When you are finished with this lesson go to the Complaints Activities

Business English:
Dealing with Complaints - Lesson

Complaints are never a happy occasion, particularly if you are trying to keep a client or customer happy AND you are struggling with the language.

It is important to remember that responding to a complaint always has FOUR parts:

Apologize for the problem - no matter if you created it or not - no matter whether the issue is true or not.  What you are apologizing for is the fact that a customer is unhappy.  That's not good for business.

Ask for the specifics of the problem - what happened or what went wrong.

  Say that you will take action [and take it!], and

  Check back with the customer later to make sure the problem was resolved to their satisfaction.

*** Instructors: It is important - especially with complaints - that you ask your students for examples of the complaints they deal with.  You will be very surprised about the wide variety and the issues that come up and it is helpful for the students to use those examples in practice in class.***

Review the three parts of responses below:

Practice the two dialogs below with a partner.  Be sure to exchange roles so that are both the person with a complaint and the person responding to the complaint.

When you are finished with this lesson go to the Complaints Activities