How to Appropriately File a Customer Complaint

You went to a restaurant and your waitress did not hide the fact that she was in a bad mood. You went to a retail store and asked an associate for help, but he or she brushed you off or acted disinterested. Or, the product you ordered was nothing like it was described by an over eager salesperson.

If you've been in one of these situations or another not mentioned here, you probably want to complain to the company. When you make the choice, there is a proper way to do it. Here's what you can do:

Find the proper authority to complain to. Another sales associate, even if they are more experienced than the one causing the problem, really can't do anything in the long run. You will want to find a shift supervisor or a store manager instead. If you don't know who the person is or how to contact them, ask.

When you get a hold of someone, politely explain your problem. Give the date of the problem, the name of the person who was being difficult, and what happened. Answer any questions the manager has for you. Make sure to tell them if you took any action when you were annoyed, such as whether you left the store or gave your server a lesser tip or none at all.

If you feel the problem should be made up to you, say so, but don't exaggerate. Many businesses are willing to provide unsatisfied customers with discounts or some sort of free purchase upon their next visit. Be satisfied if the manager offers you something like this and don't try to dispute saying that's not enough. After all, this is better than getting nothing at all.

Once you know how to file a complaint, there are several ways you can go about doing so. You can:

Use a comment card, which may be available throughout the store or on every table in a restaurant.

Call the company directly during business hours or use a telephone number for corporate customer service.

Email them through their website.

Send a letter to corporate headquarters.

Go in to the store in person and ask for a supervisor or manager.

After you file the complaint, you should consider whether or not you want to give this company your place of business again. If this was a one time thing, you may consider giving them another chance depending on how offended you were by the employee. This may be more acceptable if you are a regular customer, but if you are a first time customer, it is normal to feel put off and wonder if the entire staff acts this way.

You may not want to give them business again if you feel that you can get better service elsewhere. You may also choose not to go to the place where you filed a complaint again if the manager did not respond well to your statement or did nothing to solve the problem. Either way, the decision is up to you.

While any customer deserves good service, it is not acceptable for staff to treat them rudely. This is when the decision to file a complaint comes in, but it must be done properly and with proper etiquette in mind. Although you may never go back to the offending business again, you can warn other customers and hope the manager chooses to improve their staff and quality of service in some way.