handling customer complaints essay

The Value of a Customer Complaint Essay

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Introduction

Works cited.

Hardly ever has the word “complaint” been used in a positive sense. Originally, it comes from Latin where it meant “hit” or, figuratively, “hit on the chest.” Although some businesses happen to treat complaints as hostile fault-finding and try to avoid or ignore them, complaints are claimed to have a positive outcome and, thus, should be managed properly.

Nowadays, a complaint tends to be associated with pain, discontent, and irritation. This word can stand for a medical disease or a legal claim. It is, therefore, obvious that no one enjoys getting complaints. However, a complaint is one of the ways for the customer to inform the business on how to continue developing. Businesses strive to put the best foot forward in order to make products or provide services. Despite this, clients have enough courage to say that they do not appreciate the endeavor. What is more, businesses should welcome such applications and attitude. A complaint can be treated as a means of expression.

Customers tend to groan and moan, which might seem unfair at first, but their message appears to provide crucial information for the further development of the organization. Hence, a complaint proves to be a gift. As a matter of fact, complaints are acknowledged to be feedback which helps businesses to quickly and cheaply amend their production quality, service style, and working directions in order to comply with the customer’s requirements. In the long run, these are clients who any business is based on and who purchase products and services. Therefore, a complaint should be viewed as a strategic tool or, in other words, as a means for the business to find out something about the products and services which have not been known yet. Complaints, thus, can become an asset but neither a loss nor expenditures (Knox and Van Oest 44-46).

It is a universal truth that a business does not exist without clients. Complaints are one of the main means of direct communication with a customer. Nowadays, the concept of a client has been broadened. Presently, a client is not the one who pays but anyone who benefits from services and products, including patients, students, and public transport passengers. Besides, there has appeared a notion of an internal client which implies colleagues and the management. Customers have found themselves at the top of the hierarchical structure of the organization. They are at the center of any business. This fact happens to be ignored. Numerous customer surveys show that a client often endures discontent. The staff, production, service, and system strategies are obstacles for a client to get a positive experience. If the business is interested in client-based development, complaints should be at the center of attention. What is called a complaint is, in fact, one of the immediate and significant means to express discontent for the business. Therefore, it is better to use the word “feedback” instead of “complaint” (Yilmaz et al. 951-53).

In reality, the majority of businesses consider complaints as their failure which they are unwilling to admit. Besides, some businesses tend to think that complaints might result from the client’s desire to get services and products free of charge. Although companies should accept complaints, they struggle to decrease their number. However, according to Hyken, if analyzed deeper inside, complaints have advantages, and it is necessary to learn how to manage them but not how to avoid them. Complaints are an efficient and effective way to inform the business that it has a perspective for improvement. So, if necessary improvements are not made, customers will have to shift to another producer or service provider. Hence, complaints should be managed but neither avoided nor ignored (Hyken).

In conclusion, it is necessary to point out that complaints should be considered as feedback. Many businesses tend to avoid or ignore them. However, it might be reasonable to manage complaints.

Knox, George, and Ruther Van Oest. “Customer Complains and Recovery Effectiveness: A Customer Base Approach.” Journal of Marketing, vol. 78, no. 5, 2014, pp. 42-57.

Hyken, Shep. “ Customer Service Speaker Explains How to Handle Complains .” YouTube . Web.

Yilmaz, Cengiz, Kaan Varnali, and Berna Tari Kasnakoglu. “How Do Firms Benefit from Customer Complaints?” Journal of Business Research, vol. 69, no. 2, 2016, pp. 944-55.

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Bibliography

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How to Handle Customer Complaints Effectively: Best Practices and Strategies

• August 30, 2023

• August 28, 2023

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Customer complaints are an inevitable part of running a business, and how you handle them can have a significant impact on your reputation and customer loyalty. In this article, we will explore best practices and strategies on how to handle customer complaints effectively. From active listening to swift resolution, understanding the root cause, and implementing preventive measures, we will provide insights into creating a positive customer experience, even in the face of dissatisfaction.

The Importance of Addressing Customer Complaints

Addressing customer complaints is vital in delivering exceptional customer service and nurturing strong customer relationships. Considering how to handle customer complaints effectively, here are some key reasons why addressing customer complaints is crucial:

• Retaining Customers :  By promptly addressing and resolving complaints, businesses can retain valuable customers. When customers feel heard, and their issues are resolved satisfactorily, they are more likely to continue doing business with your company.
• Enhancing Customer Satisfaction:  Effective complaint resolution demonstrates a commitment to customer satisfaction. It shows that the business values its customers’ opinions, experiences, and concerns. This boosts overall customer satisfaction levels .
• Building Trust and Loyalty:  Addressing customer complaints promptly and efficiently helps build trust with customers. When businesses take complaints seriously and work towards finding solutions, customers develop a sense of loyalty, increasing their likelihood of remaining loyal to the brand.
• Improving Business Reputation:  How a business handles complaints directly impacts its reputation. By promptly addressing complaints, businesses can showcase their commitment to customer service excellence , which in turn enhances their reputation in the market.
• Gaining Valuable Feedback:  Customer complaints provide valuable feedback and insights into areas where a business can improve. By addressing complaints, businesses can identify recurring issues, implement necessary changes, and continuously enhance their products or services.
• Increasing Customer Advocacy:  Satisfied customers who have had their complaints successfully resolved are more likely to become brand advocates. They may share positive experiences with others, contribute positive reviews, and recommend the business to friends and family, thereby expanding the customer base.
• Competitive Advantage:  Businesses that prioritize addressing customer complaints gain a competitive advantage. Excellent customer service, including effective complaint handling, sets a business apart from competitors and becomes a differentiating factor for customers when making purchasing decisions.
• Minimizing Negative Word-of-Mouth:  Unaddressed complaints can lead to negative word-of-mouth, which can harm a business’s reputation. By actively addressing and resolving complaints, businesses can minimize the negative impact and maintain a positive brand image.
• Upselling and Cross-Selling Opportunities:  When customer complaints are resolved to their satisfaction, it opens up opportunities for upselling or cross-selling. Satisfied customers are more likely to engage in repeat purchases and explore additional products or services offered by the business.
• Continuous Improvement:  Addressing complaints helps businesses identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments. This ongoing process of addressing customer feedback ultimately leads to better products, services, and overall customer experiences.

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Impact of customer complaints on brand reputation

Customer complaints are a reality of doing business, and they can have a significant impact on your brand reputation. How you handle these complaints will determine whether you’re able to turn a disgruntled customer into a loyal brand evangelist or lose them forever. Therefore, it’s essential that you know how to handle customer complaints. 

• Customer Satisfaction:  Addressing customer complaints promptly and satisfactorily plays a crucial role in maintaining customer satisfaction. When complaints are resolved effectively, customers feel heard and valued, and are more likely to view the brand positively.
• Loyalty and Advocacy:  Handling complaints well can turn disgruntled customers into loyal advocates. Research shows that customers whose complaints are quickly addressed often become brand advocates, promoting the brand and its positive customer service experiences.
• Negative Word-of-Mouth:  Unresolved or poorly handled complaints can lead to negative word-of-mouth. Dissatisfied customers may share their negative experiences with others, damaging the brand’s reputation and potential customer acquisition.
• Brand Trust and Loyalty:  A strong brand reputation built on effective complaint handling enhances customer trust and loyalty. When customers trust a brand to address their concerns, they are more likely to remain loyal and continue supporting the brand.
• Business Success:  Positive brand reputation resulting from effective complaint resolution can drive business success. Increased customer loyalty , positive word-of-mouth, and enhanced customer satisfaction can lead to higher customer acquisition rates and revenue growth.

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The role of effective complaint handling in customer retention and growth

Knowing how to handle customer complaints effectively plays a crucial role in customer retention and growth. Here are some key insights from various sources:

• Customer Experience Improvement:  Effective complaint management contributes to positive customer experiences, leading to improved customer loyalty, revenue, and growth. By addressing complaints promptly and satisfactorily, businesses can enhance the overall customer experience.
• Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Retention:  Successful complaint handling positively impacts customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. Addressing complaints and resolving issues lead to longer-lasting relationships with customers and the potential for repeat business.
• Service Recovery and Customer Retention:  Effective complaint management and service recovery programs contribute to customer retention. Reclaiming disgruntled customers through efficient service recovery efforts helps improve customer retention rates. 
• Growth Opportunities:  Customer complaints provide valuable feedback that opens business growth opportunities. Encouraging customers to voice their concerns and complaints enables businesses to improve their products, services, and overall customer experience.
• Business Improvement and Profitability:  Handling customer complaints effectively is vital for achieving and sustaining profitability and growth. Addressing complaints helps identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments, ensuring long-term business success.
• Customer Satisfaction and Sales:  Handling complaints not only improves customer satisfaction but also has a positive impact on sales. Resolving complaints efficiently increases customer loyalty and can lead to improved sales performance. 

Practices and Strategies on how to Handle Customer Complaints Effectively 

Active Listening and Empathy

When dealing with customer complaints, exercising active listening and empathy is crucial to understanding the issue. This means truly focusing on what the customer is saying rather than simply listening to respond. By genuinely hearing out their resentments without interruption, it’s possible to get a clear sense of how the situation can be resolved in the most efficient and satisfactory manner possible. 

Empathy also plays a huge role in ensuring the customer feels heard and understood. Acknowledging their feelings and showing that you understand their perspective can build rapport and create a more positive experience for all parties involved.

Swift Response and Timely Resolution

Every business wants to provide the best possible customer experience, but sometimes, things can still go wrong. When customers complain, it’s important to respond quickly and provide a satisfactory resolution. Acting swiftly shows customers that you are listening and value their feedback.

But it’s not enough to simply respond. The resolution must also be timely and appropriate. This is where effective complaint-handling strategies come into play. By implementing these strategies, such as active listening, addressing the root cause, and seeking feedback on the resolution, businesses can turn a negative experience into a positive one and earn the loyalty of their customers. 

Understanding the Root Cause

Effective complaints handling policies should be focused on understanding the root cause of customer complaints. Before dealing with a complaint, it is important to gather basic information and investigate what is causing the problem. There are a number of strategies that can be employed to identify the root cause, such as talking to the customer or analyzing data. 

Once this is established, opportunities can be found to address any underlying issues and create lasting solutions for customers. Customers who feel that their complaint has been properly addressed and resolved are more likely to remain loyal to a brand. Understanding the root cause can also prevent future complaints from occurring, creating a positive cycle of customer satisfaction and loyalty.  

Apologizing and Taking Responsibility

As a member of a customer service team , it’s important to understand the significance of apologizing and taking responsibility when handling customer complaints. 

Simply acknowledging the issue and recognizing the customer’s frustration can go a long way in showing that their business is important to you. Taking responsibility for the mistake, even if it wasn’t entirely your fault, also helps build trust and a positive relationship with the customer. 

Apologizing and taking responsibility can also open up a dialogue to find a solution to the issue at hand. Remember, effective communication and empathy are key components in handling customer complaints successfully.

Providing Solutions and Compensation

In today’s business world, it’s more important than ever to have accessible customer service and an effective system for handling complaints. When customers experience issues, they want to know that their concerns are being taken seriously and that they will receive a prompt and satisfactory resolution. 

Providing solutions and compensation is just one aspect of this process. It’s also critical to have a plan in place for how complaints will be received, routed, and resolved, as well as a commitment to ongoing improvement. By focusing on customer service and implementing effective practices and strategies, businesses can ensure that they are meeting their customer’s needs and building long-term loyalty.

Implementing Preventive Measures

Implementing preventive measures is crucial to handling customer complaints effectively. By anticipating potential issues, you can better equip your support team to handle them before they escalate into larger problems. One way to do this is by providing your team with the proper training and resources to address customer needs proactively. 

This could include offering educational resources and proactive communication channels, such as chatbots or email newsletters, to help customers stay informed and feel supported. Additionally, regularly monitoring customer feedback and implementing changes based on their suggestions and concerns can also show customers that their voices are being heard. By taking these steps, you can improve customer satisfaction and minimize complaints before they even happen.

Continuous Improvement and Feedback Loop

As businesses strive to provide an exceptional customer experience, handling complaints effectively becomes a key component. A continuous improvement mindset and feedback loop can help your organization achieve this goal. By regularly assessing and analyzing customer complaints, you can identify underlying issues and areas in need of improvement. 

Implementing changes based on customer feedback can result in improved customer satisfaction and loyalty. In order to ensure these improvements are sustained, it is important to close the feedback loop by communicating updates to customers and following up on their experience. Embracing a culture of continuous improvement and using customer feedback to drive change can ultimately result in a more positive customer experience.

Utilizing Technology and Customer Service Tools

As businesses continue to evolve, technology plays an increasingly important role in managing and handling customer complaints. Utilizing AI natural language processing, companies can now provide customers with efficient and effective customer service tools to resolve issues quickly. These tools can identify and understand customer complaints, allowing for personalized responses and resolutions, ultimately leading to a positive customer experience. 

Gone are the days of long wait times and annoyed customers. By embracing technology and implementing customer service tools, businesses can improve customer loyalty and satisfaction, ultimately increasing revenue and success.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if i am unable to resolve the customer’s complaint immediately.

If you are unable to resolve the customer’s complaint immediately, it is important to communicate this to the customer honestly and provide a clear timeline or next steps for resolving the issue. Keeping the customer informed throughout the process is key.

How can I turn a negative customer complaint into a positive experience?

To turn a negative customer complaint into a positive experience, you can actively listen to the customer’s concerns, apologize sincerely, take ownership of the issue, offer a suitable solution or compensation, and follow up to ensure their satisfaction.

How can I prevent customer complaints in the first place? 

Preventing customer complaints starts with providing excellent products or services, setting clear expectations, maintaining open lines of communication, training your staff to handle customer issues effectively, and continuously seeking feedback to identify and address any potential concerns proactively.

In the fast-paced and competitive business world, customer complaints are bound to crop up from time to time. Despite the negative connotations often associated with them, successful businesses know that complaints provide valuable feedback and insight. Taking a customer-centric approach and effectively addressing grievances can help diffuse a potentially challenging situation and turn a dissatisfied customer into a happy one. 

But how to handle customer complaints? By adopting best practices, such as active listening, empathy, and swift resolution, businesses can transform complaints into opportunities for growth and take customer satisfaction to new heights.

Effective complaint handling not only resolves issues but also shows customers that their concerns are being taken seriously. This builds trust, fosters loyalty, and encourages long-term relationships with customers. So, if your business wants to boost its reputation and keep customers coming back, it’s crucial to know how to handle customer complaints effectively.

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How to Handle Customer Complaints

5 strategies that can help resolve a customer complaint in a smooth and professional manner.

By Amanda Herder, Account Manager, Signature Worldwide

Complaints happen every day. When a customer complains, it is usually for a good reason or genuine concern. They usually have made a purchase that did not meet their expectation—a product, service, or maybe a combination of the two. In the customer service industry, we cannot avoid complaints. We must take care of the customer by listening to the complaint, and resolving it, to ensure a happy customer.

Fewer than half of unhappy customers will bring a complaint to your attention. Those who never say anything will tell an average of 11 other people about their bad experience. It is important that we recognize complaints as opportunities, so we can sway these averages, one resolved complaint at a time.

Customers want to know someone is listening and they are understood, and they are hoping you are willing to take care of the problem to their satisfaction. No matter what the situation is, when a customer brings a complaint to your attention—even if they do it in a less-than-desirable way—be thankful. As the old saying goes, “We can’t fix it, if we don’t know it’s broken.” Moreover, we must realize that improper handling of a customer complaint can be costly to the business.

Here are five strategies that will help you handle a customer complaint in a smooth and professional manner:

• Stay calm. When a customer presents you with a complaint, keep in mind that the issue is not personal; he or she is not attacking you directly but rather the situation at hand. “Winning” the confrontation accomplishes nothing. A person who remains in control of his or her emotions deals from a position of strength. While it is perfectly natural to get defensive when attacked, choose to be the “professional” and keep your cool.
• Listen well. Let the irate customer blow off steam. Respond with phrases such as, “Hmm,” “I see,” and “Tell me more.” Do not interrupt. As the customer vents and sees you are not reacting, he or she will begin to calm down. The customer needs to get into a calm frame of mind before he or she can hear your solution—or anything you say, for that matter.
• Acknowledge the problem. Let the customer know you hear what he or she is saying. If you or your company made a mistake, admit it. If you did not make a mistake and it is a misunderstanding, simply explain it to the customer: “I can see how that would be incredibly frustrating for you.” You are not necessarily agreeing with what the customer is saying, but respecting how he or she perceives and feels about the situation. An excellent phrase for opening up this particular conversation would be, “So, if I understand you correctly…” After the customer responds, follow up with, “So, if I understand you correctly, we were to resolve the problem by noon today. I can see how that must be frustrating for you.” Then be quiet. Usually, the customer will respond with “That’s right” or “Exactly.” By repeating to the customer what you think you heard, you lower his or her defenses, and win the right to be heard.
• Get the facts. After listening, take the initiative in the conversation. Now that the customer has calmed down and feels you have heard his or her side, begin asking questions. Be careful not to speak scripted replies, but use this as an opportunity to start a genuine conversation, building a trusting relationship with your customer. To help you understand the situation, get as many details as possible.
• Offer a solution. This happens only after you have sufficient details. One thing to keep in mind: Know what you can and cannot do within your company’s guidelines. Making a promise you cannot commit to will only set you back. Remember, when offering a solution, be courteous and respectful. Let the customer know you are willing to take ownership of the issue, even if it was out of your control. Take charge of the situation and let the customer know what you are going to do to solve the problem.

