make a complaint

Meaning

To formally state that you are unhappy or dissatisfied with something, such as a product, service, or behavior. This is a common collocation used in customer service, hospitality, and daily administrative tasks. The tone is polite but firm, indicating that a problem needs to be resolved.

Examples

• The service was so slow that we decided to make a complaint to the manager.

  The service was so slow that we decided to make a complaint to the manager.

• If your new laptop is broken, you should make a complaint to the store.

  If your new laptop is broken, you should make a complaint to the store.

• He made a formal complaint about the noise coming from the apartment upstairs.

  He made a formal complaint about the noise coming from the apartment upstairs.

• I don't like to make a complaint, but there is a hair in my soup.

  I don't like to make a complaint, but there is a hair in my soup.

• Customers have the right to make a complaint if they receive poor service.

  Customers have the right to make a complaint if they receive poor service.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I want to do a complaint about the room.

  ✓ I want to make a complaint about the room.

  The verb 'make' is the correct and only natural collocation to use with the noun 'complaint', not 'do'.

• ✗ She wants to make a complain.

  ✓ She wants to make a complaint.

  'Complain' is the verb, while 'complaint' is the noun. The collocation 'make a...' requires the noun form.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The hotel room was dirty, so I had to ___.

  💡 formally express dissatisfaction

  Show answer

  make a complaint

• Instead of just being angry, you should ___ to the customer service department.

  💡 submit an official statement of unhappiness

  Show answer

  make a complaint