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Download complaint letter sample in Microsoft Word format.
Get Noticed Using the Correct Complaint Letter Format
Have you recently had a bad experience with a business or organization—an experience that left you less than satisfied with the way they handled things? Have you considered drafting a letter to voice your dissatisfaction—a document drafted in the correct complaint letter format using language that will get results? When a business makes a mistake that leaves you on the “short end’ of things it can be extremely frustrating, and often a telephone call is not sufficient to get an acceptable response. In cases like these, your best strategy, at least according to consumer experts, is to draft a complaint letter and send it to the company’s owner or consumer affairs division. To help you with this, here we will briefly define the purpose of the complaint letter and demonstrate for you the proper complaint letter format.
The Purpose of the Complaint Letter and Where to Send It
Generally speaking, a complaint letter is a letter written to a business or organization that voices your dissatisfaction with a product or service. Typically, these types of letters are saved as a last resort, after telephone calls or personal visits have proved ineffective.
Who you address your complaint letter to really depends on the size of the business. When dealing with very large companies, for example, your best recourse is to send your complaint letter to their consumer relations division. These employees’ sole purpose is to ensure their customers remain satisfied with a given company, which often means fielding customer complaints and making restitution when needed. However, if you’re problem is with a small to medium sized business—a business without a consumer affairs division—you’re usually better off sending your complaint letter directly to the manager or owner.
Get Your Letter Noticed with the Proper Complaint Letter Format
If you think about it, a complaint letter is not worth the paper it is written on if it doesn’t get noticed by the appropriate people. But how can you ensure that your letter will be read? Of course there are never any guarantees, but a good first step is to follow a few simple letter-writing rules and draft your letter in the proper format.
A complaint letter should be set up just like a business letter, which means at the top of the document you should type your name and full address, skip a line, and then type the name and address of the business you are writing to, addressing it, of course, to the appropriate person or department. The date should be printed next and then the salutation, leaving only the body of the letter and the closing left to write.
In the body of the letter you will need to follow a few simple rules for your letter to be effective. First, try to be professional and not emotional. Avoid sarcastic language and threats, keeping in mind that the person reading your letter is most likely not the one responsible for your dissatisfaction. Also, keep your letter short and to the point. Businesses do not have the time or the inclination to read expansive “novels.” Start your letter by calmly identifying the mistake or problem that occurred and express how that mistake affected you. Then, convey the type of restitution you feel is fair as compensation for your bad experience. Finish your letter by thanking the business for their time and provide the appropriate contact information where you can be reached.
Using the proper complaint letter format and the type of language demonstrated here is by far your best chance to get noticed. These letters do not have to be long or nasty, in fact, that strategy is rather unproductive. Structure your letter using a business format and be brief and to the point. If you do this, your chances of receiving an acceptable response will increase significantly.