There is probably a good chance that you have written a letter of complaint sometime over the years, but have you ever received on in your home business? What do you do when you are on the receiving end of a well-written (or not so well-written) letter of complaint? Do you take it seriously? Do you take it personally? How can you react reasonably and constructively and make the most of an unpleasant situation?
It takes a lot for me to write a letter of complaint, but I have done it a few times. I guess I have found that the older I get the more clear I am on what my expectations are and poor customer service really gets to me. While I have not received a letter of complaint yet in my home business, I have certainly received them in other work that I have done and it is seldom fun. One’s first response might be denial and defensiveness. We would much rather think that the person writing the letter is being unreasonable or kooky than to admit there might really be a problem. I think, however, that once you can push yourself past that initial denial and defensiveness, you can use the complaint letter to make your business better.
I think letters of complaint should be taken seriously—they should be thoroughly read and acknowledged. Even if you aren’t sure what to say in response, you can send an e-mail or make a call telling the customer that you “have received the letter and you are looking into the matter.” You can give them an idea of when they should expect you to get back to them as well. Now, you can get down to business.
What is the actual complaint? What does the customer or client want to happen? Often they will tell you what they expect or how they would like to see the problem solved. If not, reading over the letter carefully may give you some ideas for how to solve the problem. You might also want to evaluate whether this was a one-time situation, or whether you have an on-going or a systems problem that needs to be addressed. Sometimes, one complaint is really just the tip of the iceberg and can signal a problem that is affecting more than just the one customer.
Deal with complaint letters promptly and thoroughly. It is alright to take a day or two to get your mind right and get to a place where you are not taking things personally. Have a solution and an apology ready when you contact the customer. You may not be able to make everyone happy, but you can at least try to bring the complaint or problem to resolution.
Finally, I think it is a good idea to save letters of complaint in a file, along with your response and notes about the circumstance. Just in case you should ever be sued or need to follow-up—it will show that you have taken it seriously and done everything you could to resolve the problem.
Also: When Complaints Come
How to Deal with Air Travel Complaints