If you feel you’ve been treated unfairly and want good examples of a strong complaint letter, keep reading.
Almost everyone is disappointed by a product or service at some point — maybe more than once. It could be awful airline service (delays, cancellations) or something gross like finding a dead mouse in your cereal. Stuff happens. Don’t just accept it from faceless corporate reps.
Over the years I’ve had a few experiences that left me annoyed or angry. Air travel often tops the list. The first time I wrote a well-crafted complaint, I was surprised at how quickly and effectively the company responded.
In March 2013, my wife and I took a Caribbean cruise that doubled as a professional seminar. She spent a few hours each day with other chiropractors, and I relaxed by the pool with War and Peace. I would have been happy to handle Airbnb trouble calls from my phone as long as I could be on the deck.
The trouble started on the way home. Our Delta flight out of Miami had mechanical problems. The delays kept getting pushed back — every hour we were told it would be another hour. After about five hours of that, the flight was finally canceled around 9 PM.
Delta gave us no immediate options, so we waited in line for two more hours to rebook and ask about a hotel. We’d dealt with similar travel chaos before — air travel is basically a roll of the dice. The agent issued a voucher for a nearby hotel and booked a flight for the next day. But after the taxi dropped us off, we learned the hotel had no vacancies. Our voucher meant nothing.
We eventually found another hotel, ordered a pizza, and slept. The bill came to $225.97 for the night at what I’ll call the Miami-Dade Sorority Inn. Here’s the complaint letter I sent to Delta within a week of returning, still happy from the trip and sporting a decent tan:
April 7, 2013
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
P.O. Box 20706
Atlanta, Georgia 30320-6001
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am requesting a refund check for $225.97 to reimburse hotel charges we paid out of pocket on Sunday, March 24, 2013. Upon arrival at the hotel, we could not use the voucher issued by Delta because the hotel was fully booked as of Saturday, March 23. I have attached documentation to support our claim, including the voucher, the occupancy register for the Doubletree Hotel (provided by the on-call manager), and the receipt for our eventual hotel, SpringHill Suites. The delayed flight was DL1860 Miami–Atlanta, March 24, 2013.
Please call me at (555) PEE-OWED if you need more details or background. I am keeping copies of all documents for legal and, if necessary, PR purposes. Considering we waited at the airport for hours and were sent to a fully booked hotel — with my pregnant wife expecting twins — you can imagine our frustration with Delta’s customer service. A prompt response would be appreciated.
Sincerely,
(Cubert)
Enclosure
CC: (Cubert’s estate lawyer, for added effect)
Within a week I got a letter from Delta’s VP of Customer Service apologizing for the inconvenience. They compensated us for a bit more than the hotel cost with a gift card to certain retailers. With kids on the way, that came in handy — we bought a rug for the baby’s room.
What mattered most was how quickly Delta handled it and made things right. Companies balance customer service and profits, but in that moment Delta earned some goodwill. There was nothing magical about the letter — maybe the “PR” mention or the CC to our estate lawyer added weight. (We don’t actually have an attorney on retainer; the lawyer who helped with our will would have been a stand-in.) I never actually sent him a copy.
Bottom line: spend 30 to 60 minutes writing a clear, firm letter and mail it. I value that hour at $225. Next time, we’ll try to find a last-minute Airbnb instead.
The next year we took a trip to Michigan with our one-year-old twins and rented a car at the airport. The trip was fun; the car was not. After a while I noticed there was no cruise control. First-world problem? Maybe. Still frustrating when you’re driving long distances with infants.
Worse, the car rattled like it had been put back together after heavy use — not exactly ideal for a family trip. The kids usually slept through things, but not this time. After we got home, I decided to write to Hertz to tell them how disappointed we were to be given a beat-up car with obvious problems.
Here’s the complaint letter I sent after my hands stopped shaking:
Mr. Scott (Evil)
Rent A Car Americas
Hertz Corporation
225 Brae Blvd
Park Ridge, NJ 07656
Dear Mr. (Evil):
I am requesting a partial refund or a credit toward a future rental as a gesture of good faith after a poor experience with one of your vehicles. The Mazda3 we received at the Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, MI rattled and vibrated constantly on the highway, and it lacked cruise control — a feature we expect as standard. These issues made driving difficult for me and my family. We didn’t mind the missing wheel cover, but small details like that reinforce a negative overall impression, especially when combined with bigger problems.
I have attached our rental records. We had little opportunity to swap cars because of our tight itinerary and open-jaw flight plan. We expected a reliable vehicle to get us from point A to point B without constant jolting (which I assume came from misaligned wheels or warped rotors) and without the fatigue caused by no cruise control on long drives.
Please call me at (555) DUN-HURT if you need more details. I hope I can continue recommending Hertz to friends and family. A prompt response is appreciated.
Sincerely,
(Cubert)
Enclosure
Perception matters. Within a week I got a nice phone call from Hertz offering to cut my rental charges by half. One hour writing a letter and I got about $200 back — a small but satisfying win.
I’ve written other complaint letters since then — maybe a dozen or more. Once, I sent a letter to the CEO of Select Comfort after spotting suspicious black spots on our Sleep Number mattress. I wasn’t willing to take a chance on mold. The letter got a call from a senior customer relations leader and they replaced our ten-year-old bed for free. Here’s that letter:
Ms. So-and-So
President and Chief Executive Officer
Select Comfort Corporation
9800 59th Ave N
Plymouth, MN 55442
Dear Ms. So-and-So:
My wife and I recently found what appear to be patches of black mold on the surface of our Select Comfort mattress air bladders. We’re concerned this may be causing chronic allergic reactions, especially in the mornings.
This is disappointing since my back improved a lot after switching to your product nearly ten years ago. We’d prefer to keep using a Sleep Number bed, but we’re worried about possible long-term health effects.
Please let me know if newer Sleep Number models are less prone to this problem. We’d rather not replace the bed at our expense, but health comes first.
You can call me at (777) 777-7777 if you need more details. I can provide a photo of the suspected mold. A quick response would be appreciated.
Sincerely,
(Cubert)
In another case my sister and I were stuck at the airport for six hours after United refused to let us on a plane that was still at the gate with the jet bridge attached. The delay was due to long security lines. To make matters worse, our grandfather had just passed away and we were trying to get home. United’s response was unsympathetic, and I’ve avoided flying them since.
So there you have it: three sample complaint letters to inspire you. Write with confidence — a clear, firm letter makes it more likely your voice will be heard. You may not always get compensation, but if your complaint is valid and backed up with photos or receipts (and similar complaints exist from other customers), you significantly increase your chances of a favorable response.