example Email of Complaint Process2

8/17/2019 example Email of Complaint Process2

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Creating Opportunity Worldwide

Pro-ELT Teacher Training Materials Level: B1 and B2

1: What are the most common complaints people ma e!

Brainstorm in pairs/groups

Contributed by: Glenda Thomas© The British Council, 2013

The British Council is the United Kingdom s international organisation !or cultural relations and education o""ortunities#British Council $alaysia is a branch %&&'232()* o! the British Council, registered as a charity in +ngland and ales %20&131* and -cotland %-C03..33*

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Complaints

/oor uality o! goodsand ser ice


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The general structure o# a #ormal complaint letter

1& "et the sceneUsually a short paragraph describing what has happened before . Full details such as dates amounts invoicenumbers etc. are often found here.

4 am 5riting####

###regarding my order K


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4 ha e still not recei ed the items, 5hich 5e ordered on 8 th o! Hune#

Poor +uality goods * service

4 really must com"lain about the % uality o! the goods standard o! ser ice* that 5e recently recei ed !romyou at your hotel#

The %"roduct ser ice* 4 recei ed 5as 5ell belo5 the standard 4 e="ected#


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9urther delays in deli ery %5ill may might could* result in us cancelling our order#

4 am considering closing my account 5ith you and o"ening u" a ne5 account 5ith AA###

Practice ctivity: Language and organisation o# complaints

a* 4 ho"e that you 5ill deal 5ith this matter "rom"tly as it is causing me considerable

inconvenience

b* 4 am 5riting in 222222&&& 5ith the negati e 222222&&& o! a member o! your sta!!#

c* 4 belie e that 4 am 222222& to an immediate 222222&&&

d* 4 am 5riting to 222222 about the 22222& o! a "roduct 4 "urchased online !rom your

5ebsite#e* The e ui"ment 4 ordered has still not been 22222 des"ite my "hone call to you last 5ee;

to say that it is needed 222222&&

!* 4 am 5riting to dra5 your 2222222&& to a 22222& in your customer ser ices section#

g* 4 5ish to com"lain in the strongest "ossible 22222& about the 2222222&& 4 recei ed

!rom a member o! your sta!!#

h* )lthough you ad ertise yoursel! as a to"( uality brand, the "roduct 4 222222& 5as 5ell

belo5 the 222222&& 4 e="ected#i* 4 5ould 222222&& it i! the !aulty goods could be 2222222& as soon as "ossible#

>* 4 am 5riting to e="ress my strong 22222222& 5ith the ne5 "ro"osal by the de"artment#

Write the letter of each sentence according to its function here :

1& "et the scene: 33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

'& Ma e the complaint: 333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

,& Emphasise inconvenience: 3333333333333333333333333333333333333

& .e+uest action: 3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

0& Ma ing position clear , -----------------------------------------



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Practice activity: Con%unctions and discourse mar ers$atch the beginnings 5ith the endings in the bo=

there 5ere only . in the bo= o! the @ that 4 ordered the !act that 4 "aid !or @#

There!ore, 4 am not "re"ared to"ay your in oice#

so 4 am not "re"ared to "ay !orthis#

but there 5ere only . in the bo=#

o5e er, there 5ere only .in the bo=#

4n addition, t5o o! the co ers 5eredamaged#

a


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Practice ctivity: Common grammatical errors

/roo!read the com"laint belo5# There are some common grammatical mista;es highlighted in $old& -uggest corrections !or as many errors as you can#

ear manager

4 5ould li;e to ma;e a complain about the "oor customer ser ice and ine!!iciency 4 was received

!rom your com"any#

)n $arch 30 th, 4 s"o;e to one o! your sta##s in your customer ser ice de"artment by "hone and as to

end my contract 5ith $obocom 5ith my last "ayment to be made at the end o! $ay# 2 days later, 4

recei ed a contract termination !orm to !ill out 5hich 4 "rom"tly com"leted and sent bac; to you signed

5ith the abo e in!ormation#

n Huly 1 st, 4chec my ban; statement and noticed that 4 am still being charged !or this mobile "hone

ser ice# 4 called again to discuss a$out the issue 5ith one o! your sta##s # )!ter wait a long time, 4 got

through to a sta## who not understand my "roblem and she hung u" the "hone# n Huly 2 nd,

4 5ent to your sho" at $ah;ota /arade 5here your sta##s told me there 5as no record in the systemo! my contract cancellation 5ith you despite ) had a co"y o! the termination !orm 5ith me as "roo!#

They then as;ed me to !ill in another !orm to cancel the contract at the end o! Huly to 5hich 4 re!used#

The result o! your com"anyJs ine!!iciency has caused me a great deal o! inconvenient and a lot o!

time has been 5asted on a "rocess that should be sim"le#

4 5ould li;e you to gi e this matter your urgent attention as 4 am lea ing $alaysia at the end o! Huly

and do not 5ish to continue dealing 5ith the same ine##icient !rom other country# 4 5ould also li;e

you to re!und me the money you ha e charged me !or Huly since 4 am no longer using your mobile

