An Email of Complaints

​Sample Email

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my dismay at the service at your Eden Hill branch on Saturday 14 January.

I collected prescriptions from the pharmacy on behalf of my grandmother. I was served quickly although there was only one pharmacist on duty. However, as I was leaving I saw that I had been given the wrong medicine. This is ten times stronger than the prescription called for.

If I hadn’t noticed the difference between the prescription and the actual tablets, my grandmother could have taken a dangerous overdose. I would be worried about getting any future prescriptions at Eden Hill.

The pharmacist apologised and corrected the mistake but I wanted to bring it to your attention. I think it happened because there were not enough staff on duty. In my opinion, there should be a minimum of two pharmacists at all times so all prescriptions can be checked.

I hope you can take steps to make sure this mistake does not happen again.

Yours faithfully,

Roger Bingham

1. Focus on the most important facts. Don’t give unnecessary background information.

2. Make sure you include:

• the reason for writing (e.g. I am writing to ...)

• what went wrong

• what you would like to happen now.

3. Complaint letters are usually written in a formal style.

4. Use passives to be less direct and more formal, e.g. I was served quickly.

5. Use Yours faithfully to sign off if you don’t know the name of the person you’re writing to.