A quick follow-up phone call a few days later to make sure everything is OK is icing on the cake. Even a small gesture of apology can turn this interaction from disaster to legendary. The cost could be minimal—maybe a simple upgrade on the customer’s next purchase or a small gift certificate. A simple gesture like this could result in a future referral or a positive word-of-mouth marketing recommendation.

When you resolve customer complaints successfully, you will better understand their needs, retain them as loyal customers, and enhance your business.

Click for additional articles on customer complaints .

Amanda Herder is an account manager for Signature Worldwide, a Dublin, OH-based company offering sales and customer service training, marketing, and mystery shopping services for a variety of service-based industries. For more information, call 800.398.0518 or visit www.signatureworldwide.com . You also can connect with Signature on Twitter @SignatureWorld and on Facebook.

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How to Handle Customer Complaints [10+ Response Examples]

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. Bill Gates

When you think about customer complaints, your first reaction probably isn’t: “Negative feedback, that’s great! Now I’ll see what I can improve! ”

Sure, it definitely feels better to be praised than to be criticized.

But the truth is—

Any business venture needs feedback to become even better at what it does.

As soon as you learn how to handle customer complaints properly, your company will gain much more than just a resolved customer service issue.

And we will help you with that!

Read on to find out:

• Why customers complain and how this can be beneficial to your company
• How to handle a customer complaint properly in every scenario
• Templates and tips for dealing with common types of complaints

Why do customers complain?

Reading the title of this section, you might think, “What do you mean, why do the customers complain … They are simply unhappy, duh!”.

The truth is, people who share negative feedback with you most likely:

• Got disappointed with a feature or a product, and just need to vent
• Had higher expectations for your company, feel they need to share their disenchantment with you

Esteban Kolsky’s research for ThinkJar has proven that a whopping 91% of customers who are unhappy with a brand will just leave without complaining. And you’ll never know they were unhappy and probably moved on to your competitors.

So, don’t think about customer service complaints in terms of single, irritating issues to solve, but rather in terms of information that provides opportunities for growth, both for your product/service and customer retention .

What if you treat your next customer complaint as a blessing in disguise?

Now, let’s find out what an unhappy customer is most likely to complain about and how to handle customer complaints like a boss.

Handling customer complaints, the efficient way

It’s easy to take negative feedback personally, especially for business owners, who are usually super-focused on perfecting their product or service.

The best attitude to customer complaints procedure is to realize that both you and the customer are playing on the same team. Even if the customer doesn’t know it yet. Add a pinch of personalization, and you’re on the right track to improve customer satisfaction overall.

What are the best practices for dealing with common customer complaints?

• Stay calm. Working with people can be stressful, and negative feedback can fuel emotional responses. However, in this case, it’s definitely better to keep it cool, even if you don’t agree with your customer’s opinion. After all, what they say is not personal. Don’t fight to win, fight for agreement!
• Listen carefully. If a customer is irritated, they might want to vent their frustrations. Of course, you should never accept offensive behavior, but if a customer is confiding about how disappointed they are, you might want to tune in and show them that you listen. You can do that by responding with short phrases such as “Tell me more about this” or “I understand”. This will also calm them down.
• Acknowledge the problem. Once the customer is done describing the problem, write a message that sums it up and requires a confirming response from the customer. For example: “If I understood you correctly, you were expecting your order to arrive by Friday, right?” A customer then confirms what you just said and is reassured that you really listened to them and want to take care of their case.
• Get the facts straight. After the customer has expressed their disappointment, ask additional questions. Be personal and don’t use scripted responses. Make them feel heard and understood.
• Prepare an action plan. Now that you have all the information, offer a solution and present a short plan on what exactly you will do. A good practice is to structure this message according to a “What? So what? Then what?” technique , so the customer knows that you know what exactly happened, what trouble it has caused them, and what is going to happen next to resolve the issue.

Now, let’s analyze the most common complaints you or your customer support team may encounter. We’ve also prepared handy customer complaint response letter templates you can use and adapt for your purposes.

Because we know that each business has its own brand and uses a different tone of voice, you’ll find two response templates for each type of customer complaint: more formal and more casual.

Let’s dive in!

1. Waiting too long for the answer

Customers don’t want to wait hours on the phone or stare at their desktops forever. McKinsey’s research has shown that as many as 75% of online customers expect help within 5 minutes (!) of making contact online.

These 5 minutes may be considered a golden standard as to how quickly a customer complaint must be acknowledged—but we all know that the quicker, the better.

How to deal with customer complaints about waiting too long?

If the customer is waiting too long, their dissatisfaction grows even bigger. To solve this problem in the long run, you need to figure out why this situation takes place.

Possible reasons:

• Your customer service reps are constantly busy because the demand is too high
• Your customer complaint software lacks automation

The best action plan is to start with smart, quick fixes that won’t require overcomplicating the situation, and then move on to more demanding solutions if the situation requires doing so.

→ Quick fix

In this case, a quick fix would be installing a live chat that will allow your customer service team to send canned responses and talk to many customers at the same time. With intelligent live chat, you can quickly scale your customer support team without hiring more people.

See how to provide real-life customer experience online with AI technology

→ Hiring more reps

If the situation repeats despite using automated customer support tools, you should consider hiring more reps to unburden your current team and meet the needs of your company.

While you are working on the long-term solution, your customer service representatives should apologize for the long wait and assure the customer that their issue is being resolved.

Sample email reply to a customer complaint about waiting too long

2. Unavailable product or service

If your customer’s problem is that their favorite product is out of stock, congratulations—it means you have loyal customers!

Of course, customer loyalty doesn’t have the power to erase the service experience of not getting what you want. Therefore, in this situation, you need to go the extra mile to meet customers’ needs .

How do you resolve customer complaints about unavailable products or services?

The best approach is to be as transparent as possible about the restocking of the item and send informative emails. Believe us, in this case, types of customers don’t matter—all customers appreciate proactive customer service .

If they already reached out to you about the product, treat it as a compliment and present the information as clearly as possible. Promise them that they will be the first to know when the item is available again.

Responding to customer complaints about the unavailable product

3. Delayed shipping

The best tip present in every customer support guide ? Treat your customers just as you would like to be treated when you have to deal with customer support.

This is especially true for retail customer service , where a customer wants a product or service delivered to them as soon as possible.

^ Who didn’t behave like this at least once, when finally having ordered this one cool tech gadget, a dream outfit, or a book they really want to read?

Shipment delays happen, but not informing your customers about the fact that their dream thing will arrive 5 days later will result in tons of negative customer feedback .

How to reduce customer complaints about delayed shipping?

To prevent this kind of customer service complaint from appearing, always be hands-on about the deliveries. Write to customers as soon as you know that they will receive the package later than planned.

If it’s too late, and you already received complaints, apologize about the situation, explain why the delay happened and why you didn’t inform them about this fact before. Be honest and offer some kind of compensation, no matter how small.

How to write a customer complaint’s answer about the delayed shipment?

4. Lack of follow-up after making a purchase

Imagine you ordered a product or subscribed for a service, you receive a confirmation email about your payment, and… that’s it. No further information about shipping/start date, no follow-up email, no tracking number, no communication whatsoever, for a day or two.

Even if you received your package after a few days, or logged in to the system to find out if you can use your subscription already, the whole experience would probably be… not recommendable to say the least.

Those, who are less patient, would probably turn into dissatisfied customers and write a complaint about the lack of follow-up.

How do you resolve customer complaints about no follow-ups?

The best solution would be to set up a full follow-up email sequence in your CRM, so the updates are sent out automatically and all customers are well-informed about the status of their purchase.

If you feel that sending automatic updates about every stage of the order is too spammy, you can limit the number of automatic emails to the minimum (for example, purchase completion in progress and purchase send emails).

On top of that, create a chatbot that will answer your customers’ questions when they come back to your website and ask for detailed information about their order. This way, you work on many points of contact and optimize all of them.

How to reply to a customer complaint about lack of follow-up

5. Poor customer service in terms of average response time

We’ve already mentioned that disrespecting your customers’ time is a bad idea. Your reps may have the best efficiency, but when they speak to hundreds of customers a day, some conversations may be overlooked, and some customers may not have ALL their responses on time.

This doesn’t necessarily indicate that your reps lose focus, but it may indicate you need better communication tools.

How do you process customer complaints about a long response time?

The best solution to this problem is to use customer complaint handling software that allows you to see unassigned and unopened conversations first. Each operator is then assigned to a specific conversation and the customer always gets the answer quickly thanks to effective prioritization.

Tidio offers such functionality for all your communication channels, so your operators can always stay updated.

How to respond to a customer complaint about slow response time?

6. Poor customer service in terms of rep-customer culture fit

Some call it “cultural fit”, some call it “chemistry”, some could argue that it’s just like in real life: not all reps and customers will get along, just like not all people get along.

The problem starts when the customer perceives the operator as uninterested in their case, not willing to help, malicious, or worse—lazy, just because the two are not getting along.

This may seriously affect your business reputation, even if the customer simply misinterpreted the attitude of the agent due to their character differences.

How to handle customer inquiries or complaints about seemingly unprofessional staff?

Your agents should always strive to provide the best customer service, and you should make sure they know how to do it according to your company protocol that’s coherent with your brand. 

If there are complaints about your operators, always investigate what went wrong in-depth, not with the mindset to prove them “guilty”, but rather to understand what they can learn thanks to this experience.

Usually, the main culprit is miscommunication. Maybe they were sending ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ shrug emojis to a person who is over 60? Or maybe the tone of voice was too dry for a 19-year-old who wanted to return an iPhone case with MyLittlePony, but didn’t understand how to do it via a form?

There are many ways in which a customer and rep may not get along. The most important thing is to fish out the pattern and learn from it.

How do you answer customer complaints about unprofessional staff?

7. Long resolution time

As many as 78% of online customers want their issues resolved after the first interaction, research found , and honestly: can we blame them? It takes a hot minute to realize that we all want our issues resolved as quickly as possible.

Your customers are no different, and to make them contact you more than once for a simple request may result in complaints about long resolution time and low efficiency.

How to reduce customer complaints about long resolution time?

The prioritization in customer service is key. The best idea is to automate repetitive, simple tasks coming from the majority of the customers, so your reps can fully dedicate themselves to more complex issues that require more time and focus.

This is possible thanks to chatbots that can perform simple actions like checking the statuses of orders and answering simple questions. Of course, we don’t say that you have to use the ones from Tidio, but they can surely do this!

How to respond to customer complaints about long resolution times?

8. Constant transfers

Have you ever had a situation where you call one phone number just to find out you need to call another one, and then wait on hold for 30 minutes to be transferred to another operator?

This is exactly how your customers feel about transfers, whether they happen via phone call or online. It’s no surprise that 70% of consumers are highly annoyed when they hear “I need to transfer you to another operator”.

The most frustrating part is the necessity to explain your issue from the beginning, with all the nuances and details that can be confusing for someone new to the subject. Remember that repetitive explaining is a waste of time for your customer.

How do you process customer complaints about constant transfers?

While investigating the conversation the customer complained about, check the flow to see where the transfer could have been avoided. Is there a way you could organize the customer support verticals better? Or maybe there are too many people who take care of the same type of issues?

Whatever your case is, the customer always needs to feel that their issue is not just another case in the line. If you need to transfer the customer to serve them properly, they need to be informed about it and assured that they won’t need to explain their issue once more because you will take care of it.

Modern live chat tools, like Tidio, make transfers seamless, so the operators who join the chat can read the whole conversation that took place beforehand.

How to reply to customer complaints about transfers?

9. Lack of human interaction

If repeating yourself to the human agent is frustrating, then having to repeat yourself to software must be a nightmare. Customer service automation can be beneficial for your customer support, but it needs to be done in a smart way. 

If that’s not the case, you will end up with the opposite of what you were trying to avoid—even more customer complaints. After all, as many as 40% of online consumers don’t care if they are getting help from a chatbot or a human—as long as they are getting the help they need.

Resolving customer complaints about lack of human staff

Chatbots can perform simple tasks and help customers get the information they need. However, they should provide the option of a transfer to a human operator if an issue is too complex, and this option should be available after no more than two or three levels of automated conversation.

This balances out the automation and human touch in your customer service efforts.

Responding to a customer complaint about an automated conversation

10. No response on social media

Nowadays, before browsing the knowledge base or FAQ, your customers will try to contact you through your social media channels like Facebook or LinkedIn. They will expect a quick answer, too! Facebook even gives you the business badge “very responsive to messages” on your profile, if you’ve answered 90% of messages within 15 minutes in the last 7 days .

If you don’t treat your social media as another customer service and sales channel, you are missing out! You might even earn a few customer complaints from people who reached out to you and didn’t get any answer.

Social media customer complaint management system

Managing many communication channels can be difficult because you and your customer support team must be always hands-on to respond to all messages on time.

To eliminate the chaos, you can use a multichannel tool that will connect email, website live chat, and integrate Messenger live chat in one panel. A solution like this will help you keep social media, email, and live chat in one place.

Customer complaint response example about lack of customer service on Messenger

Key takeaways

By now, you should know that customer complaints can be a blessing in disguise for your company’s growth.

Here’s a quick recap:

• Customer complaints don’t mean your product service is bad altogether, but they rather indicate the areas that need improvement.
• Customer service complaints can be handled in a sympathetic and efficient manner, so the customer feels well-informed and taken care of, and you improve your customer service efforts.
• Customer service automation tools such as live chat and chatbots can significantly improve your customer support by helping you to reduce customer complaints and handle them faster.

What are your best practices for dealing with customer complaints? Do you need help with setting up an automation tool that will elevate your efforts?

Feel free to reach out! We will gladly help you improve your customer service efficiency!

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Gosia manages Tidio's in-house team of content creators, researchers, and outreachers. She makes sure that all our articles stick to the highest quality standards and reach the right people.

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Customer complaints are inevitable, no matter how streamlined your business. They must always be acknowledged and dealt with effectively. By ignoring or dismissing complaints, you are effectively telling the customer that you don’t value their opinions.

Many business owners see complaint management as a time-consuming and frustrating process. However, by developing an efficient system, complaints can be resolved quickly and easily.

Here is a step-by-step guide to dealing with dis-satisfied customers.

Taking the Complaint

When a customer first makes a complaint, take a step back.

It can be difficult to remain impassive in the face of criticism, but an emotional response will only serve to irritate the customer further.

Give the customer your full attention and listen to the whole problem before responding.

Put yourself in their shoes - if you had a problem, you would want someone to listen to you. Appearing disinterested, or attempting to argue back, will only exacerbate the situation.

Don't jump the gun.

You might deal with complaints on a regular basis, and may well have handled a similar situation before. However, for the customer, their complaint is unique to them. Treat them as an important individual by listening to their problem in full.

Try to understand.

In the face of a complaint, it's easy to be defensive - particularly if you don't believe you're at fault. However, you have to put yourself in the customer's shoes. If you were on the receiving end of their experience, would you personally be satisfied?

Always use your initiative when dealing with complaints.

If the blame lies with one particular member of staff, it is often best to remove the customer from their presence. This can defuse tension and emotion, and help the customer to re-evaluate their anger.

However, never pass the customer around from person to person.

Each complaint should ideally be handled by one staff member. Therefore, you should always ensure that the person assigned to the case has the authority to deal with the situation.

Finding a Solution

Once the customer has aired their grievance, you should immediately give a sincere apology.

Any number of factors could have contributed to the issue, and you might not be at fault. However, you need to take responsibility for the problem. Sometimes, an apology is all it takes to placate an angry customer.

Customers never want to hear excuses.

However, you are fully entitled to briefly explain why they didn't receive the standard of service they expected. This should take place after you've listened to their complaint and made an apology.

Sometimes, a complaint will be followed by a request for compensation - typically a refund or a voucher.

However, customers often haven't planned beyond making the initial complaint. In these cases, ask the customer for their desired outcome. This makes them feel both involved and valued.

