When you complain about a product or service you’re unsatisfied with, do you make a point to sound different from all the other unhappy customers?
There’s a certain structure and tone that every customer service representative expects to read in a complaint. (Because most of the consumer-corporate conversations that happen online occur in writing, I’ll focus primarily on written complaints here.) Color within the lines and you’ll be treated like any other unhappy customer. You’ll be at the mercy of inane procedures and quickly transform into the punching bag for Customer Service Associate #3762, Jennifer, who is having a bad day. Not interested in that? Learn what Jennifer expects from you and put some effort into surprising her. The results can be spectacular.
How do customer service representatives expect you to complain? Keep reading.
Here’s a complaint I received via email yesterday:
Hey Seth,
I am following you on Twitter and have been for a while but have not gotten a follow back from you. I am going through my account today, doing a little house cleaning. I don’t want to un-follow you so, please, begin following me so we can keep communicating.
Thanks,
(Let’s call him Mike)
I was spittingly incredulous at first. I’d never interacted with Mike on any level before and yet here he was, telling me how to behave? I wondered if the email was some sort of joke sent by a mischievous colleague. It turned out to be a legitimate email.
My first impulse was to write a nasty (nasty–the kind with mean words) reply telling Mike just what I thought of his approach to social networking.
Then I took a moment to reflect on the situation.
I decided to break the email’s message down into its basic parts:
- “Have been for awhile–not gotten a follow back” — Mike remarks on his investment in our relationship. He reminds me that he’s not acting on a whim and feels that he gave me ample time to hold up my end of the bargain.
- “Doing a little house cleaning” — Mike lets me know that he’s serious about unfollowing me. So serious that he conjures up images of dust bunnies fleeing from a hungry vacuum in order to make his point.
- “I don’t want to un-follow you” — Mike makes it clear that he’d prefer not to carry out his threat. He’s only unfollowing because I’m forcing him to.
- “Begin following me so we can keep communicating” — Mike presents me with a single-option road map to success and a reminder of how much I’ll miss if I don’t follow his instructions to the letter.
As I considered reasons why this particular email annoyed me so much, I realized something: I’d encountered this sort of letter before! Many times in fact. The note about my Twitter behavior followed the same format as every other complaint letter I’d ever read. Many of the written complaints customer service professionals deal with on a daily basis can be outlined as follows:
- [Listen to me] – “I’ve been a customer for years” – The customer qualifies the complaint by remarking on a history of patronage.
- [Don't think badly of me] – “I’ve never complained before“ – The customer makes a point to soften the tone. (Most people don’t want to be seen as rabid curmudgeons.) The level of softening varies depending on the personality of the customer. You can usually find at least a few apologetic words in each letter.
- [Here's my side] – “Something went wrong” – This is usually the long part of the letter. It tends to start with a discussion about a problem with a product or service then quickly turns into a narrative about various people and the things they said. Your average customer doesn’t view writing letters as a first option. In my experience, a written letter of complaint only appears after at least three failed conversations have taken place between company representatives and the customer. Most customers regard a failure to connect (hours on hold, lost emails, rescheduled meetings, etc) as a failed conversation.
- [The threat] – “I’m rethinking my decision to be your customer” – The customer states a desire to find satisfaction. As that satisfaction has not been found under the current circumstances, the customer is looking elsewhere. Personal anecdotes are often mentioned at this point. For example, “My friend, Marcie, bought her blender from [competitor] and never had a problem like this.” The word “respect” often comes up at this point. It doesn’t always mean what you’d expect it to.
- [The offer of resolution] – “Please do precisely this and such in order to make me happy” – At the end of the letter, the customer often lays out a plan through which satisfaction can be found without the the provider “losing” the customer’s business. This is the part where expectations sometimes run wild and requests that would have been unimaginable before communication broke down seem like realistic expectations.
While you still have the outline in your mind, lets take another quick look at Mike’s email to see how it compares to the stereotype:
Hey Seth,
I am following you on Twitter and have been for a while but have not gotten a follow back from you. I am going through my account today, doing a little house cleaning. I don’t want to un-follow you so, please, begin following me so we can keep communicating.
