MANAGING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

by VIRENDRA SAHDEV

FINDINGS ABOUT CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

The average customer with an unresolved complaint will tell nine to 10 people; 13 percent tell more than 20 people  Up to 70 percent of complainers will return to your business if the complaint is resolved. Up to 95 percent return if the problem is resolved quickly For every complaint received, the average company has 26 unhappy customers it never hears from; six of these customers have problems that are considered serious.


CONSIDER THIS
For every customer who complains, 26 remain silent. Five complaints a week means there are 130 dissatisfied, disgruntled ex-customers out there that you never hear exfrom.  Silence from customers is NOT a good thing. It's the quiet clients who leave. They're the ones who don't make a fuss about problems - they let their complaints build up to the point that they think it's easier to leave than attempt to fix all that's wrong. Accumulation of silences comes from all the times that a client experiences a problem and chooses not to say anything about it. Silences build up, anyone who asks an innocent question like 'How's it going?' is likely to unleash a floodgate of complaints that no one can fix because the situation's gone too far. Complaints come from customers who are trying to help you with your business.


CUSTOMERS REFRAIN FROM COMPLAINING BECAUSE :

They simply dread confrontation and avoid it whenever possible They are procrastinators, who allow problems to accumulate until they become angry and decide to do something about it. They believe that this is an ongoing problem, that you have received many complaints about it and have done nothing, so what's the use? They are busy people and thus seek the easy way out: another vendor

CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS A GOLDMINE

 

An opportunity to correct immediate problems Provide constructive ideas for improving products, adapting marketing practices, upgrading services A good recovery can turn angry, frustrated customers into loyal ones Shifts the emphasis from the cost of pleasing a customer to the value of doing so Being properly prepared for dealing with customer complaints will help you use them to your advantage overall

WHY HANDLE CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS ?



Customers give businesses an opportunity to correct problems Customers who complain about products and services continue to frequent the businesses and buy the products they complain about if they believe the complaint was resolved fairly Negative word-of-mouth publicity from word-ofdissatisfied consumers means lost future business Complaints and complaint trends tell business how to do its job better by alerting management to problems that need prompt attention and correction They indicate long-range opportunities for longproduct innovation and problem prevention

DEALING WITH CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

      

Listen to the Customer Let Them Know You Understand Clarify What the Exact Problem Is Ask Questions for Inputs Apologize for the Trouble Paint Your Company in a Positive Light Don't have a bad attitude towards the customers. Customers aren't impressed with grumpy staff who do not care about complaints

METHODS FOR HANDLING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS



Ask How to Make Things Right Believe the customer The Customer is Always RightOnce Let Them Know you Understand Respond ASAP Thank Them

  

USEFUL TIPS


 

Make them a priority : Complaints are so important to your business that customers should be encouraged to complain Plan for Them: Anticipate what's coming, and be ready when it does Be professional: Regard the problem as "ours" instead of "yours," and that will, or should, guide your conversation Take responsibility Assure the complaining customer that the "buck stops here" Offer a solution: Make the customer a partner in this process Fix What's Wrong: Complaints can reveal important weaknesses in your procedures "But I don't have time for all that," you might protest. Wrong. You do have time, you're just using it for something else

MANAGEMENTS ROLE Demonstrate a commitment to complaints management Prepare written policies and procedures for speedy and fair complaint resolution Communicate procedures to relevant department, emphasizing the accountability of individual employees to resolve complaints courteously and fairly Regularly review and, when necessary, find ways to improve complaint-management procedures, paying complaintparticular attention to refining communication and coordination between the complaint-management and complaintoperating departments Regular follow-up of implementation of corrective followactions, by various functions, on feedback and analysis of complaints Review & Revise Quality System procedures based on Customer Complaints Analysis

BASIC STEPS FOR EFFECTIVE COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT

  

Designate a Location to Receive Complaints Develop a System for Record-keeping RecordRecord Complaints Acknowledge Complaint Investigate and Analyze the Complaint Resolve the Problem in a Manner Consistent with Company Policy FollowFollow-Up Prepare and File a Report on the Disposition of the Complaint, and Periodically Analyze and Summarize Complaints Initiate corrective / preventive actions to avoid recurrence

  

 

CUSTOMER COMPLAINT ANALYSIS Classify customer complaints: The nature of the complaint, along with the product or service the complaint is about, requires classification Analyze and report trends: Analyze & Report data on regular basis to identify themes or trends Take management action: Actions should remedy systemic issues. Changes should be monitored closely to ensure actions result in fewer customer complaints. Continual improvement of the process: Identify areas for improvement through regular feedback from customer & improve the system on regular basis.

