How to Complain [More] Effectively

Charles M. Dobbs is a recently retired professor of history from Iowa State University; previously, he was a professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver. He taught courses in US and East Asian history, with a focus on diplomatic and military history. He authored five monographs, several dozen scholarly articles, and more than three hundred encyclopedia entries mostly focused in these areas. One of his favorite courses to teach was research methods, where he discussed how to frame the question, find appropriate materials and sources, and how to organize those sources and write up the materials in a compelling fashion. Dobbs earned his BA from the University of Connecticut and his MA and PhD degrees from Indiana University, all three in history. During his nearly four decades as a faculty member, Dobbs also spent fifteen years as assistant to the president. Duties included looking into complaints, overseeing, editing, and/or originating the president's correspondence, helping organize outreach, and interacting with various publics. Separately, Dobbs has a long history of writing letters when he was disappointed in a product or a service he received. He has always believed that companies and organizations are strengthened by logical, well-argued letters drawing attention to a problem area. From these twin experiences comes this book, How to Complain [More] Effectively. It reflects experience in complaining about situations as well as having to look into such complaints to determine if the institution was at fault; and if it was, to offer a reasonable resolution, and if it acted correctly, to explain the situation and correct the record to reflect that appropriate action.