Sometimes, we have an opportunity to complain about poor service or malfunction of products. In that case, some people prefer communicating face-to-face to sending a mail because they think that they can get a result on the spot. However, in my opinion, complaining in writing is much more effective. This is because mailing, especially sending an e-mail, is less time-consuming than meeting clerks directly, and remains evidence.
On top of that, people can save time by sending an e-mail. If they decide to visit the store or the customer service center, they should spend substantial time on commuting and communicating. Yet, people can not only write a mail in far shorter time but also do so whenever they have some free time during day or night. For example, I purchased an airplane ticket at a travel agency and in the evening, found that the agent had input my name incorrectly. At that time, it was too late to visit the agency again and I had a lot of tasks to do on the next day. So, I sent an e-mail about their mistake and surprisingly in the next morning, the manager of the agency called me and apologized for it. Not to mention, the error was corrected immediately. The time that I had to spend to solve the problem was only a few minutes.
Moreover, companies consider complaints in writing more serious. This is because mails can be used as evidence. In conflicts between customers and companies, some customers tend to experience that clerks deny what they promised or change their attitudes. In that case, customers might be embarrassed unless they recorded the conversation. However, if they correspond by e-mail, they can avoid this unpleasant situation, because all details including their complaints and the companies’ responds are remained as computer files. In addition, if the conflict goes into a law suit, mails can be a crucial evidence.
In conclusion, in complaining about dissatisfaction, mailing is much more effective than communicating in person. This is because people can save time and use mails as evidence to support their claim. Therefore, I always recommend anyone who have to complain to send an e-mail rather than to say in person. |