Complaint Letters: How to Respond in 7 Simple Steps

Title:Complaint Letters: How to Respond in 7 SimpleStepsWord Count:728Summary:Ask many small business owners what goes intoproviding great customer service and you haveanswers such as, being polite, serving promptly,

keeping your promises etc. But in this hi-tech age,we tend to forget that the humble letter has justas an important role in ensuring good customerservice. In this article I am going to share sometips on how to write a great letter.Keywords:complaint letters, responding to complaintsArticle Body:Ask many small business owners what goes intoproviding great customer service and you haveanswers such as, being polite, serving promptly,keeping your promises etc. But in this hi-tech age,we tend to forget that the humble letter has justas an important role in ensuring good customerservice. Yet how many times have you received a憀 etter of apology?which makes you even moredissatisfied? The message it conveys, thelanguage used ?all designed to wind you up!

With some careful thought, a well-crafted lettercan provide comfort to a complaining customer andenhance your reputation as a customer-focusedbusiness. In this article I am going to share sometips on how to write a great letter.<b>What are you writing for? </b>To write a great letter you have to be in the rightframe of mind. Are you writing to handle acomplaint, answer a query or to thank them forplacing an order? Framing the letter in the rightcontext means you will use the appropriatelanguage and the tone will be right. Try writinga thank you letter as if you are responding to acomplaint ?the message is totally different.Before putting pen to paper, think for a minuteand decide what your aim or goal is.<b>State your purpose</b>

Start off by summarising why you are writing. Openyour letter by saying that you are responding toa query, or to resolve a problem they have had.This set out to the reader why you are contactingthem and puts them in the right frame of mind toaccept your message. An opening summary will grabtheir attention.<b>Include a W.I.I.F.M. </b>No, this is not some obscure radio station! WIIFMstands for 慦 hat 抯 in it for me??To truly engageyour customer and get them on your side, you haveto include a benefit for them. They have to getsomething out of your letter so they feelsatisfied. What could their WIIFM be? Theircomplaint may be resolved; they may get a discountvoucher; a priority service the next time they useyou. If the compliant is a minor one, a simple,heartfelt apology may be enough!

Study your letter carefully and make sure you havea WIIFM moment.<b>Don 抰 say 慖?/b>Wherever possible, avoid littering your letterwith I 抯. The reader will find it hard to linkwith you if they receive 憁 e, me, me?letters.Review your letters and wherever possiblesubstitute 慖?with 憏 ou? Change the focus to thereader. Make them feel valued.<b>Write as you speak</b>I forget the number of times I have receivedletters, which read as if they were written in theearly 1900 抯! Packed full of boring, stiff andoutdated language ?too formal. Your writing styleshould reflect the way you talk. After all,providing good customer service is partly down tohow you interact or communicate with your clientand letters play an important role.

So, review your letters and get rid of thosephrases you learnt in school letter-writinglessons!<b> 揚 lease do this 厰</b>Having written a great letter, you don 抰 want itto tail off into nothing. Have a clearaction-orientated close. Make sure your readerknows what you expect him to do next ?揷 all meso we can discuss this idea in more depth? 揊ill in the attached form and pop it in the post?搒 end me an order?(a bit strong perhaps butcertainly to the point!).A resounding call-to-action is a great way tofinish a letter and leaves the customer in nodoubt what he has to do next ?another element ofgood customer service.<b>Ask someone to check your letter</b>

If you are writing a very important letter or onecontaining a complex message, it 抯 wise to asksomeone to proof read it. This is not just to checkyour spelling but also to check readability. Isthe structure of the message you wish to conveyclear and understandable? You 抣 l be amazed bywhat someone else will pick up which you havecompletely missed!So, there you have it. Some useful tips on how towrite a superb letter, which will further enforceyour image of providing exceptional customerservice.