Complaints & Escalations

Create a category for complaints and escalations. This category should be used when the main purpose of the email is to raise a complaint, report dissatisfaction, challenge a decision, flag a serious issue, or escalate something because it has not been resolved.

Include emails where someone is unhappy with a product, service, process, delay, mistake, support response, system issue, missed deadline, poor communication, or unresolved request. This also includes emails where the sender is asking for management attention, urgent review, formal response, investigation, or a clear resolution.

Use this category when the email shows frustration, concern, disappointment, urgency, or a need for senior attention. Common wording may include phrases such as “I am not happy”, “this is unacceptable”, “I want to raise a complaint”, “this needs escalating”, “please escalate this”, “I have not had a response”, “this has still not been resolved”, “we need this fixed urgently”, “I would like to speak to a manager”, or “please treat this as a formal complaint”.

Do not use this category for normal support requests, general feedback, polite questions, routine status updates, or minor issues where the sender is not complaining or escalating. Do not use it when the email only mentions a problem in passing, unless the main reason for the email is to challenge, complain, chase strongly, or request higher level attention.

If the email contains both a complaint and a normal request, use this category when the complaint or escalation is the main reason for the email. If the sender is angry, threatening action, asking for a formal response, copying senior people, or saying the issue has already been raised before, this category should usually be used.