Problem solving abroad: The best ways to complain

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David Whitley looks at what you can do when things go wrong on the road – and the best approaches to take

I am not the most patient of creatures. Generally, when something goes wrong, I want it fixed NOW. I get really riled really quickly when things don’t work due to obvious incompetence, and I’m liable to get stroppy. These, as anyone who has ever travelled with me will testify, are not particularly endearing character traits.

On some occasions however – largely when I can do nothing about it and it’s clearly not the fault of anyone I can see or talk to – there’s little to do but accept you can’t do anything. Flight delayed for a couple of hours? All you can do is try to find out what the cause of the delay is. No amount of ranting and raving is going to make that plane take off any faster, so what’s the point in getting worked up? You may as well just sit down and lose yourself in a good book.

The real art of complaining and dealing with problems come when you *can* actually do something about it. I’ve learned the hard way that my instinctive approach – to get angry and shout at the bloody idiots that are making a mess of things – is dazzlingly ineffective. And for this reason, I’d strongly advise against it.

There are key questions you should ask yourself before trying to get any travel problems sorted. The first is “Can anything I do make a difference?” – if no, revert to that book. The second is “What’s more important – the end result, or making myself feel better?” Usually, the most important thing is getting the result you want; the problem fixed or a better deal. Alas, the best way of achieving this isn’t necessarily the one that makes you feel better and gets your frustration out.

If someone else has messed with my travels due to their laziness or ineptitude, my natural instincts are to tear into them, tell them how useless they are and win an argument by berating them into a weeping, quivering wreck.

Generally, however, I’ll need that person I want to shame and humiliate. They’re often the only one who can deal with the problem they’ve caused. Biting the tongue, being ultra-polite and even pretending that it’s not their fault in the first place can – irritatingly – get you what you want quicker than an acid-tongued dressing down. Often the most incompetent people you have to deal with are the ones with the largest egos; they’re the ones who take everything personally and are incapable of admitting they’re wrong.

They’re the ones who need to believe it’s their idea, that they’re a wonderful person doing you a massive favour in correcting the error they won’t admit they’ve made. And, to get them to do what you need to do, you may even have to swallow your pride and pretend everything’s your fault. Essentially, you may have to ‘lose’ the argument in order to win the prize. That can hurt – really hurt – but what’s the point of feeling like a winner and realising that there’s even less chance of solving the original problem?

What approach do you take to complaining whilst travelling? Share your ideas by leaving a comment below.