By BEN SOBSEY
STAFF WRITER
Problem-solver David P. Willis of the Asbury Park Press, a Rutgers alumnus and Press on Your Side columnist, came to Rutgers Monday to speak to journalism students about his job.
Willis deals largely with customers who come across some sort of disagreement or miscommunication with a company regarding their product, he said.
“It’s all about taking a consumer’s problem and taking it to the company and getting them to look at it and hopefully fix the problem,” Willis said.
Willis recalled a story involving a man who bought a 12$ automatic toothbrush with a money back guarantee. The customer was unhappy with his product and spent a lot of time on the phone attempting to get his refund completed, but he was unsuccessful.
That’s where Willis comes in.
With one phone call, he is able to secure his client’s refund and get his 12$ back. But Willis, who began working for the Asbury Press in 1995, also deals with bigger problems.
“I do work with banks so if there is a problem with a mortgage or a reverse mortgage or a deposit wasn’t correctly put in the bank or they have a problem with their safety deposit box,” he said, “that kind of thing, helping people get refunds.”
Earlier this year, Press on Your Side was able to help one man get over $280 back on a health insurance policy issue. Willis was the man behind the operation who was able to get in touch with the affiliated companies and resolve the issue.
Whether the case is big or small, Willis understands the importance of getting his stories to circulate. He uses a variety of social media outlets including twitter and Facebook so that people can see them, relate to them, and know where to get help.
“The point of what I do is to show other people that the problems they are having are experienced by everybody,” Willis said. “I mean who hasn’t had a problem with their cable bill?”
Some of his experiences are a little more entertaining and less stressful, however.
Just recently, a woman with years of scratch-off lottery ticket experience thought that she finally broke through and won the jackpot, but it was not to be. Even with the help of Willis, she was still only able to walk away with a 10$ prize.
Not every case is reversible or solvable for Willis and Press on your Side, but he guarantees that he will offer his full services to try to benefit the consumer.
Companies, Willis stresses, are not easy to deal with for consumers when they are trying to resolve their problems. Willis has made a name for himself and his brand over the years and has become a dependable middleman between consumers and companies.
“It’s all about branding. It’s all about being out there and accessible. Showing that you are the person to talk to if you have an issue” Willis said. |
