How To Make A Complaint

Investigation 1
How to make a complaint politely in English
The airline lost your baggage. The hotel laundry ruined your favorite shirt. The taxi driver overcharged you. When you're abroad,sometimes things go wrong. 

Now you can do something about it! Use these tips when you want to express an effective complaint in English.

No matter how unfair the situation, it's best to phrase yourcomplaint politely. In English, you'll sound more polite if you use indirect language. Here are some examples:

I'm sorry to bother you ...

Starting a complaint with "I'm sorry to bother you" putsthe listener – who may have heard many complaints that day – at ease. Use this phrase if the situation isn't that serious. For example, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I wanted a baked potato, notfries."

Can you help me with this?

Everyone would much rather be asked to do something than told! So try phrasing your complaint as a request for help: "Can you help me with this? My shirt came backfrom the laundry missing buttons."

I'm afraid there may be a misunderstanding.

This is a polite way of saying, "Your information is wrong. Please fix it now." You'll most likely use this phraseif you made reservations for a flight, hotel or restaurant, and when you arrive, it's not what you expected. For instance, "I'm afraid there may be a misunderstanding. I requested a non-smokingroom."

I understand it's not your fault ...

Often when you make a complaint; you deal with a person who was not directly responsible for the problem. But the problem isn't your fault, either! Thisphrase is helpful when you need swift action. Tell the person you're dealing with you understand they're not at fault and then directly state the problem: "I understand it's not your fault, but theairline promised they would deliver my baggage yesterday."

Excuse me, but I understood that ...

Using this phrase lets the person know you're well-informed and are suspicious they might be trying...