Every business should have a contingency plan in place for customer complaints.

Create something you can quickly and easily offer as a consolatory gesture, such as money-off vouchers or a free product.

Useful Tips for Dealing with Complaints

Try to remain calm when dealing with a complaint - even if the customer becomes irate or confrontational.

Your ultimate aim is to turn their negative experience into a positive one, but arguing back will only make the situation worse.

Complaints should always be resolved as quickly as possible.

The aim is to make the customer feel as though their problem is being treated as a priority, without being rushed.

Keep comprehensive records of all customer complaints, from the initial problem to the eventual solution.

You can then periodically assess these records, identifying any common complaints, and taking steps to improve company processes.

All customer-facing staff members should be trained to deal with complaints.

If possible, give your employees some authority when it comes to issuing refunds or other consolatory gestures. Forcing the customer to wait for a manager can make a bad situation worse.

Further Reading from Skills You Need

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Our eBooks are ideal for anyone who wants to learn about or develop their interpersonal skills and are full of easy-to-follow, practical information.

Businesses live or die by their reputations

Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to prevent poor customer experiences. However, by handling any complaints quickly and effectively, it’s possible to salvage negative situations.

About the Author

This article was written by Matt Everard of Barrington Freight, a logistics company based in the UK.

Continue to: Customer Service Skills How to Complain, Effectively

See also: Communicating in Difficult Situations 8 Key Skills to Develop if You Want to Work in Hospitality Customer Support Code of Ethics: Top 5 Skills for an Excellent Service Attitude

How to Handle Customer Complaints: The Complete Guide for B2B

Have you ever experienced a customer complaint? If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky: even the biggest fish in the pond got a fair share of them.  

Complaints can be stressful and difficult to manage, but they are also a tremendous opportunity for businesses to learn, grow and build better customer experience . In this post, we will explore the benefits of addressing customer complaints and discuss best practices on how to handle them effectively and efficiently. Read on to learn more about why it pays to pay attention when a dissatisfied customer raises a concern.

What are customer complaints?

Customer complaints are pieces of feedback that let you know where customers experience problems with your product or service. They are opportunities for your business to improve your offering and create a better experience for your users .

Customer complaints often arise when customer expectations are not met, whether due to product defects, poor service, or unmet needs.

They can be received through various channels, such as in-person, over the phone, via email, or through social media platforms.

Why collecting customer feedback is important

It is no longer a secret that online customer reviews and a great online reputation are essential for your marketing success . It has become a common practice for people to check online reviews before buying a certain service or product.

According to a report by PowerReviews , 99.75% of online shoppers read reviews before making a purchase . And, even more interestingly, a whopping 98% of customers consider reviews an essential resource when making purchase decisions .

In 2023 (and beyond), you simply cannot underestimate the power that even a single review can have.  

Besides giving you insights and bringing new clients, gathering customer feedback has many additional benefits and can open many new possibilities for your company.

The best thing is that gathering feedback can be as simple as creating a survey and sending it out. You can, for example, create a survey and embed it on your website to discover your customers' purchasing criteria .

The importance and benefits of customer complaints

Not all feedback is positive, after all. And that’s ok! 

Across all industries and product categories, 12.8% of American customers complained to businesses about something in the last decade, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) . It is not uncommon even for well-established companies to deal with customer complaints on a daily basis.

As an entrepreneur, receiving criticism and unfavorable comments about a product you have put your heart and soul into may be frustrating. But you should not take it personally. 

From a different perspective, customer complaints can prove valuable to your business, resulting in rapid change .

Here's how you can turn customer complaints into a flywheel for your brand:

1. Improve customer satisfaction

Most of the dissatisfied customers will keep their negative comments to themselves and simply stop using your services.

However, those who do share their negative reviews usually express not only their own feelings but those of other customers, too. Have you ever seen reviews starting with “I’m sure I’m not the only person to feel this way…”  

So, when you get to the root cause and resolve customer complaints, you are likely to make more than one customer happy, which can entice many customers to stay.

According to ACSI , customer loyalty is stronger among those who experienced a problem and complained but their customer's complaint was resolved quickly.

2. Upgrade your product or service

When clients report negative experience with your product or service, or simply features or aspects they do not like, it provides a perfect opportunity to improve your offer. You no longer need to look for ways to make your service more appealing to customers to ensure that they keep choosing you over your competitors.

You don’t need to create bug bounty programs or check logs, either: everything is at your fingertips.

Customer complaints serve as a source of insights into the areas you should work on and upgrade. By studying negative feedback you can find new ideas for improving your product that you haven’t thought of before.

For that, you don’t even need to wait for feedback to pour in itself: you can be proactive and ask for it using surveys. 

Use our Software evaluation survey template to collect feedback on your product: 

3. Improve policies and procedures

Most companies have a number of policies and procedures designed to make the business run more smoothly.

However, you don’t always know if they are working as intended and suit your company's needs best. Luckily, negative feedback often highlights flaws in your internal processes and contains hints about what is not working or is unclear to customers.

By analyzing this information, you will be able to judge which procedures need improvement and which you should simply give up as they are inconvenient or unnecessary. 

At the same time, you might also receive feedback about your customer service team and how well they manage their responsibilities.

4. Boost customer communication

Customer feedback also serves as a communication channel between your company and your clients. Statistics show that customers are likely to switch to a competitor if their service experience is mixed.

In the 2024 Achieving Customer Amazement Study , 58% of customers would be likely to switch companies or leave a brand because of an inconsistent experience.

For many of them, it is important to know that their opinions are taken into account. Furthermore, when clients know that there is an open line of communication and their input matters, they are more likely to stay loyal to your company and spread the good word.

5. Impact brand image positively

Having an open communication channel where unhappy customers can report problems with your service or negative experiences can also be beneficial for your brand image. It improves your reputation and makes your company look trustworthy and caring.

The more you go the extra mile to address the reported issues, the more satisfied your clients will be. Happy customers are more likely to share their positive experiences with their colleagues, friends, and family, which only helps to spread the word and build your reputation.

You can run a quick brand equity survey to determine if your complaint management efforts are effective. With this type of survey, you can measure how your brand compares to your competitors: 

Common customer complaints

In B2B, customer complaints are often more complex and can significantly impact business relationships. Understanding these common grievances is the first step toward developing effective resolution strategies.

Poor product or service quality

Defective or inadequate products: Customers may encounter products that are faulty or do not meet quality standards, leading to a complaint.

Solution: Implement a thorough quality control system and provide swift product replacements or repairs as needed.

Inefficient service quality: Complaints arise when services are delivered late, incomplete, or fail to meet professional standards.

Solution: Streamline service delivery processes and train customer service teams to enhance efficiency. Offer compensation or discounts for the inconvenience caused.

Mismatched expectations: A product or service that does not align with the marketing or sales pitch can trigger dissatisfaction.

Solution: Clarify product or service capabilities upfront and provide additional training or resources to ensure the offering meets the customer's needs .

Poor customer service

Delayed response: A slow response to inquiries or support requests is a frequent source of frustration.

Solution: Set and adhere to response time standards. Automate systems to acknowledge receipt of complaints and inform unhappy customers when they can expect a follow-up.

Lack of expertise: Customers expect to interact with representatives who have a deep understanding of the products or services.

Solution: Invest in ongoing training for customer service representatives to ensure they have product knowledge and problem-solving skills.

Poor communication: Unclear, inaccurate, or unprofessional communication can lead to misunderstandings and customer complaints.

Solution: Standardize communication protocols and provide templates or scripts to ensure consistency and professionalism.

Tip: To check the progress of your customer service reps, you can run the Help Desk survey every time your service team closes a ticket.

Billing and payment issues

Inaccurate charges: Billing discrepancies, such as overcharging or hidden fees, are common customer complaints.

Solution: Review billing processes, promptly correct errors, and offer a straightforward refund or credit for overcharges.

Complex payment processes: A payment process that is difficult or lacks flexibility can be problematic for customers.

Solution: Simplify the payment system and provide clear instructions. Consider offering multiple payment methods to accommodate different preferences.

Subscription or contract disputes: Misunderstandings regarding subscription terms or contract conditions often result in customer complaints.

Solution: Clearly communicate terms and conditions before the sale and provide a dedicated account manager to handle any disputes.

Technical difficulties

System downtime: Interruptions in service due to technical failures can cause significant inconvenience.

Solution: Develop a disaster recovery plan. Communicate proactively about the issue and expected resolution time, and offer compensation if warranted.

Software bugs: Glitches or errors in software products can hinder customer operations.

Prioritize bug fixes based on severity and customer impact. Keep customers informed about the progress of the fix and provide workarounds where possible.

Integration problems: Challenges in integrating a product with existing systems can lead to a complaint.

Solution: Offer technical support to assist with integration and consider developing more user-friendly integration tools or documentation.

Delivery and logistics

Delayed deliveries: Late delivery of goods or services can disrupt a customer's business flow.

Solution: Proactively inform customers of potential delays, provide accurate new delivery estimates, and consider compensation for significant inconveniences.

Damaged goods: Receiving damaged products is a common issue that prompts complaints.

Solution: Have a clear return and replacement policy in place. Inspect returned items and expedite the shipping of replacements.

Logistical errors: Mistakes in order processing or shipping details can lead to incorrect deliveries.

Solution: Review and optimize order processing systems. Correct any errors swiftly and consider compensating the customer for the inconvenience.

How to handle customer complaints

We have already established that customer complaints are essential for your product's growth, but how you deal with them is also crucial. 

For example, arguing back is one of the worst ways of dealing with upset customers. Even if you are not at fault, getting on the defensive will only make you look weak. 

In addition, it can be seen as a red rag by your loyal customers, leading them down a rabbit hole.

That is why you should always keep your cool and stay polite.

To calm and reassure your angry customer, it is always a good idea to apologize right away.

Like it or not, customers complain when their expectations are not met. Often, they just want to be heard, so let them know that what they have to say matters to you.

Try these seven proven steps of how to respond to a customer complaint effectively and turn an uncomfortable situation into an excellent customer service example.

• Address your customer by name
• Apologize to the customer
• Sympathize with the customer’s problem
• State you’re solving the problem
• Offer some compensation if applicable
• Ask the customer to change the review
• Accept negative reviews

Remember to always:

• Address complaints quickly to show customers they are valued.
• Understand the root cause of the issue to provide an effective solution.
• Maintain open channels of communication throughout the resolution process.
• Offer solutions that are specific to the customer's needs and situation.
• Build customer feedback loops to ensure the resolution is satisfactory and to prevent future issues.

For more advanced tips and real-case examples of handling customer complaints, check out our in-depth blog post about responding to negative feedback .

How to collect customer feedback

There are quite a few ways to collect customer feedback . To increase the volume and get the best results, you can combine them.

#1 Online surveys

One of the most common and effective uses is surveys . Similar to feedback forms sent to your clients via email, this method allows you to decide what questions to ask your customers based on your goals.

Survicate allows you to create a multitude of surveys to gather feedback from your customers.

If you would like a quick snapshot of what your customers think of your brand, you can create an NPS survey . Getting low scores should make you reevaluate your customer experience:

#2 Social media

Using social media for gathering feedback is another popular approach. According to Forbes , social media can be a great place for advertising and selling your product as well as measuring metrics and understanding customer needs. Customers are more likely to leave candid reviews on social network platforms where they have an audience.

#3 Website analytics

You can also learn a lot by checking your website analytics. The following are examples of metrics you can check:

• the most visited pages
• where users spend more time 
• details about failed searches 
• bounce rate
• which parts of your website are barely viewed

The data can also be expanded with embedded surveys, session recordings, and heat maps, just to name a few examples. You can never have too much data. 

Leverage customer complaints today

Customer complaints offer businesses a unique opportunity to better understand their clients and enhance the customer service experience. If approached correctly, they can actually be a blessing in disguise.

Surveys allow you to quickly and effectively gather both negative and positive feedback, which you can use to improve your products and services. In a blink of an eye, you can create, embed, or send surveys with Survicate . You can create them yourself from a scratch, use our expert survey templates, or leave it to our AI assistant— sign up today for a 10-day free trial of the Business Plan.

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14 mins read

How to handle customer complaints [+5 Tips]

Anujaa Singh

What are customer complaints, really?

Why is it important to handle customer complaints carefully, how to analyze customer complaints, 5 types of customer complaints, key tips for handling customer complaints, example of handling a customer complaint, how yellow.ai can enhance customer experience and help solve customer problems, success stories, final thoughts on customer complaint management, frequently asked questions (faqs).

Executive summary

Navigate the intricacies of customer service with our definitive guide that answers how to handle customer complaints. This blog offers practical strategies, from the importance of a well-crafted complaint-handling script to insightful examples and essays. We emphasize the significance of adeptly managing complaints, showcasing how it can be a pivotal factor in enhancing customer loyalty and boosting your business’s reputation. This guide is a crucial tool for businesses aiming to excel in customer satisfaction and convert challenges into opportunities for growth.

Complaints are not just inevitable in the customer service world; they’re a goldmine of insights. A study by Esteban Kolsky found that 13% of unhappy customers share their complaints with 15 or more people. Yet, for every customer who bothers to complain, 26 remain silent. This startling statistic underlines the critical nature of customer complaints. They are more than just grievances to be resolved. Fundamentally, they’re opportunities to improve, learn, and grow.

Imagine a scenario where every complaint becomes a stepping stone towards excellence. This blog will explain how to navigate the murky waters of customer dissatisfaction. From dissecting the anatomy of a complaint to deploying the right response strategies, we provide a step-by-step approach to transforming negative feedback into positive outcomes. Learn how to turn a dissatisfied voice into a loyal advocate, boosting your brand’s image and customer loyalty in the process. Read on to explore this journey of turning customer complaints into your business’s success stories.

Related must-reads:

• Good customer service: Ways to deliver [+10 Examples]
• Ecommerce customer service – A guide for 2024
• 10 Bad customer service examples (How to fix them)
• Top 10 customer service tips for 2024: Elevate your support

Customer complaints are a direct line of communication from those who matter most to your business: your customers. At first glance, they might seem like a business’s worst nightmare, but in reality, they are invaluable insights dressed as feedback. Complaints stem from a gap between customer expectations and the actual experience delivered by a business. Whether due to miscommunication, a shortfall in service, or external factors beyond a company’s control, each complaint holds a kernel of truth crucial for growth.

Understanding customer complaints is just like solving a complex puzzle. It involves deciphering the explicit issue raised and also reading between the lines to understand underlying expectations and unmet needs. These grievances are far more than just an expression of dissatisfaction. They are pointers to areas that need attention and improvement.

For example, a complaint about a delayed delivery isn’t just about the time taken. Actually, it’s an insight into what timely service means to your customers and how it affects their perception of your brand.

For any business, customer complaints are opportunities in disguise. They offer a clear roadmap for enhancing your products or services, refining your marketing messages, and fine-tuning your customer experience . Rather than viewing complaints as a sign of failure, savvy businesses perceive them as a chance to learn, evolve, and align more closely with customer expectations. This alignment resolves immediate issues and also builds a foundation for long-lasting customer relationships and loyalty.

When it comes to business-customer relationships, handling customer complaints carefully is just like perfecting a critical performance. Complaints are not mere grievances but are vital signals that, if heeded, can lead to transformative improvements in your business. They are the raw, unfiltered voice of the customer, offering a candid perspective on where your service or product may have missed the mark. The significance of handling these complaints with care cannot be overstated.

Every complaint presents a unique opportunity to rectify an individual issue and also to reinforce or even rebuild customer trust. A customer’s decision to voice a complaint rather than silently walk away is an act of faith in your business’s ability to resolve the issue. The customer’s journey can pivot from dissatisfaction to loyalty in this critical moment. When managed thoughtfully, a well-resolved complaint can transform an unhappy customer into a vocal advocate for your brand, turning potential negative word-of-mouth into a positive endorsement.

Moreover, it is vital to understand that today’s world is digitally connected. Here, the impact of customer complaints and how they are handled resonates far beyond the individual. Social media platforms and online review sites have given customers a powerful megaphone, amplifying their voices across a vast audience. A single unresolved complaint can escalate rapidly, influencing the perceptions of potential customers and impacting your brand’s reputation. Conversely, showcasing your commitment to resolving issues can enhance your business’s image as customer-centric and responsive, attracting new customers who value such qualities.

Customer complaints also serve as invaluable feedback for your business. They highlight areas needing improvement, whether in product quality, service delivery, or customer interaction. This feedback is vital for continuous improvement, guiding you to refine your processes and offerings. By carefully analyzing and addressing the root causes of complaints, you can prevent future issues, improve the overall customer experience, and contribute to business growth.

Ultimately, handling customer complaints is more than just about resolving a single issue. It’s about demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction, building lasting relationships, and continuously evolving your business to meet and exceed customer expectations. This approach is fundamental to sustaining and growing your business in a competitive market, where customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth are invaluable currencies.

