Words for complaints and solutions
You make a complaint (not “do” one), and a company handles or resolves it. Don’t confuse three remedies: a refund gives money back, a replacement is a new item for a faulty one, and compensation is something extra for the trouble, such as a discount or a credit voucher.
- faulty – “Two of the six lamps were faulty.”
- delay – “A customs check caused a two-day delay.”
- refund (also a verb) – “We’ll refund the express charge.”
- replacement – “A replacement keyboard arrived the next morning.”
- compensation – “The airline offered compensation after cancelling the flight.”
Handling a complaint call
A good call has four stages: the customer gives the reason and an order number; you apologise once and ask for details; you offer a solution with a time; you confirm the next contact. “Will” makes a promise: “We’ll dispatch …”, “I’ll email …”. “Within the hour” means in the next sixty minutes.
Listen, then play the agent with a different product.
Owen I'm calling about order 614. Two lamps are faulty.
Maya I'm very sorry about that. Could you send the item codes?
Owen Yes, and the delivery was three days late.
Maya We'll dispatch replacements today and refund the express charge.
Owen When will they arrive?
Maya Tomorrow. I'll email confirmation within the hour.
Softening bad news and requests
Direct sentences can sound rude in English even when the facts are right. “I’m afraid” means “I’m sorry to say”, not fear. “There seems to be” sounds less like blame. “Could you possibly” is more polite than “Can you”. “It may be difficult to” gently means “probably not”, so offer an alternative.
- “Two lamps are broken.” → “I’m afraid two lamps are faulty.”
- “You’re late.” → “There seems to be a delay.”
- “Replace them.” → “Could you possibly replace them?”
- “We can’t deliver today.” → “It may be difficult to deliver today.”
Comparisons to explain your solution
One-syllable adjectives add -er (faster, cheaper, bigger), two-syllable adjectives ending in -y take -ier (easier), and most longer adjectives use “more” (more reliable, more useful). A few, such as simple, can take -er: simpler. Good and bad are irregular: better, worse. Put “than” before the second item (“The replacement delivery was faster than the original one.”), show the size of the difference with “much” or “a bit”, and use “as … as” or “equally” for equal options: “Both options are equally durable.”
Discuss: for a small business customer, is a refund better than a credit voucher? Give two reasons with comparatives.
Writing a complaint record
A complaint record is an internal note, not a customer email: it lets a colleague take over without asking the customer again. Keep five parts separate, write exact facts (order number, quantities, days), use the past simple for finished actions and name one owner, not “the team”.
Then hand it over out loud, starting with “Quick update on order 614: …”
- Situation: “Order 614: six lamps arrived three days late, and two were faulty.”
- Key facts: “We apologised, dispatched two replacements the same day and refunded the express charge.”
- Decision or result: “The customer accepts the solution and keeps the order.”
- Owner: “Maya, Customer Support.”
- Next step and deadline: “Maya will call the customer the day after delivery.”
Common mistakes
These errors stand out in a complaint:
- “The replacement is more faster.” Use -er or “more”, never both: “faster”.
- “It’s more good than the old model.” “Good” is irregular: “better”.
- “The refund was simpler then a voucher.” To compare, use “than”; “then” is about time.
- “The customer did a complaint.” Use “make”: “The customer made a complaint.”
- “I’m afraid of the delay.” This means you fear it. For bad news: “I’m afraid there’s a delay.”
A 10-minute daily practice routine
Practise out loud, in the same order each day.
- 2 minutes: use complaint, refund, replacement, faulty and delay in sentences about your work.
- 2 minutes: soften three direct sentences with “I’m afraid”, “There seems to be” and “Could you possibly”.
- 3 minutes: repeat the call above line by line, then play the agent.
- 3 minutes: write a five-part record for a real complaint and hand it over out loud.
What comes next
Next, use the same evidence, decision and next action to evaluate a job candidate or to fix a gap in the customer journey. At B1, you write a customer-service plan with timed updates and a review date.