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Response-to-Complaint Letter Rhetorical Strategies for Writing
Timeliness Why?
A faster response time means a more favorable customer perception
Faster response times decreases negative word-of-mouth publicity
Making contact quickly is essential to continuing a customer’s story
Timeliness How-to
Reflect immediacy with the date on the letter
Use time-indicating words in the letter, like “this morning” or “today”
Email or call with a short response if a written response is not immediate
Economic Fairness Why?
Reparations answer the question, “What can be done to fix the situation?”
Economic redress can include money, product replacement, or coupons
Economic Fairness How-to
Include a coupon, check, or gift certificate in the response
Give more than what is asked for if possible
Sincere Apology Why?
Apologize for the inconvenience of the situation, even of not for specific elements of the transaction
Font choice can be considered to convey friendliness
Sincere Apology How-to
State the apology in clean, plain language: I am sorry; we are sorry; please accept our apology.
Choose a friendly, yet professional, font to convey sincerity
Explanation Why?
Give your customer the rationale for the policy or background information
Providing an explanation lends perceived fairness to a decision
An explanation allows the customer to see the big picture
Explanation How-to
Take responsibility for what went wrong
Use facts to support what happened
Situate the customer’s experience in the context of a bigger picture
Include a plan for why and how it won’t happen again
Establish Credibility Why?
Confidence is important. Project character in your response
A customer sees the organization as a whole, even if it was “another department’s fault.”
Establish Credibility How-to
Sign the letter with a title
Communicate firmly when taking responsibility and delivering the solution
Attentiveness Why?
Taking the complaint seriously
The complaint must be viewed as legitimate
Customers always expect a response to a complaint letter
Impacts word-of-mouth activity and repurchase intentions
A manger response shows an increased level of attentiveness
Attentiveness How-to
Write a response letter every time
Use words that convey the gravity of the situation
Avoid taking anything personally
Ask for another perspective and revise
Ask a supervisor to sign or co-author the letter
Politeness Why?
Bring polite contributes to a customer’s overall satisfaction
Personalization contributes to satisfaction
Complicated by personal, situational and cultural variations
Politeness How-to
Add a personal salutation
Address specific concerns in the complaint
Use modal verbs communicate a negative message, such as can, could, may, might (not should, must and will)
Use down graders (just, somehow, think)
Use politeness strategies more when referring to the person complaining and less when talking about the organization
Being Positive Why?
Customers respond more favorably to letters with positive messages in them
Negative surprises further anger the customer- they are already unhappy
Being Positive How-to
Give more text space to positive messages and less to the negative
Limit negative messages as much as possible
Alternatives Why?
Alternatives allows the complaining person control in the situation
Choices provide a distraction from a negative message
Alternatives How-to
Give possible options to keep control in the hands of the customer
Friendly to Professional Typeface*
*Mackiewicz, J. (2005). How to use five letterforms to gauge a typeface's personality: A research driven
method. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 35 (3), 291–315.
Friendly to Professional Typeface*
Friendly to Professional Typeface*