VOA慢速英语2018--如何用英语投诉别人

How to Make a Complaint in English

Imagine that you are visiting friends or family in an English-speaking country. You need to have a few pieces of clothing professionally cleaned for a party. So you take them to a dry cleaner.

When you go to get your clothing from the cleaners, the man working there is friendly. He hands you the clothes, smiles and says, “That will be $21.50 please.”

But you see a problem. There is now a hole in your favorite shirt and your pants have changed color. You are very unhappy. But how do you express this effectively?

Most of us do not enjoy complaining. But sometimes we must do it to get a solution.

In this Everyday Grammar program, we will tell you how to make a complaint in English.

An effective complaint often has three steps: explaining the problem; stating your feelings; and asking for action.

Explain the problem

The first step is to explain the problem.

To do it effectively, you must use polite, respectful¹ language. In English, polite language is usually indirect².

For example, if you are at a restaurant and the server forgets to bring your drink, saying, “You didn’t bring my drink” may be too direct. It may sound critical and cause the server to become defensive³.

So here are a few phrases you can use to politely explain your problem.

Let’s start with “I think you may have…”

Oh, hi! I think you may have forgotten to bring my drink.

Here is another opening line: “I’m sorry to have to say this but…”

Hi. How’s it going? I’m sorry to have to say this, but I noticed some damage to my clothing.

Or you can simplify it with the words: “I just noticed…”

Hi. How’s it going? I just noticed some damage to my clothing.

Here’s another useful phrase: “I’m sorry to bother you, but…”

Hi, there. I’m sorry to bother you, but my hotel room is a little cold.

Or you might say: “There seems to be a mistake…”

Hi! How are you? There seems to be a mistake on my billing statement. I think you may have overcharged me.

Note that, in the last example, the speaker used two phrases: “There seems to be a mistake…” and “I think you may have…”

State your feelings

The second step is to say how you feel about the problem.

This step is often not necessary. It will depend on how bad the problem is. Some problems have easy, quick solutions. For example, politely telling people that they forgot something or overcharged you usually leads to a speedy solution.

But imagine that you are receiving poor service at a hotel or restaurant or that a repair shop has damaged your belongings⁴. Or, maybe there is a continuing issue at your apartment building. In these cases, you may need to express how you feel.

Always begin with step 1 – politely explaining the problem.

Then, you can use phrases like “This is…” or “It is…” followed by one or more descriptive words. Let’s hear an example of someone telling their building manager about a problem:

Hi Vanessa. I’m sorry to have to say this but there is still a mouse problem in my apartment. This has been an issue for three months now. It is unacceptable that the problem hasn’t been resolved⁵.

This was a continuing issue, so the speaker used step 2. But, again, use your best judgment⁶ to decide whether this step is needed.

Ask for action

The third step is to ask for action to be taken on the problem. This is an important step. Some people do steps 1 and 2, but forget step 3.

Depending on who the listener is, you or they may need to ask someone else to take action. In such cases, ask for the store’s manager. Here is how you can do that in person:

Could I please speak with the manager?

And by phone:

Could you please redirect my call to the manager?

Other times, the listener can solve the problem themselves. You can use indirect questions to ask for action. Listen to a few examples:

Would it be possible to reimburse⁷ me?

Is there any chance you could turn the heat up?

You can read more about indirect questions in a past Everyday Grammar program.

Connecting the steps

Now, let’s put the steps together. Let’s hear a short exchange about the damaged clothing:

OK. That’ll be $21.50 please.

Oh, gosh... I just noticed some damage to my clothing. The shirt has a hole and the pants have changed color.

Hmm. I cleaned those myself. I don’t remember damaging anything.

But these pieces are new and I’ve only worn them once. Is there any chance you could reimburse me?

Let me get the manager.

Well, we don’t know how this dispute⁸ ends. But we know the complainer was polite and used steps 1 and 3. Using step 2 might depend on the manager’s response.

Making complaints is never easy but knowing how to do it right can it a lot easier!

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

dry cleaner – n. a shop where clothes and other cloth items are cleaned using special chemicals

complain – v. to say or write that you are unhappy, sick, or uncomfortable, or that you do not like something

polite – adj. having or showing good manners or respect for other people

bother – v. to cause someone to feel annoyed

phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence

mouse – n. a very small animal that has a pointed⁹ nose and a long, thin tail

manager – n. someone who runs a business or department

reimburse – v. to pay someone an amount of money equal to an amount that person has spent

data – n. information that is produced or stored by a computer

1 respectful   

adj.恭敬的，对...表示尊敬的

参考例句：

• He is respectful to his elders.他对长辈很尊敬。
• She received guests with a respectful attitude.她恭恭敬敬地接待了客人。

2 indirect   

adj.间接的，转弯抹角的，非直接的

参考例句：

• What he said was very indirect.他的话很婉转。
• He gave only an indirect answer.他只作了间接的回答。

3 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

4 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

5 resolved   

adj.下定决心的，断然的；坚决的；已解决的v.做决定，分解(resolve的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• I was resolved not to see him. 我决意不见他。
• The union resolved to strike by 40 votes to 18. 工会以40票对18票通过决议举行罢工。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 reimburse   

v.补偿，付还

参考例句：

• We'll reimburse you for your travelling expenses.我们将付还你旅费。
• The funds are supposed to reimburse policyholders in the event of insurer failure.这项基金将在保险公司不能偿付的情况下对投保人进行赔付。

8 dispute   

n.争端，分歧；v.争论，争吵，辩论，辩驳

参考例句：

• They are trying to find a way of settling the dispute.他们正设法寻找解决争端的办法。
• The parties to the dispute should be more polite to each other.争执双方应相互礼貌些。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。