Thursday 20 November 2008
Warm-Up 4
Warm-Up 4 doesn't give you any marks (!), but it is, perhaps, a way for you to see the collective wisdom of the group about two key areas in the In-Tray exam: complaining and apologising. Since you don't get any marks for it, you don't have to do it either - but I'm sure that your contributions will be gratefully received by everyone else, if you do!
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9 comments:
Anna Karlsson:
I believe that; whether or not it has got to do with complaining or apologizing, it is importand to stick to the truth and not to exaggerate the accident or course of events. By being honest you do not risking forgetting about what has been said and you will also be understood as a person who wants things to be done in a proper way.
Concerning complaining it is crucial to argue WHY you feel mistreated and not just start lining up facts of what has happened. When apologizing, it is essential not to put on an aggressive tone and to show understanding. Even though this is the basic part of apologizing, one must not give the impression that one can be exploited.
Marie Nilsson
Strategies for complaining or apologizing
Complaining
When complaining I think it is very important to mention things that are relevant for the situation only and to focus on the future-which measures that are desirable to feel compensated. I also believe it is of great importance to be impartial and realistic to receive respect.
In addition it is important to choose the strategy that fits into the context. For example if one wants to complain about a haircut at the hairdresser, of course a letter is not the way to complain. If the complaining concerns another country, the procedure must be conformed to the culture of the country.
Apologizing
When apologizing I think it is important to meet the person who is complaining with understanding since it makes it difficult for the person to become indignant. In this way it will be easier to focus and come up with an accepted solution for both parts.
It is very important to find out as much as possible about what really happened and made the client feel disappointed and to contact the involved parties to get their information about the situation.
In many situations it can be preferable to refer to the human factor. Not as excuses but as a part explanation since all of us are doing mistakes, most people understand that to err is human. When writing a letter it can facilitate to write in a formal but personal language to make the client feel important and become more understanding at the same time.
In many cases it is worth to overcompensate since it can save the reputation of the company. Of course there are always people who benefit by these situations but maybe it is a risk worth taking.
Personally, I do not think that there are specific strategies beyond the common sense, in such situations. When someone have to complain, it is important to talk peacefully and be patient. There is no reason to yell, be unpleasant, threatening and constantly pointing out that, "you have done everything wrong." I also think that it is better to start the conversation or the letter by telling what happened and then calmly explain that you think that what happened was wrong. Most of problems can be solved if we use a clean language and speak with respect. At the same time it is important to show that you are aware of your rights, but you are willing to meet half way to open a discussion that helps to solve the problem.
When you apologize, do not throw the blame on something or someone else. Be honest. Show that you are aware of things that went wrong and that you will try to repair things that went wrong in the future. (But please do not speak in two hours like a weak person with promises of never repeating things, and so on.) Also here it is important to use the right language. You gain a lot if you use a polite language. You can for example say I apologize for what happened instead of saying sorry.
Complaining
To my mind, when complaining it is necessary to explain shortly, but clearly the situation you are not satisfied with and give some ideas for solution or the things you would like to be done in solving this situation. I suppose everybody understands that nevertheless you could be offended or nervous about the situation, but you should avoid sounding like that and just state the facts and not your emotions, when it comes to formal and business relations.
Apologizing
Though David has given many tips for us, but still I would like to point that in my opinion when you apologize the core is to admit and accept your responsibility to the fact which has caused problems to somebody. Also I think sometimes it is necessary to describe the reasons why the problem occurred. You have to be honest and start with apologizing words, but also it is important to avoid sounding like making excuses. The other core element is to mention the way and the time when the problem be solved.
1.Complaining
Before complaining it is important to have a clear idea about why you are dissatisfied and what you want to achieve by complaining. To make it possible to get a good result it is necessary to keep a record of events, to present all facts clearly and to stay calm. The language have to be definite and firm but not impolite and aggressive.
2. Apologizing
When apologizing the strategy is to follow the points that we can find in the course material. First, we have to acknowledge that a mistake has been made. Then avoid the appearance of trying to make excuses. And finally giving indications about how things are going to be put right. The language used have to be friendly and clear.
When you complain in writing, it is important to choose how hard language you want to use. In most cases you should be hard enough to point out that something has been done wrong, but not so hard so the receiver finds you rude. Because in those scenarios he or she will probably just want to get rid of you instead of solving your problem. In a written complain you need to explain what have been done wrong and what you expect as a compensation.
My own opinion in complaining is that if you are not 100 % sure that you are writing to the right person, you should be careful with your accusation. I have personally being accused for something that was not me to blame at all and it really ruined my day!
When you are apologising, it is important that you stand by what you have done wrong, suggest a solution and explain consequences for the people responsible for the mistake.
When it comes to companies, I think it is important to take responsibility for the mistake, even if it is not really the company’s fault. The mistake might be because of a supplier, but you should not blame them in front of the customer.
The two area ‘complaining’ and ‘apologizing’ are vital factors in successful business because these tend to decide the direction between two companies in further. That is, when some problems are happened, managers in companies have to complain about partner’s mistakes or to apologize their own faults, but effectively and positively.
In case of ‘complaining’, I think, the most important thing is to define the mistakes or problems of partner companies and to find good way to encourage two companies to be advanced more. As I learned in module 2, to recognize what problems partner had is prerequisite before complaining. If the company perceives the problems wrongly, following outcomes must be terrible and the transaction between them will be terminated. Additionally, the company which complain partner’s faults need to consider ‘how to solve the problems’ in advance. It is not effective to make dissatisfaction without potential solution.
Likewise, ‘apologizing’ is important tool to manage businesses in all fields. All companies make mistakes in their works. So, even though partner makes faults, the counterpart considers the happening as a step to build worthy relationship between two companies. However, if problems exist, finding out and recognizing the problems need to be in first. And then, inform the fact to counterpart as soon as possible. It is the best way to decrease the conflict in business. To further, the two companies are able to look into optimal suggestions to resolve the faults or problems together. Through this process, the two companies are more likely to have long-term relationships continuously.
Strategy for complaining
Depending of the situation a useful strategy could be to pretend that a mistake must have occured without poiting out a person responsible for it. Especially if there are other people listening, in a shop for instance. To embarrass someone in front of others is seldom fruitful - how should you react if someone did that to you?
Strategy for apologizing
As soon as possible an apology should be given, even before you know why or who is responsible for the mistake, just to smooth the situation and to keep an open dialogue. If you know it is you who made the mistake you should explain why and how you perceived the situation. Most important in an apology is to show that the mistake was not done by evilness but by a normal mistake.
Åsa Wallberg
When complaining we should describe clearly what is our complain about and why we are not satisfied. We should also give all the information which would help to identify exactly our case for example our customer number, invoice number or something like that. The case should be described in the shortest possible way but we should include all relevant information. Proposing the way of compensation or simply showing our expectation about what can be done, should be also given in the letter. It is important to remember that compensation should be relevant to the situation. Everything should be written in formal and polite way with using the right language. If we want to be treated with respect we should show respect to the other people as well.
When apologizing we should admit the fact that we made a mistake when the complaining person is right. We can acknowledge it personal or put it in more general way by using the plural form ‘we’ in case we are the representative of the company. Giving excuses is not the best way to do when apologizing. The short explanation can be given instead. We should underline that we understand complaining person or company and underline that we care about staying the good relation with the person or client. The most important thing is to show clearly the possible solutions or the way of compensation regarding the inconvenience that caused. The language should be formal and polite as always in business.
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