Related read: How can customer journey maps improve customer experiences?

Analyzing customer complaints effectively requires a systematic approach that categorizes complaints, assesses their frequency, understands the context, engages with customers, and leverages data analytics.  Businesses must adopt a systematic approach that goes into the root cause of each complaint and uncovers underlying patterns and trends.

Firstly, categorize and contextualize. Classify complaints into distinct categories like product issues, service quality, or billing problems. This classification helps pinpoint common challenges, directing efforts towards areas needing the most attention. 

Context is also crucial – understanding when and why these complaints occur can reveal patterns and trigger points, offering clues to more systemic issues within your business.

Secondly, engage and empathize. Direct interaction with customers who have lodged complaints is invaluable. It provides a deeper understanding of the issues and also shows customers that their concerns are taken seriously. This engagement is an opportunity to build trust and demonstrate your commitment to their satisfaction.

Lastly, analyze and act. Utilize data analytics tools and customer feedback systems to derive actionable insights from these complaints. Keep track of how often complaints occur, monitor any changes in their frequency, and evaluate the effectiveness of implemented solutions. This data-driven approach ensures that your business continually adapts and evolves in line with customer needs and expectations.

Effective analysis of customer complaints involves systematic categorization, empathetic engagement, and strategic action. By embracing this methodology, businesses can turn the challenge of customer complaints into an opportunity for growth, ensuring that every piece of feedback contributes to a better customer experience and a more substantial brand reputation. Remember, each complaint is an opportunity to learn and grow, and how you analyze and respond to these complaints can significantly impact the success and reputation of your business.

Customer complaints are windows into various aspects of your business. Understanding these complaints and their impact is crucial for creating an optimal customer experience . Let’s explore the different types of customer complaints and how to address them effectively.

1. Product/Service quality

These complaints are like direct feedback from the frontline. Customers express dissatisfaction when a product malfunction or doesn’t meet their expectations. Address these with agility – offer quick fixes like replacements or refunds. More importantly, you can use these incidents as a catalyst for enhancing your product quality.

2. Customer service

When customer service doesn’t hit the mark, it’s often due to miscommunication or insufficient training. These complaints are a wake-up call to revamp your team’s approach. Implement comprehensive training and foster a culture of empathy and responsiveness. For example, a customer’s dissatisfaction with a staff member’s attitude leads to a heartfelt apology from the company and a promise of staff retraining. This step remedies the situation and also steers the team towards more positive and empathetic customer interactions.

3. Billing and pricing

Misunderstandings about costs or billing errors can quickly erode trust. Combat these complaints with transparency and swift action to rectify any inaccuracies. For instance, an overcharge complaint is met with immediate acknowledgment and rectification by the company, coupled with an adjustment in their billing procedures to ensure such errors don’t recur.

4. Delivery and fulfillment

Delivery issues can trigger immediate customer dissatisfaction. The key is to manage logistics efficiently and maintain clear, ongoing communication about expected delivery times. For example, a delay in order delivery is promptly communicated to the customer with an updated timeline and an offer for a future purchase discount. It will turn a potential negative experience into an opportunity for future engagement.

5. Communication and transparency

When customers feel left in the dark or misled, it’s often a sign of communication gaps. Address these complaints by revisiting and refining how you convey information – clarity and honesty should be your guiding principles. 

Consider a scenario: A customer misinterprets a promotional campaign. The company clarified the misunderstanding and revised its communication strategies for more precise and transparent messaging.

Navigating customer complaints requires a tactful, systematic approach that resolves the immediate issue and also harvests valuable insights for long-term improvements. Here’s a deep dive into the key processes that form the cornerstone of effective complaint management, each illustrated with practical scenarios to bring the concepts to life.

1. Dig deeper by asking the right questions

Begin with empathy, and then strategically ask open-ended questions. These questions are designed to unearth the root cause of the complaint beyond the initial expression of dissatisfaction.

This process clarifies the exact nature of the problem and also conveys to the customer that their concern is being taken seriously. This careful inquiry can reveal systemic issues, leading to broader improvements in your product or service.

Example: A customer complains about a confusing interface in your software. By asking detailed questions about their user experience, your team discovers that several customers struggle with the same issue. It leads to a user interface redesign, significantly enhancing usability and customer satisfaction.

2. Identify the type of customer you’re dealing with

Analyze the customer’s history with your brand, their communication style, and the nature of their complaint. Categorize customers into types such as the frequent complainer, the first-time complainer, or the silent dissatisfied.

Customizing your response based on the customer type can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your complaint resolution. It helps in addressing the specific concerns and expectations of different customer segments.

Example: A frequent complainer raises an issue. Recognizing their pattern, you offer a more personalized and detailed response, acknowledging their regular feedback. This approach makes them feel valued and can turn a habitual complainer into a loyal advocate.

3. Respond to the customer quickly

Implement a system for categorizing complaints based on urgency and ensure a rapid initial response, even if it’s to acknowledge receipt and set a timeframe for resolution. Quick responses prevent negative sentiment from escalating and demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction. It can significantly reduce the likelihood of customers venting their frustrations on public forums.

Example: A customer reports a critical issue. Your team immediately acknowledges the complaint and provides a clear commitment to resolving the issue within a specific timeframe. This prompt response reassures the customer, maintaining their trust in your brand.

4. Present a solution and verify that the problem is solved

After identifying a viable solution, communicate it clearly to the customer. Follow up to ensure that the solution has effectively addressed their concern. This step confirms that the customer’s issue has been fully resolved, reinforcing their confidence in your brand. It also helps identify any gaps in your solution, allowing for continuous improvement.

Example: A customer is unhappy with a product defect. After offering a replacement, your team checks back to ensure the new product meets their expectations. This follow-up turns a negative experience into a testament to your brand’s commitment to quality and customer satisfaction.

5. Log the complaint to track trends

Systematically record every complaint and analyze them for patterns. Use this data to identify common issues or trends that require attention. Regular analysis of complaint trends enables proactive identification and resolution of recurring problems. It can lead to strategic changes in your operations, products, or services, thus reducing the frequency of similar complaints in the future.

Example: An increase in complaints about late deliveries leads to an investigation into your logistics processes. You discover inefficiencies in your shipping methods and make improvements. As a result, there is a noticeable reduction in delivery-related complaints, enhancing overall customer satisfaction .

Let’s explore an engaging example of effective customer complaint management from the perspective of a tech gadget retailer. This scenario will illustrate how each step of the complaint-handling process can be executed to turn a challenging situation into a positive customer experience.

A customer calls in, upset about receiving a smartwatch with a non-functioning touchscreen. The customer service representative attentively listens, acknowledging the specifics of the issue and the customer’s disappointment. Active listening helps to understand the problem accurately, setting the stage for a resolution that matches the customer’s expectations.

2. Empathize:

The representative expresses genuine empathy, understanding the frustration of receiving a faulty high-tech product. This empathetic approach demonstrates care and concern, helping to alleviate the customer’s irritation and fostering a sense of being valued.

3. Apologize:

An immediate apology is offered for the inconvenience caused, emphasizing that such incidents are rare and taken seriously. The apology works to defuse tension and shows the company’s commitment to maintaining high standards of product quality and customer satisfaction.

4. Ask questions:

The representative inquires about the customer’s use of the product to ensure the issue isn’t related to user error and confirms the preference for a solution – a replacement or a refund. Asking targeted questions helps in diagnosing the issue accurately and ensures that the resolution aligns with the customer’s needs.

5. Communicate with the team:

The issue is relayed to the quality control team, initiating an investigation into the product batch for potential defects. Internal communication is crucial in identifying if the problem is an isolated incident or part of a larger quality concern, guiding preventive measures for the future.

6. Find a solution:

Based on the customer’s choice, a replacement smartwatch is expedited to the customer with a complimentary accessory as a goodwill gesture. Offering a swift and considerate solution helps transform the customer’s initial dissatisfaction into a positive experience, potentially leading to increased loyalty.

7. Follow-up:

After the replacement is delivered, a follow-up call is made to confirm customer satisfaction and gather feedback on the resolution process. Following up illustrates the company’s dedication to customer care beyond the initial interaction, enhancing the overall perception of the brand.

8. Create a record:

The entire interaction, from the initial complaint to the resolution and follow-up, is meticulously documented for future reference. Maintaining detailed records allows for trend analysis and customer service improvement and aids in preparing for similar scenarios in the future.

In this example, each step is crucial in not just addressing the immediate issue but also in cementing a positive, long-term relationship with the customer. The company’s approach exemplifies a commitment to quality service and customer satisfaction, a hallmark of successful businesses in the competitive market. This detailed and human-centric method of handling complaints demonstrates how businesses can effectively turn challenges into opportunities for growth and customer loyalty.

Customer satisfaction is pivotal in the fast-paced digital era. Yellow.ai’s advanced products, tools, and solutions are game-changers in enhancing customer service by automating it for businesses across industries. With such deliverables in its kitty, Yellow.ai is able to improve customer experience . For example, its AI-driven chatbots , equipped with cutting-edge technology, revolutionize the way businesses handle customer complaints, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in resolving issues.

The incorporation of Yellow.ai offerings into your customer support system seamlessly bridges the gap between customer expectations and the service provided. These smart solutions and tools are more than just about automating responses. In fact, they’re about enriching the customer experience with prompt and accurate problem-solving capabilities, 24/7 availability, individualized interaction, multilingual responses, etc. With the ability to understand and process customer queries in natural language, Yellow.ai chatbots, voice agents , and omnichannel responses offer a personalized and empathetic approach to complaint resolution.

Hyundai boosts revenue and improves customer service with AI automation

Explore how Yellow.ai’s automation led to ~1000 car sales, a 10% retail conversion rate, and over 1.4 million user impressions

Pelago reimagines customer experience with generative AI powered conversational AI agents

Within a mere six weeks of going live, Pelago not only onboarded over 5,000 users but also achieved a striking 50% deflection rate!

Yellow.ai customer service automation features and USPs

• 24/7 availability: Ensures round-the-clock customer support, significantly reducing response times for complaints.
• Natural Language Processing (NLP): Enables its chatbots and voice agents to understand and respond to customer queries in a human-like manner.
• Multilingual Support: Cater to a global customer base with support in more than 135 languages and dialects.
• Seamless integration: Easily integrates with existing CRM and support systems, enhancing the efficiency of complaint management.
• Data-driven insights: Provides valuable insights into customer behavior and complaint trends, aiding in strategic decision-making.
• Customizable solutions: Tailored to meet the specific needs and challenges of your business.
• Scalability: Capable of handling an increasing volume of customer interactions without compromising on quality.
• Reduced operational costs: Automating routine queries allows your team to focus on more complex issues, optimizing resource allocation.

Are you ready to elevate your customer support experience?

In conclusion, navigating the world of customer complaints is an art and science intertwined with the core of business success. Effective complaint management is about transforming challenges into opportunities for growth and fostering enduring customer relationships. In this journey, businesses must adopt a proactive, empathetic, and strategic approach, ensuring that every customer’s voice is heard and valued.

The way businesses respond to complaints can significantly influence their reputation and customer loyalty. It’s a continuous cycle of listening, understanding, acting, and evolving that keeps businesses in tune with their customers’ needs and expectations. Embracing this approach will mitigate the impact of complaints and propel businesses toward a path of sustained success and customer-centric excellence.

What are the most common reasons customers complain?

Customers often voice their concerns when expectations clash with reality. Common triggers include issues like subpar product or service quality, disappointing customer service interactions, errors in billing or pricing, delays in delivery, and confusion or miscommunication in company policies or promotions. These complaints are signals pointing to areas where a business can enhance its operations and customer engagement strategies.

How should a business respond to a customer complaint?

A business should respond to customer complaints by listening attentively, empathizing with the customer, offering a sincere apology, and providing a prompt and effective solution. Then, the business must follow up to ensure customer satisfaction and log the complaint for trend analysis, which are also crucial steps.

What is the best way to handle an angry customer?

The best way to handle an angry customer is through active listening, maintaining a calm demeanor, empathizing with their situation, acknowledging their feelings, and working swiftly towards a resolution. Remember, it is essential to communicate clearly and assure customers that their issues are being taken seriously.

How important is it to track and analyze customer complaints?

Tracking and analyzing customer complaints is crucial. That is because it provides insights into common issues, helps identify patterns, and informs improvements in products, services, and processes. This analysis is essential for enhancing overall customer experience and satisfaction.

How can technology help in managing customer complaints?

Technology, especially AI-powered voice agents, data analysis, chatbots, and secure and intelligent conversational AI like YellowG by Yellow.ai, can significantly enhance complaint management by providing 24/7 customer service, automating responses to common queries, offering multilingual support, and generating data-driven insights to improve service quality and operational efficiency.

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Everything You Need to Know on How to Handle Customer Complaints

They say three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and customer complaints.

And although no customer support team operates in a frustration-free bubble, complaints aren’t something to fear. Handling customer grievances the right way can make a world of difference. In fact, 83% of shoppers are more loyal to brands that actually respond to and resolve their complaints.  

Excellent customer service isn’t about avoiding complaints altogether — it’s about taking care of them in a way that transforms a negative experience into a positive one.

Here are 11 effective tips on how to handle customer complaints.

Overcome your peak-season fears and learn how to empower every team member to deliver exceptional service in our on-demand webinar, How to Prepare Your Customer Service Team Ahead of Your Peak Season .

11 tips for handling customer complaints

1. empathize.

From the get-go, it’s important to build an emotional connection with unhappy customers. Remain calm, and try to see things from their point of view. Not only will this lead to deeper customer relationships, but it’ll help you defuse tense situations and make it easier to find suitable solutions.

Respond with reaffirming statements like I understand where you’re coming from so customers have no doubt you’re on their side. Also, ask clarifying questions such as Could you please elaborate so I have more context? to ensure you know exactly what needs to be done.

2. Personalize

With any customer conversation, it’s vital to make shoppers feel like an individual, not just another number. Keep your messages conversational so customers know they’re not being fed a scripted response. This level of personalization helps customers feel valued and heard, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

To customize your responses, address customers by name and repeat their issue in your own words to underscore you understand their unique case and are asking the right questions. For instance, a support agent can respond with Thanks, Mike. I understand it’s been 2 weeks since you ordered your Nike sneakers, and they still haven’t arrived. Is that correct? 

To find out all the other ways you can personalize your customer service — and the benefits personalization brings — check out our What Is Personalized Customer Service? blog post.

3. Identify what types of customers you’re interacting with

One vital tactic to employ when handling customer complaints is finding out what types of shoppers you’re dealing with. Each buyer is motivated by different needs or attitudes, and pinpointing who you’re dealing with can go a long way in offering the appropriate support.

For example, new customers might have more straightforward complaints, so making a good first impression with simple replies is key. In contrast, repeat customers may be much more familiar with your products, so responding in greater detail and routing them to their preferred agents can help turn them into brand advocates.  

Apart from customers, you also have the ability to group complaints into different categories. Once you know what kind of issue your customer has (damaged item, shipping problem, wrong size, etc.), you’ll be able to start the conversation — and find a solution — much faster.

4. Listen to feedback

Your past customer interactions can help you handle future complaints more effectively. 

It’s all about acting on customer feedback. Post-chat surveys are a great way to find out what you’re doing well and what needs improvement. Based on what customers say, you’ll be able to find the root causes of customer issues and finetune responses to better serve future customers.

Don’t shun negative feedback — turn it into a fundamental part of your complaint management strategy.

5. Log and track complaints

Customer complaints shouldn’t be treated as isolated incidents. By keeping a log of what’s frustrating your shoppers, you’ll be able to pick up on trends and improve how you handle future complaints.

So, you get an occasional complaint about your checkout process.You probably don’t need to worry about it. 

But what if your team is getting 20 tickets a week about incorrect sizing? Then, you should flag this as a high-priority issue and notify the appropriate department to guarantee the information available to customers is updated immediately.  

6. Respond quickly

60% of customers say long wait times are the most frustrating part of the customer service experience. If your support reps aren’t able to respond to shoppers and resolve tickets fast enough, you’ll likely continue seeing more and more complaints. 

Exceed customer expectations by bringing response and resolution times to a minimum. When it comes to first response times, modern benchmarks sit at 1 hour or less for email and social media. 

Answers over live chat should be instant. To consistently deliver immediate responses, consider a self-service chatbot that can fully resolve tickets without human interaction. This improves first response times and help cut down on your overall number of tickets by resolving them without involving an agent. 

7. Be proactive

Traditional customer support is reactive, meaning service reps have to wait for customers to file a complaint before stepping in with assistance. But agents can be empowered to offer proactive support, reaching out to customers and possibly resolving issues before a ticket ever gets created. Proactively pinging customers highlights that you’re solution-oriented and prevents small inconveniences from becoming major headaches.

