Dealing with Complaints Properly Ideally , it  should  not be necessary to complain , since in business  everything should  be done carefully. Unfortunately, things do not always work out well. Errors occur and goods are mishandled, accidents happen,usually because of haste and lack of supervision. All of these result in complaint. The buyers need not accept any goods received that are not in accordance with their order. Except as the result of altemations made by agreement with the seller,but they may make an offer to keep the goods at a reduced price. The buyers are entitled to return to the seller any goods received that they did not order,but in the export trade it is usual for the buyers first to find out what the sellers' wishes are in the matter. This  is a question of courtesy and consideration, as the reimportation of goods into a country will involve customs entries and other formalities, to say nothing of the actual cost of freight and insurance. It is also possible that the wrongly delivered goods may have been intended for another customer in the same country as the receivers , and so the goods can be sent on to the correct address. It is better if the sellers instruct their own shipping and forwarding agents to attend to this , through their branch or correspondents in the country of the buyers, rather than involve the trouble of sending on goods. Replies to complaints should always be courteous. Even if the sellers think that the complaint is unfounded , they should not say so  until they have good and reliable grounds on which to repudiate the claim. All complaints should be treated as serious matters and thoroughly investigated. If the seller is the first to discover that a mistake has been made,he should not wait for a complaint,but should write a cable or telephone at once to let the buyer know, and either put the matter right or offer some compensation. On receiving the complaint the sellers will make investigations , and if the complaint is justified they will at once apologize to the buyers and suggest solutions. If the buyers have offered to keep goods , the sellers will probably agree to this and to a price reduction. The amount of the reduction will depend on how bad the mistake is, and in some cases a substantial reduction, even with consequent loss ,is of more advantage to the sellers than the expense and trouble of having the goods retumed to them, and of causing mconvenience to their customers. However,if the value of the goods in question is high,it may be advisable to have them returned, although even in this case the added risk of damage in further transport may not be worth incurring. There is no need for the seller to go into a long story of how the mistake was made. A short explanation may be useful, but generally speaking, the buyers are not interested in hearing how or why the error occurred but only in having the matter put right,in receiving the goods they ordered-or at least value for the money they have paid-or in knowing when they may expect to receive the delayed consignment. Questions for reading :