Thanks,
“Mike”
Aside from a lack of narrative, which makes sense because Mike and I have never interacted before, Mike’s email follows the expected outline completely. His message is short-sighted, one-sided, demanding, and fails to recognize my side of the story or even ask for my thoughts.
Now that you know how Jennifer expects you to complain, what’s a simple way to surprise her? By turning the outline on its head and expressing your concern in a remarkable fashion.
How to complain with class? Try these:
- Start by seeking a solution — NOBODY expects you to be patient, listen, and take a proactive approach. Use this to your advantage.
- Take notes – From jotting down an action plan to brainstorming for alternate solutions, note-taking is a tried and true method of adding clarity to a situation.
- Avoid threats — It’s common knowledge that you’ll probably go elsewhere if things don’t work out. No need to rub it in anybody’s face.
- Minimize narrative — Present your story with an eye for needed facts only. Using harsh words and a sharp tone serves only to bring more emotions into the situation.
- Proofread your letter/post – Have a smart friend read your complaint over and suggest edits for clarity and tone.
Whenever you make an effort to improve communication, chase solutions instead of people, and listen first, you’ll find that positive results have a way of seeking you out. Sound good? I thought so.
Now, two questions.
- Have you ever written a letter of complaint? If so, did it follow the stereotypical outline? What was the result of your letter?
- What do you think I should say in my reply to the email from Mike?
Thanks for your thoughts. Stay classy!
In addition to useing the prescribed outline, a letter written in good business format gets more attention.
Great blog post, thank you for sharing
It's interesting that you'd suggest a business format.
I've had far better luck with writing straightforward personal notes. I'm a person, the individual reading my letter is a person…seems to work well when I keep that in mind as I'm formatting.
That said, crayon on cardboard is probably not the way to go. =)
Thanks Jane!
Hmmm… maybe is Mike new to Twitter? DMing is not the only way to communicate. I think you should recommend that he start engaging you through @ replies or through your blog (lol, he can start with this post
.
I have written letters on a few occasions, all of which received satisfactory outcomes (yay!). I think a big part of that was making sure that my tone was not out of line – there's a person on the other end of the transom, after all! Along those lines, I agree with your reply in comments that a personal note is more effective than a straight business letter. Not a “hey, how you doing!” personal note, but about me as a person in this situation.
As further advice, I'd add simply waiting a tad before writing and sending. We often are reacting out of frustration and don't make our point as clearly as we'd like. I tend to write down every detail about a situation, including how they made me feel, then put it aside for a few hours or days. In a few cases, I've realized that merely that process helped me solve the issue – I was giving “the other side” too much power in how I was reacting, I guess you'd say.
As for “Mike” – I'd probably acknowledge his frustration, then point out that, in fact, he's in charge of how he uses Twitter, so if he doesn't want to “un-follow” he doesn't have to… just as you don't have to follow anyone. I don't think a long reply about what communication is or how folks can communicate on Twitter is warranted, personally.
Then, of course, I'd tell him his name is ugly, his avatar is goofy, and his tweets stink! That'll show 'im
I never write letters of complaint. I can never be sure it reaches them. Honestly.
For those not in the know, I'm in Spain and while the postal service is not exactly terrible I do know our local postman. Hes lived in the area his whole live. I meet him when he asked for directions to the street he was already on…seriously.
Also I would not be confident enough in my Spanish to write the letter in the correct manner and even if I write it and had it translated so much is lost in translation that I end up with a different result than would normally be expected.
Its a whole other ballgame here and revolves around making phone calls or in the case of it actually being your phone thats not working then using your neighbours/friends/families or hoping that you know someone personally in the company who will address the problem as a favour.
:S
Good idea. =)
Hi Greg,
Good call!
I have a 48 hour “cool down” rule on blog posts I've written in a fit of passion. I treat emails with the same rule in the knowledge that someday one of my emails will probably be turned into fodder for a post on somebody else's blog. It's definitely helped me avoid saying things in the heat of a moment that I'd regret later.