"hone ser ice#

/lease contact me as soon as "ossible so that this matter can resolve&

4 loo; !or5ard to your re"ly



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ctivity: 4ocusing on tone

5ac ground

Teachers recei e an email !rom their head, ara ussein, in!orming them that a decision has been

made by the de"artment that all teachers are re uired to attend com"ulsory "ro!essional de elo"ment

courses e ery 5ee;# -he has decided that 7 hours a 5ee;, t5ice a 5ee; !or the ne=t ten months a!ter

classes is a reasonable amount o! time to do these courses and 5ill bene!it the institution as a 5hole#

The teachers are ery u"set about this, and decide to 5rite to her e="laining this and re uesting a

meeting to discuss it#

.esponding to .ita6s email

Iead the !ollo5ing emails to ara and decide 5hich one you thin; 5ould be best to use# Be "re"ared

to su""ort your decision 5ith reasons#

1& ear ara

This decision is really unacce"table# o5 are 5e su""osed to do our >obs and ta;e care o! our!amilies i! 5e ha e to attend @ hours o! "ro!essional de elo"ment classes "er 5ee;L 4 5ould li;e tomeet to discuss this immediately# 4s no5 KL

'& ear $s ussein

Than; you so much !or agreeing to an @(hour course "er 5ee; !or us# 4tJs really ery good o! you todo this 5ith so little consultation# hat 5e a""reciate most, o! course, is no longer being able to doour >obs e!!ecti ely and s"ending time 5ith our children# Could 5e "ossibly meet at your earliestcon enience !or me to than; you in "ersonL

,& ara

This is COMPLETEL7 894 ). 4t doesnJt bene!it usMMM 4t sto"s us doing our >obs "ro"erly ands"ending time 5ith our !amily# ) meeting is urgently sought# 4 am really u"setM

& ear ara

4 am concerned about the 7 hour, t5ice a 5ee; classes you ha e agreed to and the im"act that itmight ha e on our e!!ecti eness as teachers and our 5or; li!e balance# Could 4 come and see you toe="lore "ossible 5ays to see; a solution or better outcome !or usL

0& ear ara

4 am shoc ed at the suggestion o! an @ hour a 5ee; com"ulsory course# )re you madLLM Could 4come and see you to e="lain the "roblems that your lac; o! sensiti ity to us is going to causeLContributed by: Glenda Thomas

© The British Council, 2013The British Council is the United Kingdom s international organisation !or cultural relations and education o""ortunities#

British Council $alaysia is a branch %&&'232()* o! the British Council, registered as a charity in +ngland and ales %20&131* and -cotland %-C03..33*

@


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What is tone!

The tone o! your 5riting is the general mood that it creates in the mind o! your reader# 4tJs about 5ith

how you ma e your reader #eel about you and the organisation you re"resent &

Tone de"ends on:• the le el o! #ormality or in#ormality you use#• the attitude you ta;e to5ards your to"ic#

4n general, you want your reader to #eel as good as possi$le about you and or the com"any youre"resent, no matter 5hat the situation is# This is so you can get the result you see; but still maintain

relationshi"s and not create a negati e, de!ensi e reaction in your reader#

The s;ill o! building and maintaining good relationshi"s in 5riting de"ends on your ability to control

certain #eatures #

8sing )ndirect * diplomatic language

ere are some e=am"les o! ho5 you can use indirect di"lomatic language to minimise or a oidma;ing a negati e im"act 5hen you need to communicate a negative message such as in the case o! a com"laint letter#

4t isA 4t seems a""ears to beA )s !ar as 4Jm a5are, it isA

ery a bit a little uite rather

4s it AL $ight it beALo you thin; it might beAL

4t 5illA 4t might beA4t may beA#

e shouldA /erha"s 5e shouldAo you thin; 5e shouldA

4t might be a good idea toA#

etJsA# /erha"s 5e should thin; aboutA

unha""ybade="ensi e4tJs a bad idea#

not ery ha""ynot ery goodnot ery chea"4Jm not sure itJs a good idea#



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hen communicating a negati e message in a !ormal conte=t, im"ersonal structures and o!ten

"assi e oice might achie e a better result# oo; at this e=am"le:

ccusing * threatening tone 9eutral tone

)ccording to our records, you o5eus N2',''0#

)ccording to our records, the amount o!N2',''0 is due !rom your com"any


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Practice ctivity: .edra#t poorly written complaints&

oo; at the !ollo5ing sentences ta;en !rom "oorly(5ritten com"laints# Ie5rite each one in a moreacce"table and less emotional tone#

a# Ouite clearly, your "ac;aging is useless# 4! youJd "ac;ed the !urniture "ro"erly, they 5ouldnJt ha earri ed smashed to "ieces#

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

b# 4 am sic; to death o! the 5ild dogs in this neighbourhood# They bar; all night, they eat out o! therubbish bins and 5eJ e already had one attac;ing one o! the ;idsMM hen are you actually goingto do something about itLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

c# hy should 4 ha e to "ay !or your gross ine!!iciencyLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA


