Here are some tips for how to write a customer service letter that will help you resolve issues with a company. Whether it’s a bank, a fast food chain or a cell phone company, the following tips will apply, and better your chances of resolving your customer service matter.
Remain Calm
You’ve just slammed the phone down in frustration after speaking with customer service at XYZ company. Before you pick up your pen, or turn on your computer to write that letter, sit down for a moment and take three deep breaths. Inhale, exhale; three times. Yes, that’s better.
Trust me, I know the rage that has built up when you have just gotten off of the phone with snotty Ryan, the 23-year-old kid who hates his job, has too much attitude, and refuses to help you. It is particularly infuriating when the situation directly involves a loss of money; your blood is boiling and you want to curse everyone out in sight. But you don’t want this to be reflected in your letter.
Address Your Letter to Customer Relations
Once you have taken a chill pill and are ready to write your letter, it’s time to get information about the company. You will probably easily be able to find the address of the corporate office online, or by calling their 800 number. In my opinion, it is always best to send a letter via snail mail rather than emailing, because when you have taken the time out to physically write, print, and spend 41 cents postage to send your complaint, the company sees that you are very serious. They will realize that you will probably not forget and go away so easily.
One point you don’t want to forget is to address the letter to “Customer Relations” both in the address at the top of the letter, and on the envelope you are sending the letter in. This way it won’t be routed to the wrong department and buried somewhere, most likely in the round file.
Don’t Talk in Slang and Curse
Depending on the size of the company, Customer Relations departments probably receive thousands of letters each week. So they are very used to reading people’s complaints. Cursing at them in the letter, calling them stupid, or ranting on and on about the bad customer service personnel you had an exchange with will most likely make them less willing to help you. They will assume that the customer service person you dealt with was probably right being that you are being so disrespectful to them in the letter.
So be nice and get to the point. Customer Relations didn’t sin against you — give them a chance to make it right. Write your letter in a reasonable yet firm tone describing your situation in detail, and include any figures, account numbers, names, and dates they would need to process your request. Your letter shouldn’t be over one page long.
End the Letter With a Specific Request
You didn’t really write this letter just to vent and complain, did you? Probably not, so make sure you are clear about what you want the company to do to resolve the matter. Give them your name and contact information so that they can get in touch with you to discuss the matter. They usually will call or send you a personal letter in response.
As someone who has written probably a hundred customer service complaint letters in her lifetime, I can firmly attest to the value of following this process. I would estimate that over 90% of the time I got what I wanted from the company, and we were able to resolve our differences based on the letter alone. So take your time to write a good letter with a request at the end, address the letter the appropriate department, and most of all, be nice.
Here’s one last tip: customer service departments almost always receive negative feedback in the mail. Once in a while, take the time out to write a letter of thanks or positive feedback when they’re doing a great job. You may be surprised when you receive a letter back thanking you with free coupons and other goodies for your gesture!
Posted by Jade