CHECK LIST FOR COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM



 

 

Written procedures for your complaint-management complaintsystem Top management directly overseeing complaintcomplainthandling procedures Complaint system easily accessible to customers FrontFront-line employees having clear responsibilities for resolving complaints Larger or more serious complaints being referred to designated senior managers Providing adequate training for your complaintcomplaintmanagement staff System encouraging customer feedback System of complaint management useful for quality control and problem prevention

CHECK LIST FOR COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ..contd. Swiftly generates systematic information about causes of complaints and complaint trends
 

Data meets management needs Provides for circulation to top management periodic reports of data from complaint records with suggestions for action to prevent recurring problems Coordinates complaint-management system with complaintothers in the distribution chain for your products

ISO 9001:2008 FOCUS - CUSTOMER



Top management shall provide evidence of communicating to the organization the importance of meeting customer requirements (Section 5.1a). Top management shall ensure that customer requirements are determined and met in order to enhance customer satisfaction (Section 5.2). Inputs to management review shall include information on customer feedback (Section 5.6.2b). The organization shall determine and provide the resources needed to enhance customer satisfaction (Section 6.1b). The organization shall monitor information relating to customer perception as to whether it's met customer requirements (Section 8.2.1). Data analysis shall provide information relating to customer satisfaction (Section 8.4a).

WHAT MAKES A GREAT SERVICES MANAGER Patient & articulate Good listener A good attitude towards the customers Ability to balance fairly the interests of the company with those of the customer Communicate legitimate consumer complaints to management to help determine whether there is a need for changes in company policies or procedures

 

 

CONCLUSION


Management Role Commitment and continuing involvement of company management is critical to successful complaint resolution and to the optimum use of complaints as a management tool to continually enhance customer satisfaction and improve product quality. Role of Managers Resolving the problem in a manner consistent with Company Policy & improving the complaint-management complaintsystem. Providing feedback for corrective & preventive action Periodically Analyzing and Summarizing Complaints to indicate complaint trends, leading to alerting management to problems that need prompt attention and correction

 a)

b) c)

COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT FLOW CHART

RECEIVE COMPLAINTS RECEIVE COMPLAINTS LOG COMPLAINT FORWARD TO SERVICES DEPTT ANALYZE COMPLAINT

CLARIFICATION REQUIRED
YES

OBTAIN CLARIFICATION, ADVISE CUSTOMER HOW IT WILL BE ATTENDED, RECORD

NO

COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT FLOW CHART (CONTD)

FOC SERVICE YES REQUISITION MATL FORWARD TO TENDERING DEPTT OBTAIN MATL NO

DEPUTE ENGINEER, PROVIDE SERVICE RECORD COMPLIANCE/ CONFIRMATION FROM CUSTOMER/ ACTION TAKEN

COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT FLOW CHART (CONTD)

FORWARD REPORT TO QUALITY ASSURANCE DEPTT CARRYOUT ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS

ELINS RESPONSIBLE

NO

YES

ADVISE CUSTOMER

RAISE CORRECTIVE/PREVENTIVE ACTION REPORT ON CONCERNED DEPTT ENSURE CLOSURE OF CAPR

COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT FLOW CHART (CONTD)

REPORTS TO MANAGEMENT MONTHLY STATUS OF CPMPLAINTS RECEIVED/ ATTENDED/ PENDING BY SERVICES DEPTT MONTHLY STATUS OF CORRECTIVE & PREVENTIVE ACTIONS NO BY QA DEPTT HALF YEARLY REPORT OF TRENDS - BY QA DEPTT