Know what you are asking for
A complaint without a request is only venting, and it leaves the business to guess at a remedy that will usually be smaller than the one you wanted. Pick something proportionate: a remade dish, a refund for the broken item, a night's credit for the room with no hot water. Complain while the problem can still be fixed. The cold entree should be mentioned at the table and not in a review the next morning, and the noisy room at check-in and not at checkout.
In person
Speak quietly to someone with the power to fix it, state the fact, and make the request. "I ordered this medium rare and it has come well done. I would like it replaced, please" is the entire speech. Assume a mistake and not malice, skip the sarcasm, and do not perform for the neighboring tables. Staff go a long way for a calm customer and do the minimum for a loud one.
The written complaint
Keep the receipt, the order number, photographs, dates and the name of everyone you dealt with. A letter or email should fit on one page and cover five things in order.
- Say what you bought, where and when, with the order or account number.
- Say what went wrong, in dates and facts and without adjectives.
- Say exactly what you want done.
- Give a reasonable deadline, such as fourteen days.
- Attach copies of your documents, and keep the originals.
The ladder
Begin with the front line, move to a manager, and then write to the head office, addressing customer relations or a named executive. If you paid by credit card for something that never arrived or was not as described, you can dispute the charge with the card issuer, and federal law generally gives you sixty days from the date of the statement showing the charge to do it in writing. Beyond that stand the regulators: your state attorney general's consumer protection office, your state insurance department for insurers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for banks and lenders, and the Department of Transportation for airlines. The last rung is small claims court, where the dollar limit varies by state and is posted on your state court system's website. Mentioning the next rung calmly is often all it takes.
Note A factual public post on a company's social media page often draws a fast reply, because businesses watch those pages closely. Stick to dates and facts, and move account details to a private message.