AA

d#


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Construct your #ormal complaint email here using this template& Write $etween 1';-10; words

ear PPPPPPPPPPPPP

-et the scene

$a;e the com"laint

+m"hasi e incon enience

Ie uest action

$a;e your "osition clear# "tional# 4s it needed in this caseL



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LE


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!n the e"ample below, the same message is written in two contrasting styles. #an you identify

them$

The 5riter has ada"ted her style according to the target reader#• Who is the target reader!• )denti#y speci#ic di##erences&

& 3333333333333333style

4 am a!raid 4 5ill not be able to attend the meeting on 9riday# 4 5ould be grate!ul i! you could send me a co"y o!

the minutes# 4 5ill also 5rite to -abina to in!orm her that 4 5ill not be there# nce again, 4 a"ologi e !or this# 4 can

assure you that 4 5ill be at the ne=t meeting#

'& 33333333333333333 style

-orry, canJt ma;e it 9riday# cd you send me a c"y o! the minutesL ill also 5rite to -abina Q tell her 4 5onJt b

there# -orry abt this Q "romise 4Jll b at the n=t mtng#

%.& !n your informal email in the Aptis test, do not use this e"tremely informal style seenabove in number '.

=ere is a very in#ormal email message"ample 1:T;s 7 yr email o! 2' Han as;ing 7 hel" on ho5 to order online# 6eed to ;no5 yr a c no# b7 can deal 5ith this# /ls

cd u also "ro ide details o! 5hich ersion o! indo5s ur using# onJt !orget our s"ecial online o!!ers are only

a ailable til 9eb ., so suggest you do this asa"#

)n your groups* pairs> rewrite this message to the #ollowing target readers:• Customer • Colleague

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA





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AAAAAAA#AAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA#

AAAAAAAAAAAA

4ull sentences vs a$$reviated sentences

oo; again at these e=cer"ts !rom the in!ormal email abo e:

9eed to ;no5 yr a c no# b7 can deal 5ith this#

Aour s"ecial online o!!ers are only a ailable til 9eb ., so suggest you do this asa"#

• The same 5ord is missing directly be!ore each o! the 5ords highlighted in bold#hat is the missing 5ordL hy is it missingL

$issing out 5ords is common in more in!ormal communication, both in s"ea;ing and in 5riting# This

o!ten ha""ens 5hen "eo"le ;no5 each other ery 5ell and the situation is rela=ed and !riendly# The

meaning is clear !rom the conte=t so the !ull grammatical !orm is not necessary#

o5e er, it6s important that you realise that you are dropping words& This is because 5hen youneed to 5rite in a "ro!essional, 9 I$) style, you need to be able to use the !ull grammatical !orm#

Loo at the e?amples in the $o?& Match them to the descriptions underneath #

a# %ThatJs a* good ideaM g# Hust read %the* email about %the* "ac;ing

cartons#b# % id you* get my last emailL h# # %4* ho"e youJre 5ell#e# %4 am* loo;ing !or5ard to seeing you# ;# %4tJs a* "ity 5e missed you yesterday#!# %4Jll* s"ea; to you later# l# %4 5ould be* grate!ul i! you couldA#

(escriptions:

The sub>ect ) or We can be le!t out, es"ecially 5ith mental erbs li;ehope thin% etc# ##### A##

4n a uestion, the sub>ect you and the au=iliary erb % be have will etc#*can be le!t out# A## A##

The sub>ect ) and the au=iliary erb can be le!t out# A## A##Contributed by: Glenda Thomas

© The British Council, 2013The British Council is the United Kingdom s international organisation !or cultural relations and education o""ortunities#

British Council $alaysia is a branch %&&'232()* o! the British Council, registered as a charity in +ngland and ales %20&131* and -cotland %-C03..33*

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The sub>ect ) and a !orm o! $e can be le!t out 5hen $e is the only erb# AA

The 5ords that or it can be le!t out, o!ten 5ith a !orm o! $e as 5ell# A## A##

) !orm o! $e can be le!t out on its o5n# A##

The articles a*an or the can sometimes be le!t out# A##

Practice ctivity.edra#t the #ollowing $rie# emails into a 4O.M L style $y writing them out in #ull& t thesame time> ma e any other changes that you consider necessary&

a )""reciate your assistance in "ro iding u"date asa" #

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA $ Grate!ul i! you could re"ly by end tday#


c c!m u"dated sys accdly Q amend record#T


d "u$%ect: =otel and transportation arrangementsCon!irm room reser ed in I+6)4--)6C+ T+ as "er my "re ious message# ri er 5ill meet you at

air"ort arri al hall in !ront o! Burger King, 1@th

112' hrs#AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA



e "u$%ect: Th? #or yr msgIe yr msg le!t on my oicemail R yes, am !ree 7 lunch eds n=t 5;# Bt5, gd ne5s abt yr "romotion# 25; no5# CU, Hin;o#AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA





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#onstruct your informal email to a friend here using this template ( words)

#onstruct your formal email here. *' +* words.



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example Email of Complaint Process2

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