For instance, if you see that a shopper has browsed your website for a while without moving to checkout, shoot them a friendly message on your chat widget:

Hi there! Are you stuck trying to find the perfect product? Let me know what you’re looking for, and I’ll gladly offer some advice.

With proactive chat, customers who might otherwise grow irritated due to a lack of info on a given product page know a team member is there to answer any questions. 

Discover how to implement proactive customer service in our blog post, Reactive vs Proactive Customer Service and How to Use Both .

8. Stay positive

Let’s be realistic — sometimes, it’s impossible to fully resolve a support ticket in the blink of an eye. But that doesn’t mean you have to throw your hands up in defeat. By conveying a positive attitude, you can still turn dissatisfied shoppers into happy ones, even when you can’t provide a solution right away.

This can be achieved by keeping negative statements like I can’t or That’s not possible out of your replies. Instead of apologizing with I’m sorry, it’s not possible to purchase that item. It is out of stock, say I’ll notify you as soon as that item is available again.

PRO TIP : To practice handling customer complaints, roleplay with generative AI. Prompt ChatGPT to act like an upset customer or a customer support rep (you can take turns), and see how your responses are received. The AI might even give you some original responses for you to try out in the real world. 

9. Know when to escalate

Customer service representatives have many resources for answering customer questions: a knowledge base, product catalog, past conversations, etc. But one resource that’s easy to overlook is the rest of your support team. 

Knowing when to hand tickets over to fellow agents or managers can be the difference between a loyal customer and a lost opportunity. If an angry customer asks a question that genuinely stumps you or is only growing more frustrated, you don’t have to waste their time — and yours. 

Transfer the ticket to a manager or agent specializing in the relevant area to show shoppers your whole customer service team is committed to finding a fitting solution. To minimize resolution time, remember to provide whoever receives the ticket access to the entire conversation, the proper context, and any necessary resources.

10. Follow up when possible

Maybe you’ve successfully resolved a dissatisfied customer’s problem, but you’re still unsure if they walked away with a smile. Erase any doubt by triggering post-ticket workflows, like sending follow-up emails, that show shoppers you’re committed to bringing them a positive customer experience.

Let’s say a customer complained about receiving the wrong product. After offering to resend the original product free of charge, schedule an email to go out after delivery to double-check that everything’s all right. Better yet, go the extra mile and offer an exclusive discount in your email to entice customers to come back for more. 

11. Use technology to your advantage

Previously, agents needed to handle many of the above items manually. Staying on top of customer complaints was time-consuming and tedious work. Today, however, AI-powered automation tools streamline many of these processes, empowering support agents to handle customer complaints more efficiently.

For instance, today’s leading solutions can deliver a shopper’s chat history to an agent’s screen in a single click, making it easier to provide answers curated to each customer’s needs. In addition, customer service platforms can automatically process complaints, make replies more empathetic, and build complex workflows.

Discover how Zowie’s customer service automation software helps agents efficiently handle more support tickets by booking a free demo today.

Templates for handling customer complaints

Customer service agents can save loads of time by using templates to address their most common customer complaints. By employing canned responses based on info from your FAQ page and knowledge base, support reps will have more freedom to jump in on more complex cases that require their expertise. With more bandwidth and less pressure, agents are able to give higher-quality answers across the board.

Here are suggested responses to 5 of the most common complaints ecommerce brands receive. Save them for your own use by downloading the document linked here . 

1. “Checkout is too complicated.”

I’m sorry to hear that. Would you mind telling me what parts of the process you’re having trouble with?

WAIT FOR REPLY

[name], I understand. If you’d like, I can walk you through the process now.

[name], I appreciate your patience today. I hope I was able to help.

2. “Shipping is taking too long.”

Let me contact the courier to see the current order status. May I have your order number?

Thank you. According to the courier, your order will arrive on [date]. I sent in a request to expedite shipping. You can track your order here. Is there anything else I can help with?

Thanks for bearing with us, [name]. As a token of our appreciation, here’s a special offer for your next order: enter the promo code [code] and receive [discount/offer].

3. “I received a faulty product.”

Could you explain what specifically seems to be the problem? 

Thank you. Would you like me to send a replacement item? I can place that order with expedited shipping.

Great. Your new order should arrive on [date]. How does that sound?

4. “I received the wrong order.”

Could you please explain what’s wrong with the order (wrong size, wrong color, different product, etc.)?

Thank you. Would you like to return your package for a a full refund or have us resend you the original order?

I’ll take care of that right away. I appreciate your patience, [name].

5. “I’m not satisfied with your products and want to cancel my subscription.”

I’m sorry our products failed to meet your expectations. Could you please tell me what the specific problem is?

Thank your for sharing, [name]. Here’s the link to cancel, but I’d like to ask if there’s anything I can do to change your mind. Perhaps you’d like to show you some of our other subscription packages?

I understand. Thank you for your time, [name]. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with.

Handle complaints more effectively with generative AI

Recent breakthroughs in generative AI mean much of the complaint handling process can be automated. With the right tools, you can improve response times without harming the customer experience.

By leveraging AI, solutions like Zowie help you prepare unique replies that have the exact tone, style, and length you’re looking for, ensuring shoppers get fast, accurate responses that still have a personal touch.

How to Respond to Customer Complaints [+Complaint Response Examples]

Published: December 27, 2023

Customer complaints — they come in the form of an angry email, a scathing online review, an awkward in-person encounter, a negative tweet, or an unexpected phone call.

As difficult and uncomfortable as they are, knowing how to respond to customer complaints is an important part of doing business, and they must be dealt with properly.

At a time when the success of your business rests on reputation and the need for positive customer experiences, you should equip yourself with a process for sourcing, hearing, responding to, and fixing customer complaints.

Let’s go through a step-by-step process that coworker, Clint Fontanella, used for responding to customer reviews and complaints when he was a HubSpot support rep. I asked him for some tips for gathering feedback from customers and best practices for addressing issues head-on.

Featured Resource: 20 Review Response Templates

Click here to access the prompts for free .

Table of Contents:

How to Respond to Customer Complaints

Complaint response examples, tips for responding to customer complaints.

• Listen to or read the customer's complaint.
• Take a moment to process the criticism.
• Determine what action you'll take to address the problem.
• Thank the customer for their feedback.
• Apologize and reiterate your understanding of the issue.
• Clearly outline your plan to remedy the situation.
• Thank the customer again and offer follow-up information.
• Check to see if the customer is happy with the result.
• Incorporate changes from customer feedback.

Customer complaints come through different mediums like Google Reviews, phone calls, or even a handwritten letter. Each channel will offer different levels of frustration and require unique solutions to resolve the issue.

That said, a good starting point is creating a roadmap for responding to these complaints. From there, you can customize your approach for each interaction.

Free Review Response Templates

20 prompts to help you respond to customer complaints and comments.

• Positive Reviews
• Negative Reviews
• Mixed Reviews
• False/Slanderous Reviews

Download Free

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1. Listen to or read the customer's complaint.

When you have a customer complaint , the first action that I recommend taking is to listen to the issue and focus on what your customer is experiencing. Regardless of whether the complaint is over a price increase, a bad meal, or a service outage, this person is reaching out to you to express their frustration.

Though it can be tempting to ignore online reviews, you should give the same time and energy to those who submit feedback digitally as you would with in-person complaints. After all, research shows most consumers are using social media and the internet to discover new brands and products. 

I would advise reading through online reviews as soon as you get them so you can provide customers with prompt and thoughtful responses.

Additionally, it’s easy to get defensive or to write off a complaint, but keep in mind that complaints rarely exist in a vacuum. If one customer is coming to you with this feedback, several others are keeping quiet about it.

A customer's complaint should always be treated as legitimate, so give their story your full attention and empathy.

Pro Tip: Take detailed notes of the customer's complaint. I would note information such as the date of the incident, any product or service numbers mentioned, how the customer is feeling, and any other relevant information that could help you resolve the issue.

2. Take a moment to process the criticism.

Some feedback can hit hard. It's not easy to acknowledge that you let a customer down, but getting to the root of the problem is an essential step to properly handling their complaint.

If you get this feedback online — such as an online review or through social media — you have some time to understand where the customer is coming from. Here’s a tip that I received from former HubSpot support rep, Clint Fontanella:

If you did not serve this customer directly or were not present when the incident occurred, you can also use this extra time to speak with your employees and investigate what happened.

Processing criticism is harder if you‘re getting it in real time, like in person or over a phone call. This situation calls on you to put yourself in your customer’s shoes sooner rather than later and truly prioritize fixing the issue, which can only be done if you listen to the complaint and digest the meaning of it.

Pro Tip: Once you‘ve taken a moment to process the complaint, reiterate your understanding back to the customer. This shows you’re listening and are taking their concerns seriously. Respond in a timely manner with an apology and a plan of action.

Fontanella recommends having a canned response ready that you can adapt for situations like these:

“While you never want to use the same response for different customers, canned responses give you a baseline to work from. One that I would rely on for cases like these was, ‘I appreciate your feedback about X and I understand how it can prevent you from accomplishing Y. I am going to see what I can do to either help you accomplish Y or find a workaround that can act as an alternative solution.’”

3. Determine what action you'll take to address the problem.

Consider setting up an action plan for recurring customer complaints. That way you'll know how to solve an issue almost immediately after listening to the details behind it. If possible, it’s worth using customer service software to take a look at service data and uncover common problems.

For example, you could generate reports to identify how often customers use their knowledge base, what kind of information they look for the most, and how many customers decide to take their issues to live agents — all the insights necessary to come up with a proper action plan. 

However, as you‘re well aware, sometimes a complaint comes completely out of left field and you’re not sure what to do. If you need some time to think about the best course of action, be honest with your customers.

Tell them you need time to figure out how you can make it up to them and provide a timeline for when you'll reach out with a solution — or better yet, ask customers what they need for you to make it up to them and figure out if their request is doable.

Your customer will appreciate that you acknowledged their complaint even if you don't have a solution yet.

Pro Tip: If a customer's complaint is due to an issue that you or your team caused, do not hesitate to offer something in return. Whether it be discounts, complementary products, or simple apology coupons, figure out what would help make up for the mistake.

4. Thank the customer for their feedback.

The first thing you should say when responding to a customer complaint is “thank you for letting me know.” We‘ve harkened back to this idea a few times, but it’s important — the majority of customers who have complaints about your business just want to be heard and acknowledged.

Even if the customer‘s comments don’t make you feel good in the moment, you should still thank them for their insight. After all, the information that feedback contains can radically improve your customer experience .

Pro Tip: If the customer is looking for a response, get back to them in a timely manner. Responding within at least 24 hours shows your customers that their feedback is taken seriously and valued. If you’re working on a real-time channel like live chat , be sure to respond as quickly as possible or install a chatbot to keep your support live 24/7.

5. Apologize and reiterate your understanding of the issue.

Immediately after thanking the customer, you should apologize for what happened and express empathy by explaining your understanding of the situation. This will let your customer know that you've taken the time to truly listen or read their complaint.

Plus, restating the issue can help ensure you did not misinterpret what happened.

For example, let's say an account manager working for an ecommerce platform receives an email from her client, saying his online payment system temporarily went down. I would start the response like this:

Thanks so much for reaching out and letting us know. I'm so sorry about the issue with the payment system — once we noticed the issue, we put our team on it and it was resolved within minutes.

That said, I know that doesn‘t make up for the revenue you lost and may not get back. I completely understand you could have lost business because of this issue, and that’s not acceptable.

This response thanks the customer for sharing feedback, apologizes for the issue, explains what led to the situation, and shows an understanding of how the issue affected the customer. Mike now knows that his account rep fully understands the reason for the complaint and values his business and feedback.

Pro Tip: Test different apologies to find the one that best fits your brand voice. For example, you could say “We're sorry we let you down,” or "We apologize for not meeting your expectations.” See which resonates the most with your customers.

6. Clearly outline your plan to remedy the situation.

Not only should you apologize when a customer's experience is not satisfactory, you also need to explain how you will fix the problem.

If the example above ended after those two paragraphs, I would have hardly handled it well and I wouldn’t blame the customer if they felt they were left empty-handed. A proper response to a customer complaint is incomplete without an explanation of what happens next.

I would highly recommend going above and beyond when remedying customer complaints. Consider offering some kind of incentive to give your business another chance, like a coupon or gift certificate. This will allow you the opportunity to win back the customer by providing them with a better experience.

Let's return to the example of the broken payment processor, and pick things up where we left them to show how we can remedy this situation:

The product team is making it their new priority to ensure this problem does not happen again. We were able to identify the reason for the issue quite quickly and will be working to safeguard it from a similar outage in the future so you can feel confident using our software moving forward.

In the meantime, we want to make this up to you. I was able to get your software fees for this and next month waived. You should see a credit in your account in the next 3-5 business days – please reach out to me if you do not see that. I hope this in some part makes up for whatever loss your business incurred during the outage.

[Your Name]

This explanation outlines the improvement to the service and compensates the customer for his potentially lost revenue.

Now, he knows more information about the issue, what's being done to prevent it from recurring, and is getting free software for sharing his criticisms — this kind of response encourages customer feedback and makes it more likely this customer will share his opinion moving forward.

Pro Tip: It’s always nice to offer incentives, but it’s not always possible. In these cases, sometimes just letting the customer know that you will cycle their feedback upward is enough to show that you are taking their complaint seriously.

7. Thank the customer again and offer follow-up information.

If you've followed the steps up until now, the complaint should be sufficiently addressed and your customer should feel like the issue has been fully resolved.

If that's the case, thank the customer once again for reaching out and offer follow-up information or instructions if the customer needs to get back in touch with you.

This step is particularly important for online reviews, which contain much less back-and-forth discussion (if any) compared to complaints made over email, on the phone, via social media, or in person.

If customers are writing a review online, they might not have the contact information to follow up with the best person, so consider leaving the name, phone number, and/or email address of the person to speak to at the end of a negative online review.

If you‘re in a situation where you need more time to offer a solution, be sure to provide your contact information and give the customer a timeline for when you’ll follow up with them.

Pro Tip: Send a customer satisfaction survey shortly after you address the complaint to obtain data about how the customer viewed your resolution process. The survey shows you what you're doing right and wrong, and which areas you could improve upon in the future.

8. Check in to see if the customer is happy with the result.

After some time has passed, you should follow up with the customer to see if they're satisfied with the resolution.

The time frame is definitely fuzzy for this one. Some issues can be followed up within a few days or even weeks after they were resolved, while more time-sensitive ones warrant a follow-up within a day.

If your solution involves giving the customer a gift certificate or free product, reach out to them for feedback after they've had another experience with your business.

Use your gut here: It's better to over-communicate than the other way around, as it shows you really do care about the problem and wish to make up for it.

Pro Tip: If you can, offer an additional discount or perks for their loyalty in the future. This lets them know that your business is willing to make it up to them in the long run. Plus, it's a great way to show appreciation for their patience.

9. Incorporate changes from customer feedback.

After all is said and done, it‘s time to follow through with your promises. If you complained about a mishap and were promised a change that didn’t happen, wouldn't you be pretty upset?

Not every complaint warrants a change in business strategy.

For example, if one customer complains her shipment was damaged, this doesn't mean you need to overhaul your entire supply chain. However, you should take note of how you handled the situation and keep it as a reference in case a similar situation comes up again.

At HubSpot, Fontanella’s team would store all of this information digitally via its help desk . This provided an overview of how the support team was doing and made it easier to identify trends in customer feedback.

This is on you to listen carefully, draw connections between complaints, and determine if larger action is warranted. If you receive multiple complaints about one employee, one product, or one feature, that probably means there's a problem with that employee, product, or feature.

For example, if 100 customers complain about having damaged shipments, maybe you should look into your warehouse or shipping centers.

Pro Tip: Create a feedback loop so customers can easily alert you to potential issues. This way, you can quickly identify any problems before they become a bigger issue. Plus, it shows customers that their opinion matters and that you're always looking for ways to improve the customer experience.

This process has proven to be a reliable method for responding to customer complaints. Dani Wawryk, Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications at Vendasta, outlines a similar process in the video below:

Let’s see it in action, though, with some samples you can modify for your own support team.

1. Sample Letter Responding to a Complaint

Hello, [Customer Name],

I‘ve had a chance to review your complaint, and I’d like to apologize for [Issue]. Thank you for taking the time to share that with me so I can make it right. [Rephrase issue] is something that our team at [Company] doesn't take lightly.

Based on what you‘ve shared with me, here’s how I can resolve the problem. [Explain solution.]

I'll be working on this ticket from start to finish, so you can respond to me directly with any follow up questions. How does that sound?

In the meantime, I‘ve shared your feedback with our team and we’re [method to ensure the root cause of the complaint is addressed].

