It’s important to complain. Or, I think what I really mean is that it’s important to let others know what you want.
There are many cases in which a company or organization will slight you, whether due to sloppiness or by design. And you’ve got to let them know that you don’t appreciate it. You’ve got to let them know how they screwed up and what they can do to make it right. The best way to do this is by writing a good complaint letter.
Here are five ways to craft an effective, attention-getting complaint.
Send an actual, physical letter. There are a couple reasons to deliver your complaint by snail mail rather than by email or through a phone call. First, snail mail is hard to ignore. A letter is an actual, physical object and it can’t be forced to listen to muzak for 20 minutes on hold and it can’t be deleted with the click of a mouse. Second, when you send out a letter, you’re creating a paper trail. If you need to escalate the dispute (by, say, contacting a CEO, filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau or even perhaps filing a lawsuit), you’ve got written records of what you sent to whom and when.
Make it clear that you’re a loyal customer (if you are). Any business worth its salt values its regular customers. If you’re a regular, make that fact clear. If Steve’s Lawn Service screwed up your lawn, mention that you’ve been using them since 1989 and have been extraordinarily pleased with the service up until now, but that they stand to lose you as a customer if they don’t meet your demands. I actually think it might be better to start your letter out with a compliment - to mention how great everything was up until now so that the recipient sees you as a friend/asset instead of an enemy, and then launch into your complaint.
Be calm. Nobody likes to deal with somebody who’s insulting, sarcastic, or rude. Firmness will help you get what you want, but anger generally won’t, unless you’ve concluded that the people you’re dealing with are total zombies. There’s a fine line between firmness and anger. You want to make sure that other party understands that you mean business and that you refuse to be stepped all over, but you don’t want to be so harsh that the recipient of your complaint concludes that you are a jerk and loses all willingness to help you. Also, keep in mind that the person reading your complaint most likely isn’t the person who wronged you.
Suggest a concrete solution. Plant a little suggestion about what you want the other party to do in response to your complaint. If you’ve mastered the firmness/anger thing, your letter has just a slight tinge of unpleasantness and it tells the other party clearly how to get you out of the way so that everybody can go on with their lives. If you make it clear how the other party can please you, you make pleasing you the path of least resistance. Everybody likes to take the path of least resistance.
Say how long you are willing to wait. This is another way to urge action. Tell the other party in concrete terms when you plan to escalate the dispute, particularly if you have the feeling your complaint might be ignored. A concrete date can be the extra little nudge that will get the recipient to actually start to act (again, making acting instead of doing nothing the path of least resistance).
I hope you find these tips useful. Remember: be firm, be clear, be direct, and don’t cave in!
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June 17th, 2008 - 12:36 pm
Another point I’d like to add, if I may, is that it’s important to complain to *someone who can help*. That’s not necessarily the first person you contact.
June 17th, 2008 - 12:38 pm
June 18th, 2008 - 7:15 pm
I agree, I’ve had issues with T-Mobile before and regular customer service wouldn’t help me. I found an executive customer service email on the consumerist and they called me the next day and took care of the problem.
June 18th, 2008 - 7:44 pm
I, too, love “The Art of Complaint Letters,” and agree with almost everything you’ve said. I particularly like the “Say how long you are willing to wait” suggestion. Two quick comments:
- Its one thing to mention that you’re a loyal customer, even better to start out with a short compliment, but I think its easy to go too far. Unless you’re driving *a lot* of business, its unlikely you’re a significant enough customer to warrant a higher level of customer service than an infrequent customer, so I’d be careful to not enter into a “Do you know how important I am” attitude.
- In addition, I’d emphasize keeping a complaint letter short and succinct. Its easier to get worked up and want to just write and write and write and write — but that is likely to hurt you more than help. Someone has to read the letter. In my experience, shorter, more direct letters tend to be more effective.
July 9th, 2008 - 5:55 am
Great blog and great comments. At some point in dealing with a transaction I start writing notes about every conversation (date, time, contact person) and keeping every shred of correspondence. Then, when I am not satisfied with the outcome and believe I have been wronged and have worked in good faith I write letters to the attorneys general in my state and the state where the business in incorporated. That has never failed in remedying the situation. This puts pressure on the firm and the attorney general may ask the firm to provide information and you may get information from the attorney general. In one case my remedy came from the credit card company when I faxed them a letter from the attorney general which provided them with helpful information about an ongoing investigation of the firm.