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organisation, and in the process they seem to forget to apologise.
A great many business people still react to complaints like this, but would complain bit-
terly if they were subjected to the same treatment. On the other hand, most of us would
feel much better disposed towards someone who accepted responsibility, apologised
and took corrective action than towards someone who tried to make excuses and cor-
rected the error grudgingly and without apology. By all means explain the circumstances
behind the error (see below), but do so briefly, and do not think that your explanation is
a substitute for an apology.
The explanation
When you have apologised, you should give some explanation of the facts of the case. If
you accept the complaint, then it is a good idea to give some explanation of what went
wrong. But do not let your explanation get in the way of your apology: the apology
comes first, so that the explanation does not look like an excuse. You should also not go
into too much detail. By all means say that you were let down by your supplier, or that
your system for dealing with orders was at fault, but then leave it at that. What your
complainant wants is an apology and a remedy; the explanation may make them more
understanding, and make them feel that you take the complaint seriously, but only if you
keep it brief.
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Techniques for different occasions
If you are rejecting the complaint, your explanation needs to be longer. You have to try
to convince the complainant that your rejection is justified, much as you do when reject-
ing a request, and you can only do that if you go into a certain amount of detail.
Rejecting a Complaint
Be polite.
Express regret or concern that the person has had to contact you.
Give the impression in your explanation that you have investigated the complaint fully, no
matter how trivial it really is.
Give all the facts as you understand them, particularly where your understanding differs from
that of your correspondent.
If there are any other people who can back up your version of events, then say who they are.
Below is an example of a letter rejecting a complaint, putting the techniques discussed
above into effect.
CARLTON & DAVIES
BUILDING CONTRACTORS
24 Queen Street, Morganston, MG2 3HI
Tel. 01356 789012
Our ref. MD/KR/19876
8 February 20XX
Mr J.P. Stephenson
5 Brooms Close
Morganston
MG4 9KN
Dear Mr Stephenson
I was very concerned to see from your letter of 31 January that you are not satisfied with
our response to your request for repairs to be made to your roof.
On receipt of your letter, I conducted a thorough investigation of all the circumstances of the
job. I spoke to our telephonist, our Works Manager and the men who carried out the work.
What happened, as I understand it, is that you telephoned us on 15 January to say that
there was a leak in your roof, and that the rain was coming in. Because of the storms, we
had a great many emergency calls that day, and you were told by the telephonist that
someone would call as soon as possible. She also, I believe, advised you on short-term
measures you could take to alleviate the problem. You confirmed that you would be at home
for the rest of the day.
Our workmen did in fact call later at about eight o clock, according to their worksheet but
you were not at home. You say that they should have made the necessary repairs in your
absence but unfortunately, in order to do so, they needed access to the house. I believe that
they left a note to that effect. They did, however, call again next day, when you were in. As
you say, the repair they made then was only temporary, but the men concerned tell me that
they did point that out at the time. I am very sorry if you misunderstood them. The reason
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A Guide to Good Business Communication
for the temporary repair was that we were still receiving emergency calls. To make a permanent
repair would have taken several hours, and they were certain that their temporary job would
hold until they were able to return and finish it as in fact it did.
They returned a week later to complete the job. You say that you should not have had to
wait that long, but as I have said, we had a great many emergencies to deal with. It was
therefore not possible to come back any sooner, and the temporary repair did ensure that in
the meantime you did not suffer any inconvenience.
I agree that our service was not as fast as we would normally like it to be, but I am
sure you will appreciate that the situation was not normal. I do believe that under the
circumstances we did everything possible to accommodate you. I am afraid therefore that we
cannot agree to waive our charge for the repair.
Yours sincerely
Martin Davies
Director
The remedy
If you accept the complaint, then in the final part of your letter (before you sign off, per-
haps with another brief apology) you should outline how you intend to remedy the
situation. This could simply involve changes to your systems or your way of doing
things so that the same mistake does not happen again. Or it could take a more concrete
form, such as giving the complainant a credit note, cancelling an invoice, or paying some
form of compensation. It all depends on the circumstances.
But remember that goodwill is important in any business relationship. If you have com-
mitted an error or inconvenienced a business contact in any way, it is worth a bit of
trouble, and even money, to ensure that the goodwill is not lost. So when it comes to a
remedy, err on the side of generosity.
Below is a letter accepting a complaint. It includes all the elements we have been talking
about, from a graceful and unreserved apology to a brief explanation of what went
wrong and then a generous suggestion for remedying the situation.
NEW MODE FASHIONS
5 Thornton Road, Langton LT2 3UV
(01234 987654
12 July 20XX
Mrs J. Wilson
Hilton & Co.
46 Kilsey Street
Osberton
OS1 2TU
Dear Mrs Wilson
I was extremely sorry to see from your letter of 5 July that your special order of 20 June
was delivered late. I am grateful to you, however, for giving me such full details of the order
and delivery, as it has enabled me to trace and correct a fault in our order processing
system.
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Techniques for different occasions
What apparently happened was that the order was held back because the computer showed a
query on your account. By the time we discovered that the query was a computer error, the
consignment was late. We have now corrected the error, and have instituted a system for
informing customers immediately if there is likely to be any delay in the despatch of their
orders.
This means that this should not happen again, but I realise that it does not solve your
immediate problem, which is that your customer has cancelled her order. I would therefore like
to make the following two suggestions:
1. We will cancel your invoice for the garments, enabling you to give them to your customer free
of charge as a means of regaining her goodwill.
2.We will in addition credit you with the full value of the order, to compensate you for the
loss of business you have suffered.
I hope that these suggestions meet with your approval, and that you will accept my apologies
for the inconvenience you have been caused.
Yours sincerely
Gillian Holding
Managing Director
EXERCISE 22
Look again at Exercise 21. Imagine that you work for the supplier of the office equipment, and you
have received the telephone call for which you made notes in that exercise. You have conducted
an investigation and find that the company is indeed at fault. Write a letter accepting the complaint.
Clarifying Complex Problems
One of the hardest letters to write is the one designed to sort out a situation where the
correspondence has become bogged down in a mass of claims and counter-claims to
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