Diane Young Casper turned an extended problem with a washing machine into a "how to" book for consumers.

Although it soon became apparent to Casper that the washer was a lemon in disguise, the store where she bought it refused to replace it. Fortunately, she didn't have to pay for any of the dozens of service calls it required. The washer had a one-year warranty and, when it expired, Casper bought a one-year service contract.

"I knew all the names of the repair guys," she said. "I used to make coffee for them."

Exasperated because the store manager refused to replace a washer that obviously was defective, she wrote a letter to the president of the company that made it. She told him he could confirm all her problems with the washer by contacting the store.

He did.

She got a new washer.

Word spread among family and friends that she knew how to get results from companies with dysfunctional customer service departments.

Casper, a retired advertising agency executive in Manhattan, wrote form letters they could use to ask company presidents to help them.

In doing so, she developed a set of letter-writing rules:

Be polite. Be brief. Be sure to spell the chief executive officer's name correctly. Explain the problem simply and the measures you have taken to resolve it. Communicate your frustration. Provide the names of the people with whom you have spoken and the dates you spoke to them.

Ask for a prompt resolution of your problem. Check your spelling. If the problem isn't resolved -- some CEO offices also are dysfunctional -- write again. When the problem is resolved, send a thank-you note. You may need to contact the CEO again.

"The results were magical," she said, referring to the letters she wrote for others. "They usually heard back from a company within a week."

After she helped her daughter resolve a problem with AT&T, the daughter, Shari Casper Caldarola, had an idea. She told her mother she should write a book. "Fine," her mother replied, "but you have to help me."

Diane Casper said she spent more than a year using the Internet and reference books to compile the names and addresses of more than 1,000 presidents and chief executive officers. Most of them are in the United States. Some are in Europe and Asia.

"It was a painfully long process, a nightmare in some instances" she said. "Some executives are very elusive."

So I've noticed.

"Some of the names may be out of date," she said. "Such is the way of corporate America."

I've noticed that, too.

The 5¹/_2-inch-by-8¹/_2-inch spiral bound red and white book takes consumers right to the top of companies that operate or build airlines, appliances, banks, cameras, cars, computers, clothing stores, department stores, electronics, furniture, golf clubs, insurance companies, shoe companies, telephones, toy manufacturers, etc.

It also includes contact information for local companies such as American Eagle Outfitters, Dick's Sporting Goods, General Nutrition Cos., H. J. Heinz and Mellon Financial.

Caldarola, director of communications and graphic design at a private boys school in Manhattan, helped her mother put it all together.

Robert Casper, an attorney who works for Morgan Stanley, cheered on his mother and sister. His company, Morgan Stanley, a full-service financial investment firm, also is in the book.

"My children were a big help," Diane Casper said.

The book, titled "How to Bitch and Win," costs $13.95, plus shipping and handling. Yes, the title has raised some eyebrows, but mother and daughter wanted a title consumers would remember. I suspect they will.

"We don't make any money on the postage and handling," she said. "We send it first-class mail and ship it within 24 hours."

For more information on the 129-page book, go to www.howtobitchandwin.com, e-mail d.casper@att.net or call 1-212-888-1911.