An element of the absurd

My parents recently went on holiday and unfortunately were delayed by six and a half hours outgoing.

My Dad was very annoyed, and asked me to help him pen a letter of complaint to the airline.

I have previously blogged about my skills in writing letters of complaint, so was more than happy to help.

Well, these artful complaining abilities must be hereditary and run in our veins, as I picked up some great tips from Pops.

These two handy hints for writing letters of complaint I had not considered:

• Make it personal: my Dad pointed out to the airline, quite rightly, that he'd been delayed when he previously flew with them; but, he added that this was frustrating because he missed the Champions League final, and described himself as an "avid fan". I think here my Dad is hoping for them to supply him with tickets for this year's final, as compensation.

• Add an element of the absurd - purely to make it hard for the complainee to gauge their response to you; do they write you off as crazy? Could they think that you are not entirely serious? This way you make their job that little bit more difficult and can really lay in to them should their reply not be to your satisfaction. My Dad achieved this absurdity by finishing his letter asking if the airline had considered charging a passenger for their total weight, that is the combined total of their body- and luggage-weight...

If a well-known British airline takes up this suggestion, you know whom to thank.