Thanks again for trusting us with your business.

[Your name]

What we like: What works about this letter is that it allows customer service representatives to take responsibility for solving the problem. Instead of deflecting blame onto the “company” as a whole by using “we” statements, the rep uses “I” statements to make the conversation more personal. This is a genuine way to build trust with the customer and assure them that their feedback isn't falling into a void.

2. Sample Email Responding to a Complaint

Thanks for bringing the duplicate charge issue to our attention. We discovered that this was an isolated incident, and it has since been resolved. You‘ll see a full refund in your account within seven days. I can assure you that this won’t happen again and we have put strict measures in place to prevent it in the future.

I recognize that this was an inconvenience, and I‘d like to regain your trust. I’ve credited your account for next month's payment — this is in addition to your full refund. Let me know if you do not see that by tomorrow. [Company name] appreciates your business and we hope to continue serving you moving forward.

[Team Department]

What we like: This simple, yet effective email covers all the bases of handling a customer complaint. It acknowledges the customer's issue, offers an apology, and goes above and beyond to resolve the matter. Finally, the rep extends gratitude to the customer for doing business with the company and expresses interest in continuing the relationship now that the complaint has been handled.

3. Sample Phone Script Responding to a Complaint

Representative: “Hi there, thanks for calling Pearl Provisions. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with today?”

Customer: “Hello, my name is Pam. I'm not happy with the service I received last week at Pearl Provisions. My family's food was served cold and I didn't receive any acknowledgement of the issue by the manager.”

Representative: “Pam, I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience at our restaurant. I understand that the meals you received were not served according to our high standards and there was no recourse to make things right.”

Customer: “Yes that is correct and I'd like some sort of redress for the inconvenience.”

Representative: “Pam, I can assure you that I'll make things right. We hope you'll give us the opportunity to earn your business again. First, I'll pass your feedback to the manager of the restaurant and confirm that this incident will be reviewed and resolved. With your permission, I can also mail you a gift card that you can use at the restaurant anytime within the next month. Does that sound like something you'd be interested in?”

Customer: “Yes that would be great. Thank you.”

Representative: “Alright, let's get that gift card mailed to you.”

What we like: Restating the issue goes a long way in this response template. In doing this, the rep assures the customer that they understand the problem and the impact it's having on their business. Following this up with an applicable solution makes this a practical template that can be customized for just about any type of complaint.

4. Sample Response to a Technical Complaint

Hi, [Customer Name],

Thank you for reaching out and letting us know about the issue with your subscription renewal. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience your disruption of service may have caused.

Once our team looked into the issue, we realized there was a software bug on our end that prevented your subscription from automatically renewing and quickly resolved it. Our development team is making it a priority to ensure this issue does not happen again.

That said, I recognize how frustrating this experience must have been. So, I want to make it up to you by waiving your subscription fees for the next three months. A credit should appear in your account within the next 3-5 business days. Please reach out to me if you have any issues accessing it.

What we like: I like this response because it acknowledges what happened, accepts responsibility, and quickly resolves the problem. Plus, the rep goes above and beyond by offering to waive the customer's subscription fees.

5. Sample Response to a Shipping Complaint

Thank you for letting us know you haven't yet received your order. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and understand your frustration.

According to our records, your package was sent out from our warehouse on [Date]. I‘ve looked into your order’s status via UPS and it is currently listed as [status] and is expected to arrive by [Date]. To stay updated with your order's status, you can visit this link: [link].

In the meantime, I‘ve shared your feedback with our team and we’re committed to doing everything we can on our end to prevent shipping delays.

If you don't receive your delivery by the expected arrival date, please let me know by responding to this email. We appreciate your business and hope to continue serving you.

What we like: In this scenario, the rep solves for the customer by providing information on when their order was shipped, a status update, and when they can expect their order to arrive. They also offer instructions on how to get back in contact with them in case the package does not arrive on time.

6. Sample Response to a Social Media Review

Hey, [Customer Name],

Thanks for taking the time to share about your experience at [Company]. I understand that [Rephrase issue] and I apologize that you were not served according to our high standards.

I‘ve passed your feedback along to our management team and will follow up with them to ensure that this issue is prevented in the future. Additionally, I’d like to make it up to you by sending you a gift certificate that you can use at any of our locations within the next six months. Please private message us your email address and we can get it sent over to you.

What we like: Given the public nature of social media reviews, it‘s important to ensure your response is crafted with understanding and care.

Not only will addressing the complaint help regain the customer’s trust, but it can also showcase your company's customer service to prospective customers and potentially attract new business.

In the example above, the rep addresses the problem, apologizes for it, and presents an offer to remedy the situation.

Let’s wrap up with some general tips that we gathered on responding to customer complaints.

1. Stay calm, even when it's not your fault.

It would be naive to pretend every customer complaint is a valid one. Sometimes customers get things wrong, mix up companies, and make mistakes.

It can be frustrating to proceed calmly without letting the customer know where they went wrong immediately upon leaving a negative review but don't give in to the temptation.

You'll still want to follow the steps above to diffuse the situation and be empathetic. Fontanella advises, “to make the customer feel like they’re right, even if they were wrong in the first place.”

Once the customer is calm, you can kindly explain to them where the mix-up happened and offer a genuine explanation. As soon as the customer understands the issue, politely ask that they remove the negative review — that‘s if they don’t offer to do it first.

Remember to assume positive intent during encounters like these, in my experience a bit of calmness and understanding goes a long way when resolving customer complaints.

2. Avoid deflecting blame.

As a member of the customer service team, the buck stops with you. If your sales team makes a huge blunder, don‘t let the customer know that. After all, they don’t care who did it, they just want a solution. Plus, it doesn't build trust with the customer or your sales team to throw them under the bus.

Get comfortable accepting criticism that has been misplaced. Instead, you can relay the feedback behind the scenes in a respectful manner — a training refresher can be the perfect forum to address the root cause of a complaint without playing the blame game (and nobody wins in the blame game).

3. Put yourself in the customer's shoes.

A bit of empathy makes all the difference when resolving customer complaints. After all, you‘re a customer more often than you’re a customer service representative, so put yourself in their shoes when you find yourself in these situations.

How would you want the issue resolved? What would make you do business with your company again?

Provide the customer with a fair and constructive experience to get through the turbulent situation. Put their feelings and needs first as much as you can within the scope of your customer service policies.

4. Seek the customer's permission to provide a solution.

Before you spout off a decision in haste, ask the customer for their permission to allow you to solve the problem.

“I understand how inconvenient this is for you. Can I share a few options I've come up with to make things right?”

It seems obvious that they'd want you to fix things, but asking for permission in a heated exchange gives the customer a moment to willingly cooperate and come to the best solution. It puts you on their side and positions you both against the problem rather than customer vs service rep.

Bonus Tip: Build a response plan and bank.

If your business receives feedback often, make sure you have a documented brand voice and response strategy in place.

Remember, you may want to download and customize these review response prompts if you find yourself spending too much time responding to reviews each week.

Handling Customer Complaints

Responding to customer complaints is never fun, but it‘s part of the job. Taking the time to develop a strategy for responding to these complaints and handling each incident with care shows your customers that you value them.

This makes it much less likely that they’ll do business with a competitor. Keep these best practices in mind the next time you go to respond to a review, a tweet, or have a conversation with someone who shares feedback with your business.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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A Complete Guide: How to Handle Customer Complaints

• February 25, 2021

Customer complaints are a reality of running any business. While receiving negative feedback is never going to be a pleasant experience, taking steps to handle it properly is key to making business-wide improvements and holding onto your customers. 

When approached with an open mind, customer complaints are actually an opportunity to improve your customer experience and boost your business. 

In the best-case scenario, your customer may even have a more positive view of your business after a complaint is resolved than before they even had an issue.

In this article, you’ll learn where and why customers are most likely to complain, how you should handle customer complaints, and how to best support your employees. 

What Are Customer Complaints?

Customer complaints demonstrate that there’s a mismatch between the product or service delivered and the customer’s initial expectations. 

When complaints are one-off occurrences or mistakes, they can be interpreted as negative feedback and the relationship between the business and customer can usually be salvaged. When they’re consistent trends they need to be addressed at a more fundamental level, which we’ll cover later in this guide.

This conflict in expectations and results can be down to several different reasons: 

• Scenarios that are outside your control. Sometimes things go wrong and they have nothing to do with your business or its offering. For example, if you own a local fresh fruit and vegetable grocery store that offers a local delivery service, poor weather conditions could result in delayed or canceled grocery deliveries, leading to an uptick in customer complaints.

Here’s an example of a complaint regarding a late food delivery made by a local pizza store:

• Unreasonable expectations that are hard to meet. Occasionally customers have a long list of demands that are difficult for any business to meet. They may have unreasonable expectations regarding pricing, the level of service, or they may have misunderstood the product’s purpose.

This customer seems to have mismatched expectations with the service on offer which could probably have been resolved with clearer communication at the start: 

• Misleading marketing around the business’s offering. When businesses misrepresent their products or services through their marketing and social media campaigns, customers may feel that they’ve signed up for something that doesn’t exist. 

This customer understood from the website that this pest control business offered a bed bug sniffing dog and was disappointed when the reality of the service was different:

• Operational failures. Sometimes businesses may have a great product or service but fall down when it comes to the operational side. For instance, businesses that don’t train their staff properly or who use poorly implemented tech systems are more likely to receive customer complaints.

• Mistakes happen. We’re only human and sometimes a business may mess up its customer service, or provide a poor quality product. When this happens, a representative of your business should always hold up their hands and admit to getting it wrong and provide a customer-approved solution.  

In this situation, it would be best for someone from the business to contact the dissatisfied customer and provide a solution:

Where Are Customers Most Likely to Complain? 

Depending on your business model and location, customers may have multiple options for lodging a complaint.  Customer feedback can appear in two different ways, public and private. Naturally, if you’re providing channels for private negative feedback you’re more likely to be able to handle these issues outside of the public eye. 

Here are some of the top ways customers usually choose to complain: 

• Frontline staff. If you own a customer-facing business like a grocery store, delivery service, or gym, your customers may be more likely to complain in-person to a staff member who happens to be on duty.
• Customer satisfaction surveys. If you send out regular customer satisfaction surveys and leave space for customers to leave feedback, they may use it as an opportunity to share complaints about your business’s offering.

• Online reviews. Sometimes dissatisfied customers will use 3rd party review sites for complaining about your business. If you do receive online negative reviews, remember to acknowledge them and empathize with your customers. Check out our guide to replying to positive and negative reviews.  

Take a look at this negative Google review of a florist business: 

• Over the phone or via email . Businesses that provide a more personalized service to a smaller group of customers, may receive more complaints directly to their phone lines or email.
• Social media . Increasingly, customers are choosing to leave negative comments on business’ social media profiles. Twitter may be the most popular way for customers to complain, but it’s not uncommon to see negative comments on Instagram and Facebook profiles. 

Take a look at this Facebook comment left by a customer of Ikea: 

What Do Customers Typically Complain About? 

Regardless of industry, all businesses receive customer complaints at some point. Whether it’s as a result of a mistake made or due to an obstacle your customers have hit, there are certain scenarios that tend to provoke customer complaints. 

Having an awareness of what your customers typically complain about will not only help you improve your business’s offering but also help your employees prepare for handling common complaints.

Making an effort to consistently collect feedback from customers will allow you to stay on top of common complaints so you can improve your business and set your employees up for success in handling those complaints as they appear. 

Slow Customer Service 

Customers appreciate efficient customer service. Whether you run a restaurant or a plumbing business, customers like to feel that their time is respected. People live busy lives and can’t afford to waste time waiting in lines or on the phone. 

Long wait times indicate that your business doesn’t prioritize customer experience and that you may not have enough staff members to efficiently deal with your customers. 

• Train your staff to communicate with customers when wait times exceed expectations.
• Evaluate your operations and try to adjust supply lines, processes, or signage to pre-emptively address potential bottlenecks.

Out of Stock Product or Unavailable Service

While an out-of-stock product or fully-booked service is usually an indication that your business is doing something right, customers can grow impatient and frustrated if there’s no availability for a long time. 

Customers may keep calling and emailing your business for updates about these unavailable services and products. Ultimately they may leave you negative feedback either online or in-person. 

Solution: 

• Train your staff to apologize to customers for the inconvenience of not having the product or service they were looking for.
• Set realistic expectations by being honest about when you next expect to have these products or services available. 

Low-Quality Product or Service

When products are sold damaged or they break shortly after purchase, you can expect customers to complain. 

For instance, if you run a local organic fresh fruit and vegetable shop, and a customer purchases bruised oranges, you can expect them to complain.

Take a look at this complaint about expired produce that’s been published on Google for the world to see:

Alternatively, if you run a catering company and the team shows up half an hour late to a birthday party, you can bet that the customer will be unhappy and complain to the lead organizer. 

• Acknowledge that the product or service was below your business’s usual high standards. 
• Identify a suitable solution, whether that’s a refund, store credit or a replacement product or service.
• Check-in with your customers to see if they are satisfied with the solution.

No Resolution 

If a customer has already complained about unsatisfactory service or a poor product, they’ll expect some sort of resolution within the days and weeks after the initial complaint. 

Take a look at this customer’s frustration at never receiving a resolution, ultimately they took their business elsewhere to a competitor: : 

When customers receive a satisfactory solution they’re more likely to feel positive about your business overall. But when customers lodge a legitimate complaint and they don’t receive any kind of suitable solution, they may feel doubly frustrated and lodge a second complaint. 

Solution:  

• Apologize for the slow response and explain that the team was searching for a suitable solution. 
• Clearly communicate the expected timeline for follow-up communication and the final resolution. 

No Follow-up

Customers who have time-sensitive requests or complaints may feel anxious about you finding a solution and will want consistent updates. 

Other customers may be more patient though and not expect a regular stream of communication. The best policy is for the staff member who’s handling the complaint to be upfront about expected response times and then stick to them.  No follow-up is always going to be unacceptable. When a follow-up doesn’t happen, it could be a result of a few occurrences: 

• The team member handling the complaint forgot to follow up.
• Staff were overwhelmed with requests and couldn’t handle all the customer complaints simultaneously. 
• A tech solution failed – for example, your automated reminders never came through.

Complaint follow-up best practices: 

• It’s ok not to have the solution right away. Always communicate with the customer that you are actively trying to solve the issue. 
• Set customer expectations by providing a realistic timeline for resolution. If you know it will take a few days to resolve the problem, don’t promise a solution for the next day. 
• Think about the channel through which the customer made the complaint and the acceptable response time. 24 hours is acceptable for a negative online review or an email, but a few hours or less is generally expected for in-person or phone complaint
• If a complaint is time-sensitive, reassure customers by providing a few regular updates.

How Should Local Businesses Handle Complaints?

If your business can understand the cause of the problem, resolve the issue, and effectively communicate to the customer throughout, you may be able to turn complaining customers into loyal advocates of your brand. 

1. Make it Easy for Customers to Complain

If a customer needs to share negative feedback about your product or service, having to bend over backward to the business’s complaint procedure will only further annoy an already agitated customer. 

To help create a solid customer experience, customers need to feel that the business cares about their thoughts. When customers complain, it should be easy for them to share their honest opinions and thoughts with a business. 

Businesses need to provide customers with multiple avenues for them to share their thoughts. 

You could encourage customers to share their thoughts by:

• Putting a form on your website to encourage feedback and complaints.
• Posting a feedback link in your newsletter, social media platforms, and in-store.
• Actively ask your customers for their opinions.

Here’s an example of helping customers easily leave feedback on a business website:

Proactively asking your customers for honest feedback is a great way of preventing complaints from escalating. Sending out customer satisfaction surveys at regular intervals is one way of checking in with your customers and seeing how they feel about your business. 

Learn how to create effective customer satisfaction surveys and try some of our sample questions. 

2. Use it as an Opportunity for Uncovering Valuable Insights

Customer complaints provide useful insights into what may not be working for your business. When customers complain, ask valid questions to dig deeper into what caused the issue in the first place. 

When registering a complaint, consider asking customers the following questions:

• Could you elaborate on that point more? 
• Could you clarify what you mean by that?
• Could you provide me with an example?

Customer complaints are also a good time for some self-reflection. 

Ask yourself:

• Am I making any assumptions about the customer or complaint?
• Do I need any further details? 
• Why is this complaint significant for my business? 

Asking the right questions will help you uncover the root of the problem and how you might be able to resolve it. Depending on how your business is structured, you may choose a designated team member to handle complaints and uncover insights. For instance, in a local grocery store, it may make sense for the team manager to take charge of customer complaints. 

Alternatively, if you run a pest control service, it may be best for the bookings manager to handle customer complaints since they may have the most customer contact. Your bookings manager or receptionist would then need to report these insights to the manager or owner on a monthly or quarterly basis.

