How to Complain in an Effective Way

We all complain. I'm a Brit - we spend half our lives grumbling about the weather! Social media is full of people complaining, mainly about the behaviour of others! But sometimes we need to complain about something that actually needs changing, fixing or addressing. These problems can be very difficult and quite personal, which can make complaining rather tricky. When something affects you personally it is hard to complain in a way that gets the action you are after.

From large corporations to local schools, these tips will help you complain in a way that gets results.

Make sure there is a record.

Email is a great way to complain. There is a record of the communications, which could be very handy if you need to take the complaint higher and gives you a record to look back on. It can help you see patterns - different people might give you different responses and you might get different reactions depending on the time of day. If you complain over the phone, make sure you follow it up with an email confirming what was discussed.

Be specific

Complain about specific things, rather than generalities. "On the 16th, 18th and 19th you did XYZ" rather than "you always do XYZ". Complaining about specific things makes you think about your complaint in a less emotional way, which will help your communication.

Don't overdo it

Complain regularly if necessary. But not if it's not necessary. There is some truth in the saying "The squeaky wheel gets the oil", but sometimes the squeaky emailer is just ignored!

Communicate professionally

You don't need to learn Queen's English or solicitor speak, your own language skills are fine, but keep it polite. Avoid ranting, overly emotive language and passive aggression (and outright aggression!). It's a good idea to leave your email for a couple of hours and then re-read it. You'll be surprised how much aggression you overlook when you're angry!

Sometimes these things don't work. Then what do you do? Drinking wine, eating chocolate and crying are popular options, but we can probably come up with some more productive suggestions. Then you can drink the wine and eat the chocolate as a celebration!

Copy in a boss

This is surprisingly effective. You tried to get a response with the person responsible and had no success. This time, copy in their boss. Keep the same email thread so the boss can see the history and keep your communication the same (don't start using special boss speak!). If you are feeling very ignored, try adding the boss to the To: line and copying in the person you originally emailed.

Allow some emotion

I said earlier that you shouldn't rant or be aggressive, but this might be the time to allow a bit more emotion into your communication. Not anger or ranting, they rarely work, but some feeling. Words like disappointed, frustrated, let down and upset. Describe (succinctly) the effect the situation is having on you.

Social Media/press

Some people make their first complaint a public one, via Twitter or Facebook. I would keep social media until all other avenues have failed. A message on Social Media complaining about something will get some attention. A message complaining about something, and the lack of response to all attempts to sort out the issue, will get a lot more attention. No company or organisation wants negative press. Give them a chance to fix it before going public with it, then go public with a much bigger complaint.