers so many different areas! Guy Winch is a brilliant communicator. Just look him up on YouTube. I got his book “Emotional FirstAid” and loved it so much that it has led me to reading (listening) to everything by him. He’s genius. I’m learning a lot which is important to me.