Many of us, through our daily life, experience the inconvenience of listening to someone complain. As annoying as this can be in our personal relationships, it is an even bigger frustration in a professional aspect. Whether leading a company or maintaining a position at the bottom of the totem pole, complaining affects the atmosphere negatively and brings morale down. When you feel you were mistreated by a business, it's often best to start with a complaint letter. If done correctly, you can often get action promptly as well as help the business in preventing these sorts of prolems from happening again. However, if you do not go about it the right way, it will be overlooked and not taken seriously. Below, are some suggestions and a sample complaint letter that will ensure your letter is read and taken seriously.
Address the letter to a person with some real authority -- someone who can fix the problem. This is usually the head of customer service, or a top officer such as the President of the company.
Type your letter.
Start out with data. State (a) when you bought the product, (b) where you bought it, (c) the name and model of the product, and (d) the serial number if you have it.
State the problem clearly. Be brief. Do not rant and rave (even if you are feeling that way!) Be businesslike and objective. Companies get lots of letters from "crackpots," and such letters usually do not get anywhere. State what you want. Do you want a refund? Do you want to exchange the product? If so, for what? Do you just want an apology?
Send copies of relevant documents like receipts. Do not send original receipts. Keep them.
Set a specific time for them to respond. A reasonable time is usually 10 business days or more.
Make sure you give your phone number (specify whether it is daytime or nighttime or give both), and your address, as well as your name. If you are writing to a company on the mainland, it helps to explain the time differential to Hawaii. There are plenty of people who have been woken up at 3 a.m. in the morning with a call from a customer service representative on the east coast. (Not a good way to get off on the right foot!)
Keep a copy of everything you send. If it's a big problem, you should consider sending your letter return receipt requested, so you can prove they got it, and when.
65 Market Street
Val Haven, CT 95135
June 30, 2004
Customer Service
Cool Sports, LLC
8423 Green Terrace Road
Asterville, WA 65435
Dear Sir or Madam:
I have recently ordered a new pair of soccer cleats (item #6542951) from your website on June 21. I received the order on June 26. Unfortunately, when I opened it I saw that the cleats were used. The cleats had dirt all over it and there was a small tear in front of the part where the left toe would go. My order number is AF26168156.
To resolve the problem, I would like you to credit my account for the amount charged for my cleats, I have already went out and bought a new pair of cleats at my local sporting goods store so sending another would result in me having two pairs of the same cleats.
Than you for taking the time to read this letter. I have been a satisfied customer of your company for many years and this is the first time I have encountered a problem. If you need to contact me, you can reach me at (555) 555-5555.
Sincerely,
Signature
Ken Thomas
http://www.letterwritingguide.com/samplecomplaint.htm
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Good post on explaining the negative effects of complaining. Maybe you could elaborate on how complaining effects the workplace and how to deal with it. Nice job explaining how it effects everyone from the top positions to lower end positions.
ReplyDeleteWhile you succeeded in summarizing the general idea, there's not much else there. But looking at the topic you were given I can understand why...there really isn't a lot much else you can write without being redundant. So in the end, good job! :)
ReplyDeleteYou gave a good overview of complaining in the workplace. If you could maybe add in a sample of a complaint letter and talk about how to write a complaint letter would be great!
ReplyDeleteI like the sample format for a complaint letter, it helps to see what one should look like in case I ever have to write one.
ReplyDeleteComplaints are very hard to address properly. I think that your format would be very helpful to someone trying to work out a proper complaint. I think there is something weird going on with the formatting of your sample letter within the blog- there are a bunch of c's in it. Good job helping people with this tough task!
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