Customer - Top Tips - Complaint Handling

Complaint Handling

This document is designed as a quick reference guide to Complaint Handling

This will enable you to gain knowledge of a particular skill, task or process in store. This means you can quickly find the key information that you need and refer to it on an ongoing basis whenever you need to refresh your knowledge.

Introduction

When handling complaints, it is important to see each returning customer as a chance to help them solve their problem and create future business opportunities. Customers may be upset when they arrive in store to complain, many will have preconceived ideas that we are not going to be helpful and be brushed off with company policy.

As a member of store management your role is to make sure we find solutions to the problems that are present either by supporting your store staff or handling the complaint yourself. Some complaints will be able to be solved quickly and others are not so straightforward. Each complaint must be dealt with case by case and the most appropriate solution implemented for the customer. One thing to remember is that a customer will want to know what you can do for them and not what you can’t.

Think about every complaint as a business opportunity

Customer - Top Tips - Complaint Handling

What you need to know

You will need the right attitude, a genuine desire to help.

Attitude is estimated to be 80% of excellent customer service, skill is only

20%. Amongst other things, make sure you:

● Under-promise and over-deliver – give the customer a WOW!

● Emphasise the positive by telling the customer what you can do to help them, rather than what you can’t.

● If you think you can’t do something, and it will make the difference between giving good or bad service make a commercial decision and ensure you deal with the consequences of your decision.

● Stop whatever other tasks you are doing to attend to the customer, and give them your full attention.

● Keep promises you make such as to call a customer back at a particular time.

● It is not necessarily the right approach to treat a customer, as you would like to be treated. Instead, find out how they would like to be treated, and use that knowledge to deliver excellent service.

● Deal with all complaints away from heavily populated areas of the store such as the till areas

● Respect the customer and their concern or query. Be courteous, friendly and polite at all times. Empathise and put yourself in their shoes.

● Communicate clearly and concisely, listening to your customer and asking questions to check your understanding. Establishing the facts will help to identify the needs and enable you to match them to solutions

● Familiarise yourself with company guidelines and support systems, this could help to solve the problem quickly or eliminate the problem all together.

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