#160. Complain in writing or in person?
When we finally find out a service or a product that failed to satisfy us, we have to complain. Occasionally, we can choose whether to make an argument face-to-face or in writing, but usually we have no choice. We have to make our case in person if we need a personal touch or have no time to write; we have to write if we can't meet the right person to complain.
Writing has its advantages: when we write, we can better control the flow of our ideas, explain complex issues patiently, and convey our feeling of troubles that the poor products have brought explicitly and accurately. On the other hand, writing also has disadvantages: we may lack of a sense of what the readers are like—amiable or prickly, generous or difficult—and we can't respond immediately to their doubts, questions, or misunderstandings. When we write, we also lose one way to get the reader to take our argument seriously: face-to-face, we can draw others into it with our body language, the passion in our voice, even the look in our eyes. If, for example, I ran into a dean after a bad experience at the student health service, I could visibly communicate my frustration right there, and the dean would probably respond more intently than if he/she were in his/her office reading an angry letter.
For common trivial problems, I'd prefer to complain in person, which is more direct than in writing. To a large extent, to complain in a right way is a pure skill, if properly handled, problems can be solved without any quarrel, because appropriate courtesy is always appreciated. On the contrary, if the problem or issue is fairly critical, I'd prefer to write a specific piece to complain, for complex issues often deserve careful thinking.
160. 书面投诉还是当面投诉？
当最终发现一项服务或者一个产品不能让我们满意时，我们就不得不投诉。有时候，我们可以选择当面争辩或写信投诉，但是通常我们别无选择。在我们需要亲自去联系或者没有时间写信的时候，就不得不当面解决问题；如果我们找不到投诉的合适人选，就得写信投诉。
写信有它的优势：在我们写信时，可以更好地控制自己的思绪，耐心地解释复杂的问题，并且明白准确地传达劣质产品给我们带来的麻烦。另一方面，写信也有劣势：我们可能不知道读信人会是些什么样的人——和蔼的还是易怒的，有雅量的还是难以相处的——而且我们不能对他们的怀疑、质问或者误解立刻做出反应。
在写信时，我们还失去了让读信人认真对待我们争论的一种方式：面对面的交流时，我们可以用肢体语言、声音中蕴含的情绪甚至眼神将对方带入争论。例如，假设我在学生医疗卫生服务机构有了不愉快的经历之后去找院长，我在那里就可以明显地表达我的失望，比起在办公室里读一封愤怒的来信，院长可能会做出更为专注的反映。
- satisfy ［ˈsætisˌfai］ v. 使满意
- dean ［di:n］ n. 院长
- convey ［kənˈvei］ v. 传达
- visibly ［ˈvizibəli］ adv. 显然
- explicitly ［ikˈsplisitli］ adv. 明白地
- frustration ［frʌˈstreiʃən］ n. 失望
- accurately ［ˈækjəritli］ adv. 准确地
- intently ［inˈtentli］ adv. 专注地；专心地
- amiable ［ˈeimjəbəl］ adj. 和蔼的
- courtesy ［ˈkə:tisi］ n. 礼貌
- prickly ［ˈprikli］ adj. 易怒的
- critical ［ˈkritikəl］ adj. 严重的