Is it better to complain in writing or in person?
All of us, from time to time, have purchased a faulty article or experienced an unsatisfactory service. Doubtless, this has made us feel that we want to complain.
In this day and age, our first thought is often to telephone the relevant firm, but telephoning these days is often far from rapid and, frequently, extremely frustrating. You are often put on hold for what seems like hours at a time, while having to listen to an annoying piece of music, or to a series of advertising comments.
It is not usually a good idea, anyway, to complain by telephone. Often, you will have grabbed the telephone when you are still very angry. Anger often makes people say a lot, but it does not usually make them articulate. It is better to postpone complaining until you are calmer and more likely to get your point across effectively. Even then, there are better ways to complain.
Some people prefer to complain in person, but this is often not easy to do nowadays. Often the firm which has supplied the faulty goods will be a very large one, sometimes a multinational company. There may be a sales outlet in your nearest town, but the goods are likely to have been sent from a central warehouse and manufactured anywhere in the world. You can certainly try visiting the local shop and lodging your complaint, but all the sales assistants there are likely to be able to do is to forward your complaint to the person at the head office who is in charge of customers’ complaints.
Of course, if you have ordered the goods through the Internet or by mail order, a face-to-face complaint is not possible. However, you can easily complain in person if the faulty goods have come from a local firm. Perhaps the local florist has sent some flowers which are past their best; or perhaps a local catering service has supplied food for a party and you have found some of it to be stale. You can easily go and confront a member of the firm, but is this wise?
The answer is no. You are likely to have rushed down when you are angry and, as has been described under the telephone option, you may well be very voluble, but not at all articulate. You will not get the facts across very well, and the people in the shop are less likely to take you seriously if you are angry and inarticulate. Even if you are calm and quite articulate, you may not remember all the points which you wish to mention.
It is much better to write a letter of complaint. Writing a letter gives you time to think and to marshal your thoughts. It is often helpful to make a list of the points which you want to make before you actually write the letter. It is also helpful to make a rough draft of the letter, read it over, make any necessary changes and rewrite the letter.
A letter is a well-thought-out written record of what you see as addressing your grounds for complaint. If you make sure that you the letter to the relevant person in the company, this is the best way of making sure that your complaint will be dealt with. Apart from anything else, that person will be aware that you have a copy of the letter and that he or she might get into trouble if the matter is not dealt with.
You may feel that a telephone call or a personal visit is a more immediate way of complaining. However, a letter is the most effective way.
