Build a conversation about Supplies and Deliveries (You can ask

another learner to help you)

Start politely
Starting a complaint with “I’m sorry to bother you” or “Excuse me, I wonder if you can help me” puts the listener
at ease. People are easier to deal with if they feel comfortable so even if you are angry, try to stay calm and start the
conversation with one of these phrases. For example “I’m sorry to bother you, but I wanted a baked potato, not fries.”

Make your request into a question

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 back from the laundry missing buttons.” Use modal verbs such
as would, could and can to make your request as polite as possible. In English, we call this distancing.

Explain the problem

Rather than saying, “Your information is wrong. Please fix it now.” Explain what the correct situation should be by
introducing it with the expression “There has been a misunderstanding.” This makes it clear what you want while
not blaming the person you are complaining to for making the mistake. For instance, if you say “I’m afraid there may
be a misunderstanding. I requested a non-smoking room.” any hotel with good customer service will understand they
need to give you a non-smoking room even if that isn’t what they had booked for you.

Don’t blame the person you are dealing with

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! This phrase 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 the
airline promised they would deliver my baggage yesterday.”

Show the you are in the know

Use the phrase “I understood that…” to let person you are speaking to know you’re well-informed and are suspicious
they might be trick you. Don’t say, “Hey! You’re trying to cheat me!” Instead, start indirectly by stating what you know
to be true: “I understood that the taxi ride to the airport was only 25 dollars.” Then give them an opportunity to respond.

Remember, you are the customer and if you have paid for a service, you should get what you want. Stay calm when
you are complaining and if you don’t get what you want, ask to speak to someone more senior. Most of the time,
though, a simple smile and a polite conversation using the tips above will get you exactly what you want.
 Dealing with a Complaint

Customer
- Good morning!
Manager
- Good morning. Can I help you?
Customer
- Yes. I want to complain because my room is too noisy. The people in the next room have loud
parties every night and I have not been able to sleep very well. Also, the hotel bed is very
uncomfortable.
Manager
- I` so sorry, but this week there is a tennis tournament going on in town and the hotel is full of
younger people, who are unfortunately quite noisy.
Customer
- I understand, but it is very uncomfortable. If you don´t take action, I will move to another
hotel.
Manager
- Don´t worry. This situation will be solved.
Costumer
- Ok. I hope so.
Manager
- Since you´ve been so inconvenienced by this incident, I´d be glad to offer you a free room for
your next visit at our hotel. In fact, I´ll give you a voucher right now. You can use it anytime
you wish.
Customer
- Oh, that´s just great! I am so glad that we could work this out. I do want to keep coming back
here.