{"id":8648,"date":"2017-08-28T09:52:25","date_gmt":"2017-08-28T09:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=8648"},"modified":"2017-08-30T16:36:46","modified_gmt":"2017-08-30T16:36:46","slug":"office-german-2-customer-complaints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/office-german-2-customer-complaints\/","title":{"rendered":"Office German 2: Customer Complaints"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few years ago I worked in an office as a German language assistant. During that time I read and wrote a lot of emails in German and learnt how to write in a more \u2018business-friendly\u2019 way. Now I\u2019d like to share some more of that business German with you here (I began this series with my post on shipping & addresses<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"Office<\/a>

Office German: Customer Complaints. Photo: eyloni on flickr.com under a CC license (CC BY-SA 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

This post is on dealing with customer complaints. I hope it will be of use to those of you working in, or hoping to work in, Germany, or with the German market (but it may also be useful if you ever receive a customer service email in German!). Please bear in mind that my experience is with business-to-customer relations and was only via email (not phone), so the phrases I give here will reflect that. However, there is no reason why they can\u2019t be tailored to business-to-business relations and used on the telephone, too. As always, leave a comment if you\u2019d like to know something specific. \ud83d\ude42 Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n

*<\/h3>\n

Office\/business German: Dealing with customer complaints<\/h3>\n

The complaint: Die Beschwerde<\/strong><\/p>\n

The apology: Die Entschuldigung<\/strong><\/p>\n

The solution: Die L\u00f6sung<\/strong><\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Firstly, here are some of the things you may read in a complaint email\/letter:<\/p>\n

Ich muss mich beschweren \u2013 I need to complain<\/em><\/p>\n

Ich bin sehr ver\u00e4rgert \u2013 I am very angry<\/em><\/p>\n

Ich will meine Bestellung stornieren \u2013 I want to cancel my order<\/em><\/p>\n

Ich will mein Geld zur\u00fcck\/Ich will eine R\u00fcckzahlung \u2013 I want my money back\/I want a refund<\/em><\/p>\n

Ich bin mit dem Service nicht zufrieden \u2013 I am not happy with the service<\/em><\/p>\n

Ich warte auf eine Entschuldigung \u2013 I am waiting for an apology<\/em><\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Now, here are some handy phrases you may use when replying to customers. You may find it useful to view these as \u2018stock phrases\u2019 if you\u2019re not fully fluent in German. They will help you to construct a polite and professional email\/letter.<\/p>\n

Wir bitten um Entschuldigung<\/strong>
\nPlease accept our apologies<\/p>\n

Wir entschuldigen uns f\u00fcr die Unannehmlichkeiten<\/strong>
\nWe apologise for the inconvenience<\/p>\n

Wir verstehen Ihr Problem<\/strong>
\nWe understand your problem<\/p>\n

Wir danken Ihnen, da\u00df Sie uns darauf aufmerksam gemacht haben<\/strong>
\nWe thank you for bringing this to our attention<\/p>\n

Aufgrund von unvorhergesehenen Umst\u00e4nden<\/strong>
\nDue to unforseen circumstances<\/p>\n

Unter den Vertragsbedingungen<\/strong>
\nAccording to the terms of the contract<\/p>\n

Wir versuchen das Problem so schnell wie m\u00f6glich zu l\u00f6sen<\/strong>
\nWe will try to rectify this problem as soon as possible<\/p>\n

Bitte geben Sie mir\/uns genaue Informationen zur Sachlage<\/strong>
\nPlease provide me\/us with exact details of the situation at hand<\/p>\n

Versuchen wir, zu einer \u00dcbereinkunft zu kommen<\/strong>
\nLet us try to come to an agreement\/compromise<\/p>\n

Wir w\u00e4ren Ihnen dankbar, wenn Sie \u2026 k\u00f6nnten<\/strong>
\nWe would be thankful if you could \u2026<\/p>\n

K\u00f6nnten Sie bitte \u2026 best\u00e4tigen?<\/strong>
\nCould you please confirm\u2026?<\/p>\n

Vielen Dank f\u00fcr Ihre Geduld und Ihr Verst\u00e4ndnis<\/strong>
\nWe thank you for your patience and understanding<\/p>\n

*<\/p>\n

Remember to always use the formal address (\u2018Sie\u2019), even if the customer is using the informal \u2018du\u2019. For more information on Sie and du and how to use them, check out our posts here <\/a>and here.<\/a><\/p>\n

For my previous post in this series \u2013 addresses & shipping \u2013 click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

And keep your eyes peeled for more office German posts from me!<\/p>\n

Bis bald!<\/p>\n

Constanze<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

A few years ago I worked in an office as a German language assistant. During that time I read and wrote a lot of emails in German and learnt how to write in a more \u2018business-friendly\u2019 way. Now I\u2019d like to share some more of that business German with you here (I began this series…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":8651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8,1],"tags":[31,503899,33088,95131,456994,2391,2642,12028],"class_list":["post-8648","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","category-uncategorized","tag-business","tag-complaints","tag-formal-letter","tag-german-language","tag-office-german","tag-phrases","tag-writing","tag-writing-german"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t