1: hi guys welcome back to this series of videos on writing emails in English now in this video
8: we're going to look at a subject that unfortunately is very common and that
12: is complaining about things I'm going to take you through the phrases that we need um when
18: we write an email to complain about something whether it's a defective product or a service
26: that we've received which wasn't very good um there's always reasons why we have to
33: send polite professional emails to complain about things uh and that's what I'm going to
38: do in this class I'm going to take you through the phrases we need we're going to write two
43: model emails as well um the model emails I'll leave also in the class which accompanies this
51: video and I'll leave there lots of other model emails for complaining about things so
57: please do check out the link which I'll leave in the comments below this video okay ready let's
64: start now at Business English 23 we always believe that writing emails which are short
75: and simple is the best strategy and that's no different in this email to complain about
81: something so in our opening line we're going to get straight to the point and we're going to
86: say I am writing to complain about I am writing to complain about so for example
101: we might say I am writing to complain about the service I received in your restaurant last
108: night or we might say I am writing to complain about the condition of the television which I
119: purchased from from your internet store obviously here there are many different
124: possibilities but I would always start in the same way: I am writing to complain
131: about okay so now let's move on to our first model email and in this email
143: we're going to look at a situation which is very common which is uh unfortunately when
149: we have received a delivery late when one of our suppliers has
157: delivered goods to us after the the agreed deadline okay so let's look at how to do
164: that here's our email I'm going to start de Sarah using the first name and then the
177: first line immediately we we use the line that we've just seen I'm writing to complain about
184: the delay in receiving our last order okay I'm writing to complain about the delay in
192: receiving our last order and then as always in an email let's ask the other person to
201: do something okay and we'll do that in a very polite way using I would be grateful
208: so our last line will be I would be grateful if you could give me a call to discuss the
215: situation now the email that we've written
223: is perfectly fine but actually I'm going to add a couple more pieces of
227: information so we start the email as we have done before but let's put our reference number
236: for the order okay I mean let's give the other person all the information that they need
242: in order to resolve the problem and then I would give a little bit of extra information
250: as well we made the order with you in June but we had to wait nearly two months to receive the
257: goods okay we're not giving a huge amount of extra information but just the essential details about
267: when we made the order and how late the order was actually delivered and then we finished the email
276: as before I would be grateful if you could give me a call to discuss the situation best regards
283: Simon so that's one email for complaining about something which you're very welcome to copy and
292: paste and use yourselves now let's look at some alternative phrases for complaining for for
299: starting the email and also for continuing and giving more information about our
304: complaint a more direct way to start the email is
315: to use I'd like to complain about I'd like to complain
321: about so we might say for example I'd like to
329: complain about the terrible service we receive from your
333: technician or something that's very typical at the moment I'd like to complain
341: about the price Rises which your company has imposed on us this year obviously as
349: always here you've got a lot of um possible things that you're going to complain about
356: but we would always start the first line I'd like to complain about I'd like to complain
362: about alternative ways of starting the email are I'm not happy about or I'm disappointed
373: with both of these are very direct ways of starting an email to complain about
381: something and if we're particularly angry well we can use adverbs like really or very
394: so we might say I'm really not happy about the performance of the marketing department
400: this year or we are very disappointed with the results from the Christmas advertising
408: campaign and just as a side note I've talked about this in previous videos but
418: often when we write emails in English we prefer to use the first person plural
427: it just sounds a bit better to be honest with you uh it doesn't sound so so selfish
435: and so aggressive so we can turn those previous phrases around and we can use we're instead of
444: I am and we would start the email we're not happy about or we're disappointed
452: with now when we complain about something we're not just complaining because well we're in a bad
475: mood Etc no we normally want a solution and so the last line of an email is critical and
482: in that last line we're going to ask the person we're writing to to come up with a
487: solution if we want financial compensation we could say we would like to be refunded
497: the full cost of the service or we might say we would like to be compensated for the
505: inconvenience if we think the solution is fairly complicated probably we need
514: to have further discussions with the people we're writing to um so let's propose uh some
523: kind of future contact and we might say could you give me a call to discuss the
530: situation or could we set up a meeting to try to find a solution to the problem
543: if it's a case of products which have still not arrived products we've ordered
551: which have still not arrived we might finish the email with could you please tell us when
558: the products will be delivered could you please tell us when the products will be
564: delivered
571: I hope it's all clear up to this point we're now going to go on and write our second email
577: and in this situation again something that's very common we've organized a conference at
582: a hotel the service wasn't very good lots of um things went wrong and we're going to
588: write to the hotel to say that we're not happy and to demand that they do
593: something so so we're going to start our email with I'd like to complain about in this case I'd
605: like to complain about the service we received in your hotel last week now we're going to go
613: on and give details about the service um and as always this is going to be very specific to the
619: problem which you have had in this case um we're going to say the conference room was very badly
628: equipped and the rooms were very dirty now I've used very here the adverb very uh which is to
638: show that I'm really really not pleased with the situation and then in the next line I'm
644: going to talk about the consequences the negative consequences for our company our staff and clients
653: were very unhappy with the experience okay our staff and client were very unhappy with the
661: experience and now as I'm not happy as it's really
670: caused us a problem I'm going to be very direct and I'm going to ask for
675: compensation we would therefore like to ask for a refund of
682: 3,000 euros and now I'm going to justify that claim in the circumstances we
691: think it is very unfair if we have to pay the full
694: price and now the final line which again is a very common way of finishing emails
706: when we want a response I look forward to your response best regards Sam and there you have it
718: there's our email for complaining to a hotel about the service which they have provided
725: us and with that we come to the end of this class I hope you found it useful
735: don't forget that all of the emails plus extra emails are on the Business English 23
741: website for you to download and on that website you'll also find a whole course
748: on writing emails in English and also a course on using the telephone in English
756: okay I hope you've enjoyed the video thanks for watching and see you again
759: soon
How to complain by email. This class contains model emails which you can use now.
