Good afternoon,This is Christopher Mele at The New York Times. I am a reporter on the Express Team at The New York Times.
I’m reporting on a story and wondered if you could weigh in please.
This story explores the concrete ways to write a smart, effective customer service complaint letter that gets results and compels a company to take specific action to resolve your issue.
Among the questions I’m exploring:* Should you reply on email, snail mail or the web-based forms that many companies have nowadays?
Companies want to get your feedback. Use their website to find their customer service department. Send a summary of your complaint. Be specific about dates, times, names, and locations. Abusive language will get you nowhere. Save your venting for your therapist. Be fair and concise. If something positive happened in the midst of your problem, pass along a compliment, as well.
* Should you go to social media with your complaint or is that more about venting publicly than it is getting results?
Go to the company first. If that channel brings no relief for your problem, social media is your next step.
* Is there an optimal length for your letter? (I know as a reporter I have gotten complaints complete with attached exhibits and photos and it can sometimes feel overwhelming.)
Your complaint should fit on one page (single-spaced). A picture is worth a thousand words, so attaching a couple of photos is a good idea.
* What is an appropriate amount of time to wait for a response/resolution? And upon hearing or getting none, what then?
As an apology expert, I always say that the sooner an apology arrives, the better! Allow 24-48 hours for the company to respond. If your complaint is urgent, don’t send another message. You need a human. Call their customer service department and ask to speak with a manager or use live chat on their website.
* Should you specifically say what you are looking for by way of remedy (refund, vouchers, coupons, etc.) or should you leave that to the company to decide? If you do make such a specific monetary request, do you run the risk of looking like you are merely trying to shake down the company and thus reducing your chances of getting what you want?
That’s right. You don’t want to appear to be financially-motivated so don’t ask for any amends up front. Stress the importance of their mistake never happening again to you- or to others. Ask them what policies they are going to put in place to prevent this problem from reoccurring. In our book, When Sorry Isn’t Enough, Gary Chapman and I describe five different parts of a successful apology. Asking what they are going to change going forward is a critical piece of the apology puzzle.
But what about amends? As in a salary negotiation, you don’t want to be the first to name your price. Wait and see what they offer. If it’s insufficient, then you politely tell them that it’s inadequate in your eyes. See if they come up with something else. Escalate the problem if needed. Only then should you name the restitution that would make up for the problem you experienced.
* Any other suggestions or pieces of advice?
Our research shows that the evidence of sincerity in apologies differs from customer to customer. We coined the term “apology languages” to describe the five different phrases people want to hear in apologies. If a company fails to speak your “apology language”, it’s OK to ask them to give you a complete apology.
Jennifer is a consultant and the co-author of When Sorry Isn’t Enough (with Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Five Love Languages). She prevents mishaps from becoming deal-breakers. Her TEDx talk on sincere apologies can be found at www.TEDhour.com.