When things go wrongWhen things go wrong

COMPLAININGCOMPLAINING

By Maria Luisa OchoaBy Maria Luisa Ochoa

Complaining

If you are going to work in tourism, you will definitely need to deal with complaints. Here you will learn how to complain and how to answer a complaintcomplaint both in a written and written and oral wayoral way.

The first step in complaining is to clearly present your problem. Failure to communicate effectively often makes it difficult to resolve complaints. A clear and brief explanation of what is wrong and what you want the company to do is necessary.

General TipsGeneral Tips– Try to make sure your letter is sent to the right

person or department.– Try and keep your letter short– Be polite as sarcasm or rudeness will not help your

cause!– Say what you want for your complaint to be

resolved.– Give a reasonable timetable for action to be taken

before you consider other options.– Keep a copy of letters you write.– Complaint letters need not be long. Clearly print or

type your name, address and phone number. Keep a copy of all letters you send and receive. If the first letter does not bring a response, send a second.

Written Complaints.How to complain

Letters are important for these reasons:• To create a written record of your complaint

with the company. • To preserve your rights under law. • To make sure the business understands

your side of the story. • To involve government agencies in the case

or alert them to the firm's practices. • To lay the groundwork for a future legal

case or defence. • To let the company know you are serious

about pursuing the matter.

Written Complaints

Tips for writing complaint lettersTips for writing complaint letters• At the top of the letter print your name, address

and phone number clearly. • Briefly describe the problem, and what you want

done to resolve it. • Give a specific period of time in which a response

must be received (such as 10-14 days), and indicate that you will take "further action," "seek legal advice" or take other steps if the matter is not resolved. You need not tell the party exactly what you will do.

• Indicate if you are enclosing copies of supporting documents. (Never send originals.)

• Keep a copy of all your letters and supporting documents.

• IntroductionIntroductionI am writing to complain about ….

• Explaining the case/ giving detailsExplaining the case/ giving detailsMy particular complaint concerns….

• Summarizing the complaintSummarizing the complaintI find this totally unacceptable. …

• Prompting some action/responsePrompting some action/responseI would be grateful if you could give me some explanation and offer some form of compensation…

Written Complaints.How to complain.

FORMULASFORMULAS

IntroducingIntroducingThank you for your letter…I was sorry to hear that . . .

Explaining/giving reasonsExplaining/giving reasonsI have investigated your complaint in detail.The probelms were due to . . .Unfortuantely . . .I am sure you can understand . . .

ApologizingApologizingI can apologize for . . .Please accept my sincere apologies . . .

Promising actionPromising actionI can assure you that we have taken steps to ensure that these problems

do not occur again.We will look into this matter. . .

How to respond to Written Complaints

There are a number of formulas used when complaining

in English. It's important to remember that a directcomplaint or criticism in English can sound rude or aggressive. It's best to mention a problem in an

indirect manner. Here are some of the most common:

Oral Complaints.How to complain.

FORMULASFORMULAS

-Angry I´m sorry to trouble you, but there seems to be a problem… // Have you got a moment? I would like to tell you something about… // I was wondering if you could help me. There appears to be a little difficulty.// I'm sorry to have to say this but... // I'm sorry to bother you, but.. .// Maybe you forgot to... I think you might have forgotten to... //There may have been a misunderstanding about... // Don't get me wrong, but I think we should... // I don´t like to complain, but . . .

I want to complain… // I demand to see the person in charge immediately… // Are you supposed to be in charge here?...

+Angry

Oral Complaints.How to complain

Formula Formula ExampleExample

I'm sorry to have to say this but I think you have to improve your customer service.

I'm sorry to bother you, but I think you need to give a solution to my problem.

Maybe you forgot to give me an aisle seat.

I think you might have forgotten to

bring me the vegetarian meal I ordered.

There may have been a misunderstanding about

what I expected from your airline.

Don't get me wrong, but I think you should

pay more attention to the passengers´ needs.

* INITIAL REACTION AND APOLOGY.Oh dear. I´m sorry to hear that.Certainly. Is there a problem? I´m really very sorry.

*ASK FOR CLARIFICATIONWhat exactly is the problem?

* TAKE DETAILSI´ll just take some details.Could you describe. . .Let me see if I can help. I just need a few details.

* OFFER EXPLANATIONI´m terribly sorry, but there has been a bit of a problem.If I could just explain. . .

* PROPOSED PLANI´ll see if I can sort it out. . .I´ll tell you what I´ll do. . .This is what I´ll do . . .Why don´t you . . .

How to respond to Oral Complaints

Source: http://esl.about.com/library/grammar/blgr_complaints.htm