Most of us do not enjoy complaining. But sometimes we must do it to get a solution or vent our frustrations
In this post, you are going to learn how to make a complaint in English.
In order to make a successful complaints, You need to:
- Explain the problem
- State how you feel
- Ask for action
Let’s check all that you need to make effective complaints in English
Table of Contents
- 1 How to Get Somebody’s Attention
- 2 General Expressions to Make Complaints
- 3 Ways to Make a Complaint in a Restaurant
- 4 Ways to Make a Complaint in a Hotel
- 5 Ways to Make a Complaint in a Shop
- 6 Accepting a Complaint
- 7 Rejecting a Complaint
- 8 Signalling that you disagree
- 9 5 Useful Expressions to Complain in English politely
- 10 More English Lessons
How to Get Somebody’s Attention
These are two ways to get the attention of the person you are going to make the complaint to.
- Excuse me…
- Pardon me…
General Expressions to Make Complaints
These are some of the most common expressions to make complaints in English
- I am sorry to say this but…
- I understand it is not your fault but…
- I want to complain about…
- I am sorry to bother you but…
- I am not satisfied with…
- I hate to tell you this
- Excuse me, I wonder if you can help me
- Can you help me with this?
- I am angry about…
- Perhaps there was a misunderstanding but …
- I’m sorry to say this but I am really quite upset…
- There appears to be a problem here …
- There appears to be something wrong with…
- I’m afraid I’ve got a complaint about…
- I’m sorry but I’d like to make a complaint about …
- How can we fix this?
- Could you help me with …?
- I am afraid there is a problem…
- I’m really not happy…
- There is a slight problem with…
Ways to Make a Complaint in a Restaurant
There are several reasons why you should make a complaint in a restaurants, those reasons could be dirty cutlery, cold food, uncooked food, long waiting time and a bad service.
- I am sorry to bother you but the food is cold
- I’m sorry, but this isn’t what I ordered
- Sorry, but I think I got the wrong order
- I am sorry to have to say this but the food is overcooked
- I have a problem with my dish, the meat is raw
- I would like to speak to the manager
- I am not happy at all with this service
Ways to Make a Complaint in a Hotel
These are some ways to make a complaint in a hotel
- “Excuse me, but there’s a problem with the air conditioning in my room”
- “Sorry to bother you, but I think there’s something wrong with the toilet in my room
- “I’m afraid I have to make a complaint. I can’t find the jewelry I left on my hotel room.
- I’m sorry to bother you, but my hotel room is a little cold
- There seems to be a mistake on my billing statement
Ways to Make a Complaint in a Shop
There are many reasons why you would like to make a complaint in a shop. The three main reasons are:
- You bought a faulty product
- The customer service is poort
- There was an error in the price
Common expressions to make a complaint in a shop
- I would like to lodge a complaint
- I want a refund
- I would like a refund
Accepting a Complaint
These are sentences that the manager or a representative of the company you are complaining about would say:
- I am sorry but this won’t never happen again
- I am sorry but this will never happen again
- I am really sorry
- I just don’t know what to say but
- I don’t know what to say about this sir
Rejecting a Complaint
These are sentences that the manager or a representative of the company you are complaining about would say:
- Sorry, there is nothing we can do about it.
- Sorry but it’s not our fault.
- I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do about it.
- We are sorry but that’s the right price
Signalling that you disagree
Well signals that you understand what someone is saying or asking you, but you have a different opinion or something unexpected to say
- Well, I don’t think it isn’t fair to pay for food which was undercooked
- Well, I have to wait almost an hour for two dishes, I think that fact speaks about how bad the service is
Actually shows that you have a different point of view from the person you are speaking
- Actually we never receive the desserts you are charging us
- Actually we never ordered the wine
5 Useful Expressions to Complain in English politely
Watch this video so you can learn more about ways to complain in English
More English Lessons
I hope that you have found everything you need to make complaints in English
These are some English lessons that you might find useful
- How to Talk about The Daily Routine in English
- How to Give Personal Information in English
- How to Describe Physical Appearance
- How to Talk about Your Last Vacation in English
- How to Apologize in English
- How to Describe your Neighborhood in English
- How to Order Food in English