Ways to Complain in English

Ways to Complain in English

How many times have you complained about your food or drinks in a restaurant, a hotel, maybe even a travel agency or at work? I’m sure you know how to complain in your native language. But, do you know how to complain in English? In case you’re not quite sure, here are some useful and effective ways to complain in English.

Ways to complain in English

First of all, if you want to be polite and well-mannered, you should never complain directly. Always use introductory sentences such as “pardon me“, “excuse me“, “sorry to bother you, but…”, which are also useful for drawing people’s attention.

Let’s look at some useful phrases that can come in handy in different situations.

Ways to complain in English

How to complain in English

• I’m afraid I have a complaint about…
• I have a complaint to make…
• I really hate to tell you but…
• There seems to be a problem/something wrong with…
• Look, I’m sorry to bother you, but…
• Excuse me, but I have a problem…
• Sorry to bother you, but I wish to complain about…
• I would be very grateful if we could find a solution to this problem.
• Would you mind…?
• I know it’s not your fault, but…
• I’m sorry, but I’d like to report an issue of…
• I was expecting…but…

Ways to complain in English

How to accept a complaint

• I’m so sorry, it will never happen again.
• I can’t tell you how sorry I am.
• I just don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry…
• We’ll do our best never to make that mistake again.

How to reject a complaint

• I’m so sorry, but there is nothing we can do about it.
• Sorry, but I don’t think it’s my/our fault.
• I’m afraid there is nothing (much) we can do about it.

Ways to complain in English

So, imagine you’re in a cafe and you ordered coffee. The waiter overheard your order and brought you a cup of tea. Try not no tell him “This isn’t what I ordered!”. Use an indirect phrase. Tell him: “Sorry to bother you, but I’m afraid you’ve mistaken my order. I’ve ordered coffee.” I assure you you’ll be properly served after such a polite phrase.
Remember that intonation may also be important, so try to sound polite, instead of sounding nervous, impatient and aggressive.

Good luck with complaining! 😀

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