How to complain by email. Sometimes we don't receive the service we expect. This class contains model emails which you can use now.
We have seen in a previous class how to use the first line of an email to say why we are writing. We'll take one of the phrases from that class and use it here:
Personally, I like this phrase because it gets to the point immediately. Here are some examples:
Remember, this is only the first line! We must include more information about our complaint. Here is an email template you can use if you have waited too long to receive an order:
Dear Sarah,
I'm writing to complain about the delay in receiving our last order. I would be grateful if you could give me a call to discuss the situation.
Best regards,
Simon
We can make the email more effective! Let's explain our problem in more detail and include the order number:
Dear Sarah,
I'm writing to complain about the delay in receiving our last order (Ref: DFG-230-9). We made the order with you in June, but we had to wait nearly two months to receive the goods. I would be grateful if you could give me a call to discuss the situation.
Best regards,
Simon
We can add extra information if we want to...
Dear Sarah,
I'm writing to complain about the delay in receiving our last order. We made the order with you in June, but we had to wait nearly two months to receive the goods. This delay has created considerable problems for our production department. I would be grateful if you could give me a call* to discuss the situation.
Best regards,
Simon
* 'Give me a call' is a more colloquial way of say 'call me', 'phone me' or 'telephone me'.
We can also start our email with a more informal phrase:
This is a simpler and more direct form:
Let's see a full example:
Dear Tom,
I'd like to complain about the service we received in your hotel last week. The conference room was very badly equipped and the rooms were very dirty. Our staff and clients were very unhappy with the experience. We would, therefore, like to ask for a refund of €3000. In the circumstances we think it is very unfair if we have to pay the full price.
I look forward to your response.
Best regards,
Jane
As you can imagine, there are many alternatives to the forms we have just seen. Here are some examples:
I often prefer to use the first person plural:
To make the sentence stronger was use adverbs:
The first option (not happy) is more informal, the second option (disappointed) is a little bit more formal. Let's see some examples:
If we know a supplier well, we can use the informal sentence:
John,
I'm not happy about the service which you have been giving us recently. We made several orders with you in June, but we are still waiting for the products to be delivered. It's been over 2 months now! This delay has created lots of problems for our production department. Could you give me a call to discuss the situation?
Regards,
Simon
Did you notice how we also used a more informal tone at the end of the email too?
Let's write to the hotel again, but this time using one of the alternatives:
Dear Tom,
I'm writing regarding the conference we held at your hotel last week. We are very disappointed with the service we received. The conference room was very badly equipped and the rooms were very dirty. Our staff and clients were very unhappy with the experience. We would, therefore, like to ask for a refund of €3000. In the circumstances we think it is very unfair if we have to pay the full price.
I look forward to your response.
Best regards,
Jane
The opening line (the first line) in an email is important, so we've written a whole class on the subject here. It has lots more model emails for you to use at work.
Sometimes, the service we receive is so bad that we will want to ask for a refund or compensation.
This is another way of saying:
British people often find it difficult to say exactly what they think. We try to avoid using strong language when criticising somebody. This can be a good tactic if you don't want to offend the other person. However, often it is better to be clearer. You will have to decide for yourself. In an email written by a British client or colleague you might see expressions like:
or:
For example:
When we write an email to complain we normally want the recipient to do something in order to fix the problem. That's why the last line is so important. A classic way to end this type of email is with a sentence like the following:
Or:
If we are waiting for a delivery, we can finish the email like this:
When ww write an email to complain about a product or service, it's always easier to break the email down into smaller parts. Here are the parts your professional email should have:
When we complain by email we normally expect the other person to write back and apologise. It's only fair! If you need to say sorry by email check out our class on Example emails for apologising in English.