3. Respond Efficiently and Proactively

Acceptable response times depend on the nature of the complaint. Customers who leave negative feedback about your restaurant’s new seasonal menu may not mind if you take all day to respond. 

But a customer who calls to complain about a plumber who was meant to show up 5 hours ago is going to be more than frustrated if you take a week to respond. 

Take a look at this prompt same-day review response:

Keep in mind these complaint response best practices: 

• Respond promptly . Our survey shows over 55% of consumers expect a business to reply to a review within 1 day and over 30% expect a response within 3 days. Negative feedback requires a swift reply and resolution to show care and action from your business.
• If the feedback is public, respond publicly. It’s an opportunity to show future customers you’re capable and willing to right a wrong.
• Read through the complaint thoroughly. Use the customer’s own words to personalize your reply.
• Offer a solution.   Showing empathy for the situation and being respectful is vital to successful response management, but a solution is at the core of what the customer wants. Always provide a solution that’s appropriate to the complaint, whether that be compensation, a refund, or replacement. 
• Put the right person in charge. Make sure that the person replying to negative reviews has the authority to offer solutions.

Taking time to regularly monitor your customer complaints is important to ensure you don’t miss one. Set up GatherUp’s customer activity dashboard to stay on top of customer feedback and better manage customer experience. You could set up notifications for negative feedback so you don’t risk missing it. 

4. Identify a Suitable Solution and Follow up to See if You Solved Their Problem

Once you’ve found the cause of the customer complaint, identified a suitable solution, and proposed that solution to the customer, make you follow up to see if you successfully solved their problem. 

This response to a negative review identifies an opportunity to provide a solution in the form of a refund: 

Customers appreciate businesses that care about their experience and their overall satisfaction. 

You can then follow up with customers by: 

• Asking them if there’s anything else you can do to help them.
• Simply asking if the solution worked out for them. 

5. Record the Complaint and Analyze Patterns

When you receive a complaint, it’s important to record the type of complaint and who it came from. 

The complaint could come from: 

• A regular customer 
• A one-off customer
• A high-value customer 

If you receive multiple complaints about the same issue from a similar type of customer point, then it’s clear there’s a recurring problem.

It’s important to identify high-volume complaints as these can point to dominant issues throughout your business. 

Using GatherUp’s advanced reporting features you could filter, sort, customize and compare different complaints, and feedback. When you correctly identify repeat complaints and take steps to change the narrative, it’ll become easier to resolve recurring issues. 

How Can You Support Your Employees to Properly Handle Complaints? 

Business managers need to provide employees with proper guidance to ensure they feel well equipped and empowered to effectively resolve complaints on the business’s behalf. 

Clear guidance and policies will also help ensure each customer complaint receives a standardized level of attention and those complaints are recorded properly. 

Create a Clearly Written Complaint Handling Document

Write a set of guidelines that clearly outline how employees should deal with customer complaints. It’s a good idea to make the document as comprehensive as possible so employees feel confident in a range of different situations. 

As we mentioned earlier, if you’re consistently collecting feedback, you should be familiar with common customer complaints and have a specific way for your employees to be able to handle them. That way, they’ll understand what’s expected of them as the complaints arise. 

Try to provide guidance on how they should react, how to escalate the complaint, and provide possible solutions.  

Make sure the complaint-handling document is circulated throughout your business and easily accessible to all staff members. After reading the document, team members should hopefully feel confident making their own judgment calls and handling different situations. 

Give Your Staff Tools to Resolve Different Types of Complaints

In-person or virtual training sessions are an interactive way of helping employees feel confident in handling complaints. You could try incorporating role-play sessions where you show employees the potential set of complaints that customers could present. 

Reevaluate Your Business’s Complaint Handling

Handling customer complaints is one of the more challenging aspects of working in a customer-facing role. Remember to check in on your employees on a quarterly basis to see how they’re holding up in these situations. If your employees don’t feel well-equipped, it’s important that steps are taken at a managerial level to provide more tools and training sessions.

Final Thoughts

Customer complaints are a reality of running a business. When handled correctly though they’re an opportunity to improve customer experience and enhance your business’s offering. 

Make it a priority to work on the issues customers complain about, and proactively improve the way your business deals with negative feedback. Try implementing a few of our suggestions for handling complaints and see how you can retain more loyal customers. 

Related reading: 

• What Is Customer Experience and Why Is it Important? 
• Tracking What Your Customers Care About – Insights Turn Into Survey Questions
• The Power Of A Customer Experience Hub
• Reviews & Your Business: Developing Your Review Strategy

Holly Stanley

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How to Handle Customer Complaints to Cultivate Customer Loyalty

As your business grows, you’re bound to deal with customer complaints at some point or another.

If you’re a customer-centric business, then customer complaints are practically inevitable. Something may go wrong, a mistake may be made, and customer expectations may not be met, resulting in a complaint.

However, customer complaints don’t have to be devastating for your business. In fact, a customer complaint can provide an opportunity for you to showcase great customer service and win over a dissatisfied customer. Being able to handle customer complaints effectively is essential if you want to maximize customer retention , maintain a good relationship with your target audience, and bolster your brand’s reputation.

While catering to unhappy customers may not be the most pleasant part of running your business, it’s a necessary skill to have if you want to thrive in the long run.

In this post, we go into more detail about the importance of dealing with dissatisfied customers and negative comments and explain how to handle customer complaints in a way that leaves all parties satisfied.

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Why it’s important to handle customer complaints carefully

Customers are essential to your business. As the ones purchasing your products or services, they collectively have a direct impact on whether your business grows or fails. This is especially true if your business operates in a highly competitive industry. If a customer has a negative experience with your company, they may not hesitate to take their business elsewhere.

When customers voice complaints, they often feel that their expectations haven’t been met in their interactions with your business. Whether they had a problem with the product they received or a negative interaction with one of your employees, the submission of a customer complaint indicates a gap between a customer’s expectations and their actual experience.

It’s more important than ever to handle customer complaints carefully, as customers have a lot of power in the digital world. If a customer complaint isn’t properly addressed, this could lead to the customer writing a negative review of your business online or posting about their negative experience on social media . Once online, a customer’s negative feedback can be seen by hundreds or thousands of potential customers, and this can drive away business and hurt your brand’s reputation.

While no business owner wants to receive customer complaints, these complaints can actually present an opportunity for your company. First of all, when customers complain directly to you, they typically don’t abandon your brand entirely but rather give you a chance to rectify the situation.

Providing the customer with an effective solution can make them even more loyal than they were before. Additionally, receiving negative feedback from customers can help you identify the root cause of the problem and find ways to improve your business going forward.

8 steps for handling customer complaints

When a customer complains, determining the appropriate response can be harder than it sounds. Nevertheless, it’s important to train your customer service team so that they can handle common customer complaints and make sure issues are resolved quickly and effectively.

Check out the steps below to learn how to handle customer complaints in a way that leaves customers feeling satisfied.

1. Listen to the customer

If a customer has complained, it means that they want their unique problem to be heard. Brushing off a customer complaint or failing to fully understand the problem can make the situation worse. So train the customer service reps at your company in active listening techniques that allow customers to feel heard and seen by your organization.

2. Show empathy

Empathy is a key part of resolving any customer-facing problem or confrontation. Practicing empathy means stepping into the customer’s shoes and trying to see a problem from their point of view–why are they upset? And what actions would resolve the issue from their perspective?

Not only can showing empathy help you identify a solution to a problem, but it can also make the job of your customer service reps easier. Using empathy statements and attempting to relate to the customer often helps in calming everyone down.

If a dissatisfied customer senses that you genuinely understand their frustration and care about their problem, then they’ll likely be more willing to work with you toward a solution.

3. Apologize

When dealing with unhappy customers, an apology can go a long way. If you made a mistake or didn’t deliver on a particular promise, sincerely apologize to the customer who’s complaining and acknowledge the validity of their situation.

At the same time, offering an apology can be beneficial even in situations where you don’t feel like you were wrong. An apology allows you to defuse the situation and move closer to finding a resolution.

4. Ask thorough questions

After listening to a customer’s complaint, make sure to ask any relevant questions in order to better understand the situation. With more information to work with, your customer service representatives will have an easier time finding a suitable solution to the problem and providing great customer care .

5. Loop in necessary parties

Communication is the key to success when solving just about any problem. Keeping your team in the loop can enable you to resolve customer complaints more quickly. Additionally, communicating a customer complaint to your team can prevent the mistake or miscommunication that prompted the complaint from happening again.

6. Find a swift solution

Perhaps the most important part of handling customer complaints is finding a resolution–and quickly.

No unhappy customer wants to wait around for days or weeks as you come up with a solution for their problem. Instead, prepare your customer service team with guidelines on go-to solutions for common customer complaints and limitations on what they can offer customers in a given situation.

7. Follow up

Following up on a customer complaint can be a great way to engage with your audience and show that you care. In many cases, following up on a customer complaint takes the form of sending out a customer satisfaction survey . In this survey, the customer can rate their level of satisfaction with their customer service experience, which can in turn provide you with valuable data and insight.

Following up with customer complaints will help you stand out from the competition by demonstrating excellent customer service.

8. Create a record

From the time a customer complaint is first submitted to the moment it gets resolved, record your interactions with the customer. Recording customer interactions can provide you with information that helps improve your products, services, and overall customer experience.

At the same time, having a record of communication with a particular customer can provide your customer service reps with context if that customer makes another complaint in the future.

Example of handling a customer complaint

To illustrate how the above steps may be put into practice, let’s take a look at an example of how to handle a customer complaint. In this example, let’s say you run a small business selling artisanal candles online.

One of your customers ordered a set of candles but, unfortunately, found upon opening their package that the glass candle jars were shattered. The customer is understandably upset and sends in a complaint–so how do you respond? Just stick to the steps we outlined above:

• Listen : The customer tells you that they’re frustrated because the candles they ordered are expensive but seemed to come in flimsy packaging, thus leading to breakage. This feedback could be an opportunity for you to improve your product packaging.
• Empathize : Acknowledge the mistake and tell the customer that you understand their frustration.
• Apologize : Apologize to the customer for not meeting their expectations and thank them for bringing the issue to their attention.
• Ask questions : In this case, you might ask the customer directly what you can do to make the situation right.
• Communicate with the team : Speak with relevant team members about the problem.
• Find a solution : In this situation, you’d likely offer the customer a replacement order or a refund.
• Follow up : After the situation has been resolved, consider sending a follow-up email to your customer where you ask them to rate their customer service experience.
• Create a record : Record all interactions with the customer in question. Perhaps you’ll identify a pattern of candles arriving broken due to insufficient packaging. If so, you can take action to solve this problem as soon as possible.

Tips for handling complaints

Now that you have a guide for how to handle customer complaints, you can better serve your customers. When implementing the steps listed in this article and dealing with unhappy customers, make sure to keep the following tips in mind:

• Stay calm : Never get upset or confrontational with an angry customer. Instead, stay calm in order to facilitate a civil interaction and reach a solution.
• Give them your full attention : Angry customers often just want to be heard. When communicating with an angry customer, make sure to give them your full and undivided attention.
• Thank them : Thanking upset customers will demonstrate that you’re receptive to feedback and ready to find a solution.
• Explain how you will solve their problem : When dealing with any customer complaint, it’s important to explain to the customer in clear terms how and when you will solve their problem.
• Follow up : Following up on a customer complaint allows you to re-engage with the customer and potentially collect valuable feedback about your company’s customer service experience.

Create loyal customers with exceptional customer care

The importance of customer service can’t be understated. By providing excellent customer service, you can retain current customers, win over new customers, and build a stellar reputation for your brand. Effectively dealing with complaints is part of building customer relationships and establishing yourself as a customer-centric company.

With Mailchimp, you can easily manage customer relationships, grow your audience, and use specialized tools to provide outstanding customer service. From sending out customer surveys to engaging your audience through email marketing campaigns, Mailchimp’s all-in-one marketing platform allows you to keep clients happy.

News: SuperOffice integrates marketing automation to CRM.  Read more

SuperOffice integrates marketing automation to CRM

Customer Service

Why customer complaints are good for your business.

Customers have more power than ever.

If customers have a positive experience with your company, they will share this experience with friends, family and connections - which in turn can lead to new business.

All at zero cost.

But what happens if you fail to provide a positive customer experience ?

The answer is simple. Your customers will complain .

According to research by Esteban Kolsky , 13% of unhappy customers will share their complaint with 15 or more people.

Furthermore , only 1 in 25 unhappy customers complain directly to you .

And for customers that don’t complain, they just stop doing business with you. The overwhelming majority ( 91% ) of unhappy customers who don’t complain simply leave .

There is a silver lining here:

A customer complaint highlights a problem, whether that's a problem with your product, employees or internal processes, and by hearing these problems directly from your customers, you can investigate and improve to prevent further complaints in the future.

Furthermore, research finds that customers’ whose complaints are handled quickly can often turn into loyal customers and even brand advocates.

In addition, survey by PwC found that 32% of all customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience.

This statistic underscores the precarious nature of customer loyalty and the critical importance of addressing complaints swiftly and effectively.

The financial implications of customer service are significant.

According to a report by NewVoiceMedia , businesses lose $75 billion annually due to poor customer service.

This staggering figure highlights the direct correlation between customer complaints, service quality, and the bottom line, emphasizing the necessity of an effective complaint resolution strategy.

How to analyze customer complaints

When you receive a complaint, the first step is to analyze it.

Complaint analysis is used to track, categorize and handle customer complaints.

When a customer makes a complaint, he or she is voicing a concern in relation to your product or service. However, not all complaints are to be treated equally and there are several questions to ask yourself before you take action, including:

• Has this happened before?
• Have the complaints been recorded?
• How often does the same complaint arise?
• Is there a pattern to this complaint in how it was received?
• Has the same customer reported this previously?

By answering these questions, you can take the necessary steps required to prevent them from happening again.

For example, if several customers complain about a specific issue, you can use their feedback to improve your product or service.

Or, if you are currently working on a solution, yet you still receive complaints from your customer base , you can create an email template for support that explains, in detail, how you are going to solve it.

Create customer complaint guidelines & policies

If you want to provide a consistent, satisfactory experience with your customers, establishing formal guidelines and policies helps to log, investigate and resolve any customer dissatisfaction and problems.

The overall goal of these guidelines and policies are meant to:

• Turn a dissatisfied customer into a satisfied customer
• Align your customer service team’s response and actions
• Analyze areas of your business to improve experiences

Customer complaints are opportunities to collect information about a customer’s needs, opinions, attitudes, and beliefs. In most cases, upset customers are looking for help and clarity, not trouble, and are simply responding to common issues such as:

• Product or service quality
• Safety concerns
• Color and sizing
• Overpricing
• Accidental charges
• Shipping errors
• Broken promises
• Misleading advertising

The key to overcoming these common issues is by creating a clear process and a coordinated response that addresses the customer’s complaints.

Here are a few best practices when it comes to training your employees and creating guidelines and policies for how you business handles customer complaints:

• Any problem must be documented and reported to the appropriate person for resolution;
• Establish a ‘complaint owner’ (i.e., someone who is in charge of resolving the complaint);
• Deliver a response within a predetermined amount of time; e.g., a complaint is received within 24 hours and a plan to resolve it is established within 72 hours;
• Define actions and behaviors your team must follow to deliver a consistent customer resolution experience;
• Cases remain open until the root problem is identified and successfully resolved.

There are many ways to handle customer complaints effectively. Let’s look at 7 specific strategies that help to improve a customer’s experience.

7 ways to handle customer complaints

When you receive a customer complaint, follow these tips to help transform it into a golden opportunity for your business.

• Listen and understand
• Inform your team
• Find a solution
• Record feedback
• Exceed expectations

1. Listen and understand

Always listen to your customers. They have complained for a reason and it is important to understand why they are complaining. Research shows that customers care more about quality than a fast response. Take time to listen and understand what their problem is.

Pro tip: To maintain quality from all support personnel, use a customer service knowledge base.

2. Inform your team (and keep them in the loop)

A rep receives a complaint from a customer.

They can either:

• handle it and stay silent or
• share the complaint with the team. 

Which one benefits the business most? Sharing it, right?

It's the only way an organization can understand exactly what’s wrong (and how to fix it). When you receive a complaint, notify your manager to discuss what happens next.

In some cases, it will be resolved quickly (i.e. wrong contact details need updating) and in other cases (i.e. faulty product), it’s being shared with senior management and will be addressed at a higher level. Either way, sharing this information internally has a bigger impact.

3. Apologize

Don’t be afraid to apologize for a mistake. Many customers are simply looking for an apology and acknowledgement of their complaint, yet so many businesses are hesitant to admit when a mistake has been made .

