At some stage your business is likely to receive a customer complaint. Dealing with it in a positive and constructive manner will help to keep your customers.
In general customers who are unhappy with your product or service will not complain to you – but they will complain to others and take their business elsewhere. Managing customer complaints and resolving them quickly will result in improved business processes and repeat business.
Complaints handling policy
Develop a complaints handling policy. It should include reassuring customers that you value their feedback and you are committed to resolving their issues in a fair, timely and efficient manner.
It should also:
- explain how customers can make a formal complaint
- identify the steps you will take in discussing, addressing and resolving complaints
- indicate some of the solutions you offer to resolve complaints
- inform customers about your commitment to continuous improvement
Complaints handling procedure
Once you have developed a policy you can create a procedure for handling complaints. A procedure will ensure complaints are dealt with the same way, every time. The procedure should be easy to understand and follow by all your staff.
Your procedure could include the following steps.