I think I'll give him the quick version…minus your suggested bits at the end. It's always tempting to include them though. That's what the cool-off is for, eh?
Thanks!
Hmph. So much for writing for a global audience. =)
As we've discussed before, there's a big gap in the tech use between certain countries. In the US, you can usually sit down and pound out a quick email. No need for the handwritten stuff.
Not going to lie though. I'd get a kick out of somebody sending me a handwritten note about how they didn't like the way I use Twitter.
A classic.
Thanks Justin!
Dear Mike,
Fuck off.
Yours aye,
Obo
Thanks for the laugh. My first draft was something similar. =)
I wont mention writing emails, I just got my internet back after being offline for 12 days and thats working with the national service provider…
And also most of the time emails “get sent to the spam filter” or disappear. How convenient.
Very thought-provoking! Thanks for not only providing us with an example of what NOT to do, but also with suggestions on what TO do.
Although I haven't written many letters or emails of complaint, I have called companies with complaints. During these calls, I do my best to be polite, concise, and to-the point. I also try to remove the 'blame' factor from the conversation, as fault or responsibility it is usually quite evident already. Most of all, I realize that there is a PERSON on the other end of the line, and try (note the try) to treat them accordingly. So far, this strategy has been quite effective. Amazing how far a little human kindness goes!
As for 'Mike'… following on twitter isn't always a two-way street. I follow quite a few people who don't follow me back, usually learn a huge amount from them and am quite grateful for that. There are many very positive ways of engaging people, and building relationships via twitter and elsewhere. Using threats isn`t one of them.
Funny, isn’t it, that when we remember that there’s a human on either side of an interaction we get the best results?
I haven’t followed him back yet. =)
Thanks Marja!
My first thought upon reading “Mike's” email was that it sounds exactly like my 5 & 7 year olds trying to coerce their playmates into doing something for or giving something to them: “If you ___________, I'll be your best friend …”
Ummm, no you won't.
When it comes to complaint letters — and I've written a coupla doozies in my time — I try to keep the voice as friendly as possible; to convey the message as I'd want it conveyed to me (no one likes a whiner). In the vein of “you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”, I have found it most effective to disarm customer service agents, etc. by actually being friendly; by acknowledging that my complaint is, by no means, their fault.
As for Mike, I suppose telling him to “suck it” is out of the question? Barring that, I'd encourage him to engage with @s and the like, instead of wasting his time moaning and complaining. That'd be much more effective in helping his Twitter tree to bear fruit.
His email is hysterically sad. Personally I think he deserves a pity follow, no need to bother replying, he'll get the Twitter email, “SS is now following you” and his day will be made. If you don't want to go for that, just ignore him, he'll get the message. Ignoring complaints is the classic way many companies treat complainers anyway (hello @PayPal) so you'd be following a long tradition.
Or, if he's really bugged you maybe you want to toy with him a bit: follow him for a few weeks and then unfollow him shortly after and see if he notices. Nah, just kidding on this one, he's far too needy and sensitive to be played like that.
Re the best way to complain. I had some shocking service from a UK bank recently and acted with a series of polite emails and phone calls asking them to fix the problem over a month or so. They did nothing. My husband said I needed to get angry with them, so I wrote a letter saying how fed up I was and threatening to report them to the appropriate ombudsmen (a wonderful chance to use the word), unless they sorted it out pronto. That finally got them to deal with the problem. Sometimes you do have to get angry, or at least pretend to be.
Anyway, we all need an awkward client or two to give us something to moan about. No job would be complete without them. I look forward to seeing what action, if any, you decide to take! I'm sure you have bigger fish to fry:)
It's too bad that the bank didn't respond initially. Sometimes I think we fail to bring things up until we are “angry” and then it's too late to share those thoughts in a crisp manner.
There are many people on Twitter who “pity follow” by the thousands. I simply don't have the stomach for that anymore. Tried it months ago. Never going back.
I'll post a comment with my response when I get a few minutes to figure out what I'll tell him.
Thanks!