Writting a Complaint Letter In A Positive Way By Daryl D. Scopino

There are many times in life where we come across unsatisfactory service or we receive a defective good. Sometimes our first instinct is to complain and blame someone for the poor service and take our angry out in a complaint letter. When writing a complaint letter always remember to stay calm and also remember that you are trying to solve a problem that the company has.

A complaint letter is a letter you send to a company, school, to address a problem you had with their service or their product. A good example of this was the time I ordered a printer online and the printer was supposed to be able to print photos however, that part of the printer did not work. I sent a complaint letter to the company stating my problem and asking if i could return it for a new one. My letter did not consist of anything that sounded angry, sarcastic or threatening. A few days later the company sent me a letter back thanking me for addressing my problem and allowed me to return my printer for an all new printer. If I used an angry tone of voice in my letter I probably wouldn't have gotten the great feed back and fast resolution to my problem.

• When writing a complaint letter make sure to:

1. Type your letter and not hand write it so it is simple to read.
   
2. Name of the company or specific person you are addressing the letter to.
3. Keep the letter brief and to the point about the problem you are addressing
4. Include important dates. For example, date of purchases or the time that the problem occurred.
5. State exactly how you want the problem to be resolved.
6. Include all documents that have to do with your problem. (Ex. receipts) Be sure to also send copies of the documents and not the originals.
7. AVOID WRITING IN ANGRY, SARCASTIC, OR THREATENING WAYS! Majority of the time the person receiving your letter is not the one responsible for the problem, however they can be very helpful in finding a way to help solve your problem.
8. ALWAYS keep a copy of the letter for your record.

• Here are a few examples on how a complaint letter should be formatted:

1. Example of complaint letter

Work Cited:

• Dobrin, Sidney I., Christian R. Weisser, and Christopher J. Keller. Technical Communication in the 21st Century. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.
• Sample Letters. Web. 08 Dec. 2009. .
• Stock Images - Royalty-Free Stock Photography Images and Photos at Jupiterimages. Web. 08 Dec. 2009. .