Writing a Spanish Customer Message About a Purchase

In this lesson, you will write a clear customer message about a purchase without using past tenses that have not yet been studied. Your message should identify the product, provide the order details, explain the current problem, and state the solution you want.

A useful message structure

greeting
product identification
order or reference number
current problem
requested solution
contact detail if necessary
polite closing

Identify the product precisely

— The product is a white T-shirt, size M.
— The product is a black suitcase.
— The product is an X-model phone.

Give the order number

Use:

— My order number is 4582.

For this lesson, — order is useful customer-service vocabulary.

Describe the current problem

— The T-shirt is torn.
— The size does not fit me well.
— The suitcase is broken.
— The phone does not work.

Use a pronoun after identifying the product

After the product is clear, you can avoid repetition.

— The T-shirt is torn. I want to exchange it.

— The phone does not work. I want to return it.

State the requested solution

— I want to exchange it, please.
— I want to exchange it, please.
— I want a refund, please.

Add a contact detail when useful

— You can reply to this email.

For this lesson, treat this as a practical customer-message phrase.

Model message 1: exchange

Meaning:

— Good morning.

— The product is a white T-shirt, size M.

— My order number is 4582.

— The T-shirt is torn.

— I want to exchange it, please.

— You can reply to this email.

— Thank you.

Model message 2: refund

Meaning:

— Hello.

— The product is an X-model phone.

— My order number is 7310.

— The phone does not work.

— I want a refund, please.

— Thank you.

Completeness check

Before sending, verify that the recipient can answer these questions:

What product is involved?
What order number identifies the case?
What is the current problem?
What solution does the customer want?

Do not rely on vague pronouns

Do not start with — I want to exchange it if the reader does not yet know what la refers to. Identify the product first, then use the pronoun.

Keep the event understandable without an unstudied past tense

You can write:

— My order number is 4582. The T-shirt is torn.

This gives enough present information for the recipient to identify the case and act.

A practical writing method

Identify the product precisely.
Add the order number or reference.
Describe one current problem clearly.
Use a direct object pronoun only after its referent is clear.
State the requested solution explicitly.
Add a contact detail if necessary.
Check that the message is complete without introducing an unstudied tense.

From Customer Messages to Talking About Yesterday

You can now write a customer message that gives enough information for the recipient to understand the problem and act. The next lesson introduces limited past-time phrases for talking about yesterday and last weekend before the full regular preterite system is taught.