Don’t underestimate the importance of an apology!

Research by The Nottingham School of Economics found that unhappy customers are more willing to forgive a company that offers an apology as opposed to being compensated .

In the findings from the study, 45% of customers withdrew their negative evaluation of a company in light of an apology , whereas only 23% of customers withdrew their negative evaluation in return for compensation.

The researchers concluded that when a customer hears the words “I’m sorry”, it triggers an immediate instinct to forgive.

Don’t just stop at the apology, follow through with a promise to resolve the complaint.

4. Find a solution

When your customer has a legitimate complaint, you need to find the root cause and solve it.

Give your customer service team the authority to handle the majority of customer complaints to avoid passing your customer onto a series of people and managers. If the issue has been or can be repeated, make the necessary changes so you do not receive another complaint.

Let's take a look at a customer complaint example:

Imagine you have a customer whose account is up for renewal. You reach out to them manually, before taking payment (as required by the GDPR ) and they are happy to continue with their subscription.

But, for some reason or another, you charge them twice for the same amount.

The result?

They are not happy and decide to cancel their account.

Giving your employees the authority to handle these kinds of issues means allowing them to issue a refund and handle the request without having to escalate the case to a supervisor. It also means that the customer gets their issue solved quickly.

Positive customer service experiences have a measurable impact on spending. American Express research shows that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience .

This data illustrates the potential revenue increase that can be achieved by turning customer complaints into opportunities for exceptional service.

Free template: Once you have issued the refund, you can send them an email using the template below.

5. Record their feedback

Your customer complaints could be a goldmine for finding exactly how your company can improve.

Maybe there’s something wrong with your product when customers use their mobile device, or there could be something missing from customer service replies.

In order to understand what you need to improve on, start documenting the comments and complaints to find patterns and trends that are recurring.

Whatever it is, document it for later and make time to inspect and reflect.

(One way to document their feedback is in the contact card in your CRM . You can then export a list of complaints on a monthly basis to review and share internally).

6. Follow up with the customer

You’ve solved the problem, shared the news with a customer, but you haven’t heard back. Now what?

Easy. Follow up with your customers to make sure they are satisfied with the solution. This can be in the form of a follow up email or survey asking for feedback on how the complaint was handled.

Almost 70% of customers leave a company because they believe you don’t care about them.

Very few companies follow up with their customers.

Following up shows you care. And this makes the customer feel important.

Not sure how to follow up?

You have acknowledged the mistake, fixed the problem and followed up.

Now, it’s your chance to go one step further and exceed customer expectations , whether this is to send a hand-written thank you note or to give the customer early access to your new product features. 

Remember that customers pay close attention to the small details when they’re feeling distressed. The way you interact with customer complaints after their problem is resolved sets the stage for the rest of your business relationship .

In fact, if your post-complaint actions are done successfully, the next time your customer talks about your business, this will be the message they communicate most

Customer complaint checklist

Solving customer complaints is a lot like putting out fires. It’s reactive, and no matter how good your product or service is, it’s impossible to please all of your customers.

The next time you receive a complaint, use the following 5 step check list in order to respond, resolve and keep your customer happy .

• Acknowledge the complaint
• Inform the customer that you are taking action
• Record and categorize the customer complaint
• Resolve the complaint according to company policy
• Follow up with the customer to make sure they are satisfied

Handling customer complaints is an ongoing process. You can use web forms to collect complaints from your website and then use customer service software to store the complaint on each customer profile . Remember to monitor complaints on a weekly or monthly basis so you can track new complaints and trends, and be sure to follow up on open complaints.

It's worth reminding, but if a customer leaves you, you lose business . So, don’t be afraid to escalate reoccurring complaints to top management in order to get them resolved quickly.

Proactive complaint handling

As mentioned earlier, not all customers will complain directly to you.

The internet enables customers to share their feedback in multiple channels, including forums, comparison websites, social media networks and more. Without taking the necessary steps, these complaints can snowball, and even go viral.

This means you need to engage in social listening and  get proactive  in customer complaint handling.

Finding complaints online is not easy, but here are a few suggestions on where to start:

• Have any negative comments been made on your blog?
• Has your brand name been mentioned on Twitter or LinkedIn?
• Do customers post messages on your Facebook page?
• Has anyone left a bad review on your Google My Business page?
• Are the comments made on your YouTube channels positive?
• Is your brand listed in any complaint directories or forums when you search in Google?

All these channels will need to be monitored. If you don’t respond, readers will assume you don’t care.  If you respond to messages online, it can be seen as though you are making an effort and that you do care. This act alone can inspire brand loyalty and customer confidence .

Customer complaints are important.

And there’s no better way to collect direct feedback from your customers and improve your product or service.

However, the way you handle a complaint is the difference between keeping a customer or losing one. So, the next time you receive a customer complaint, listen to what the customer has to say, apologize (!), find a solution and follow up to see if he or she is happy with the way you are handling it.

In doing so, you are on your way to creating more loyal customers, improving your product and delivering a better quality of customer service .

Looking for a more effective way to manage customer complaints?

Book a free demo of SuperOffice Service and we’ll show you how to manage, track and respond to your customer base.

Customers also ask

How do companies differentiate between constructive customer complaints that can lead to improvements and complaints that may not be actionable or relevant to the majority of customers?

When companies receive customer complaints, differentiating between constructive feedback and less actionable complaints involves a thorough analysis of the complaint's content, frequency, and the impact on the customer experience . Constructive complaints often highlight specific issues with products, services, or customer interactions that can be traced, measured, and improved upon.

These are typically consistent with feedback from multiple customers or align with the company's strategic goals for enhancing customer satisfaction . To manage this, companies might employ feedback management systems, customer surveys, and direct customer outreach to gather a broad spectrum of insights, ensuring that the actions they take are informed by a representative sample of their customer base .

What specific training methods or programs do successful companies implement to equip their customer service teams with the skills needed to effectively analyze and respond to customer complaints?

In terms of training customer service teams , successful companies often invest in comprehensive programs that focus on developing empathy, problem-solving skills, and product knowledge .

This training might include role-playing exercises that simulate challenging customer interactions, workshops on emotional intelligence to better understand and respond to customer frustrations, and ongoing education about the company's products and services to ensure that customer service representatives are well-informed and capable of addressing specific issues. 

In addition, companies might incorporate feedback from actual customer interactions into their training programs, using them as learning opportunities to continuously improve the team's effectiveness.

Beyond the initial resolution of a complaint, what long-term strategies do companies employ to monitor the effectiveness of the changes made in response to customer feedback, ensuring continuous improvement and customer satisfaction?

For long-term strategies beyond the initial resolution of complaints, companies typically implement a feedback loop into their customer service processes. This involves regularly reviewing the changes made in response to customer complaints, assessing their impact on customer satisfaction, and making further adjustments as necessary.

This might include follow-up surveys with customers who have lodged complaints previously, to gauge their satisfaction with the resolution process and any changes made as a result. Additionally, companies might use key performance indicators (KPIs) related to customer satisfaction, such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) or Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), to monitor trends over time and identify areas for continuous improvement.

By embedding these practices into their operational framework, companies can create a dynamic environment that not only addresses customer complaints effectively but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement and customer-centric innovation .

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Steven MacDonald

Steven Macdonald is a digital marketer based in Tallinn, Estonia.  You can connect with Steven on  LinkedIn  and  Twitter .

View all articles by Steven MacDonald

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Common Customer Complaints: 8 Examples and Solutions

At the end of the day, businesses exist for one reason: to serve their customers. Without them, they simply wouldn’t have a business at all. And if businesses don’t serve their customers well, chances are the customers will take their business elsewhere. 

Since no product or service is perfect, it makes complete sense that customers will have some complaints from time to time. Though there will inevitably be some one-off requests that require research to resolve, many are fairly routine. 

In this article, we’ll explore the three types of customer complaints, look at examples of common requests, and offer suggestions on how to resolve them, including some example responses you can use for your own support needs.

3 types of customer complaints 

Though there are a variety of issues a customer may have, realistically there are a few distinct buckets that a majority of requests fit into: 

Time-based complaints. 

Company-based complaints. 

Product/service-based complaints. 

Time based 

We all know that time is valuable. It’s the one thing we can’t make more of or get back once it’s gone. Time-based complaints are essentially complaints based around something not happening in the timeframe the customer expects. The best way to handle these types of complaints is by being as specific about times and processes as you can possibly be. 

Most people reaching out with a time-based complaint are looking to be heard as well as reassured. Offering concrete timelines and steps can help on the reassurance front. Owning delays can also go a long way in letting the customer know you hear and empathize with them. 

Company based

Company-based complaints are complaints that are about how your business operates or about direct interactions with your company. For example, this type of complaint could be someone reaching out after having a less-than-stellar interaction with someone on your team. It could also be a complaint about a company policy. 

In these cases, it’s good to acknowledge the issue. If it’s a personnel issue, then you can assure them about following up or you can escalate to a manager. If it’s a policy issue, you could do your best to offer some more insight into why a certain policy is in place. 

Product/service based

The biggest bucket of complaints you’ll get are ones tied directly to your products and services. These requests could be about things like a product lacking a certain function, feature or service requests, bug reports, and other things in that realm. 

With these types of complaints, it’s good to offer solutions or workarounds when available. You could even point them in the direction of another provider if it’s simply something you don’t offer, which can help build credibility with the customer. 

It’s good to track these types of complaints as they can provide great insight into potential future areas of investment for your company. For example, with Help Scout you’re able to create tags to identify different issues, and then you can review analytics to see how commonly that tag shows up, which could show how popular a certain request is.

Recommended Reading

How To Be Heard By Your Product Team

5 Steps Support Teams Can Take To Get Product Bugs Fixed

Best practices for responding to customer complaints .

Although all customer complaints are different and should be handled on an individual basis, there are a few best practices to keep in mind no matter what type of complaint comes your way. 

Acknowledge the issue

So much of the time people simply want to be heard and validated. By acknowledging the issue, you’re showing the customer you care and that you take their request seriously. There’s a saying that goes, “Anytime you argue with a customer you lose.” Even if you’re not at fault, a simple acknowledgement can go a long way to keeping you in someone’s good graces. 

Lead with honesty 

Sometimes it’s tempting to bend the truth or be a bit vague to avoid upsetting someone further. No one likes to deliver bad news, but sugarcoating often doesn’t do much for you in the long run. Be upfront with customers about what you can and can’t do. Otherwise you run the risk of misleading someone or needlessly dragging out an interaction, both of which can leave a bad taste in a customer’s mouth. 

Offer a solution 

You won’t always be able to do exactly what someone wants, but it’s very rare you’re not able to do anything at all for them. Instead of getting bogged down by what you can’t do, do your best to find what you can. Even if it’s not perfect, it shows initiative and a willingness to help.

For more best practices, check out our Step-By-Step Guide: How to Handle Customer Complaints .

8 customer complaint examples (and how to respond) 

Below we cover eight common customer complaints and offer some example emails on how you could respond. These are written to be a bit on the general side of things, but with a little editing they should be useful for most teams. 

1. Product issues 

One of the most common types of complaints are issues with your product or service. Generally these complaints have to do with a product not functioning as expected, or perhaps something was damaged during shipping. 

The best way to respond to these requests is to let the customer know exactly how you’re going to remedy the issue and the steps involved in doing so. If you can offer timelines, that’s always a nice touch, but be sure you can meet them if that’s what you commit to. 

Here’s how that might look in an email response for a broken item: 

Hi <customer name>, 

Thanks for the message and I’m sorry to hear about the trouble. We do our best to pack products carefully, but sometimes things happen in transit. I’m happy to get you a replacement — you’ll just need to ship the original item back to us.  I’ve attached a prepaid shipping label to this message. 

In the meantime, I’ve already put a request in for a replacement. It should ship within the next <x> days. Assuming normal shipping times, it should get to you no later than <x> day. You have <x> amount of time to ship the original item back. In the case the original item isn’t returned, we will charge you for the replacement. 

Again, my apologies for the trouble, and if you have any other questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

All the best, 

<agent name>

2. Long wait times to get a response 

Waiting to get a response about an issue is usually a very frustrating experience for customers. And over the years, customers’ expectations of how long a response should take have steadily increased. In fact, one study found that 31% of customers expect a response within an hour . 

Tools like Help Scout’s saved replies can help agents respond to routine requests quickly. Automation tools like workflows also help speed up responses by automatically sorting and assigning requests to the right teams and agents. Autoresponders can also be powerful tools to direct requesters to self-service tools like a knowledge base or an FAQ page to help them resolve their issue on their own.

That message could look something like this:

Thanks so much for the message. Our team strives to respond to every email request within <x amount of time> during the week, but we have limited availability on the weekend. If you need assistance sooner, you’re welcome to contact us at <list other contact options if available>. You can also check out our knowledge base or our FAQ page <here>. 

We’ll be in touch soon. 

3. Incomplete or lacking support resources 

Customers today are more than willing to try to help themselves. Around 70% of people will actually try to find an answer on their own before contacting support, and not being able to find the answer they’re looking for can be really frustrating. 

In these cases it’s important to route the customer to the needed resource if it exists. If not, you could create a quick guide using screenshots or a screen recording tool like Loom . Those can be very impactful interactions and also could be a good way to start building a support library. At the least, it’s important you let them know the different ways they can contact you if they need support in the future. 

Here’s how this type of message might read:

I’m happy to help with <x issue>. While we don’t currently have documentation for <x issue>, I’ve created a quick guide for you to follow: 

<put guide resource here>

If you have any further questions, you can contact me directly through this message thread at any time. We also have <x channels> where you can get in touch if you need us in the future. 

Sorry you struggled to find what you’re looking for! Here’s a link to <documentation for their issue>. It’s a great guide to help with the specific issue you’re facing. If anything in the guide is unclear, or you have any further questions, please let me know. 

4. Having to repeat information

Being bounced around and having to retell an issue multiple times is a bad experience. Period. It’s why 72% of people say having to repeat their issue to multiple people is poor customer service .

The remedy in this scenario is to make sure it doesn’t happen in the first place. It’s common for help desks to have some sort of internal notes capability. For example, with Help Scout, agents can quickly create conversation summaries with AI summarize as well as add notes to a conversation so anyone taking over the case in the future has more context. 

If you’re taking over a case for someone else, it’s always good to let the customer know you’re aware of what the issue is. You can even ask for confirmation before getting into the details of a resolution to ensure you’re delivering all the most relevant information. 

If you’re doing it right, it might look like this:

Hi <name>, 

My name is <agent name> and I’ll be handling your request moving forward. I see you’ve had trouble with <insert brief summary of their issue>. I just want to confirm that’s correct so we can move toward a resolution as quickly as possible.

Looking forward to your response, 

5. Difficulty connecting with a live agent 

Even though people do want access to self-service tools like a knowledge base and an FAQ page, they also still want access to live agents when struggling with an issue. Sometimes customers have to jump through hoops and endless IVR phone menus to get to a live person, which creates a less-than-ideal customer experience and often leads to customer complaints.

When you receive these types of complaints, it’s important you empathize with the customer and acknowledge their frustration. If there is a live channel available, let them know how to access it and what the associated hours are (for example, maybe you’re only staffed 9 a.m-5 p.m. Monday through Friday CST). 

Some modern teams shy away from traditional live support options like phone support, but many help desks offer live chat solutions, which aren’t as resource intensive. Research found that millennials actually prefer chat support over any other form of support, so it could be a very worthwhile investment. 

If you get one of these complaints, here’s how you might respond:

Thank you for the message. I’m sorry getting in touch with us was a frustrating experience for you and I completely understand wanting to get a problem solved ASAP. We do offer live support through <insert channel> on <x days> and during <x hours>. For any issues outside those hours, <x channel> is usually the best option to get a response quickly. 

Again, my apologies for the frustration, and if there’s anything else I can help with, please let me know. 

Sincerely, 

6. Bad agent experience 

Though it’s certainly almost never intentional, sometimes customers don’t have great experiences with a support agent. Most of the time it comes down to some sort of miscommunication. But, as the saying goes, “perception is reality.” 

When you get one of these types of complaints, it’s important you let the customer know you’re taking it seriously. Acknowledge their message and offer reassurance that it won’t happen in the future. You should also review these cases to see if there’s a learning opportunity for the agent. Last, it’s probably best if someone other than the original agent responds. 

You might respond to a complaint about an agent interaction like this:

We sincerely appreciate your feedback and apologize that the interaction didn’t go as hoped. We take pride in offering great service and take it seriously when we don’t meet expectations. We will be reviewing the interaction as a team so that we can learn from it and provide better service to our customers in the future.

While I have you here, I also wanted to check in with you to ensure that your original issue has been fully addressed. If there’s anything I can do to help set things right, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

<manager name> 

7. Feature/product request 

It’s common for customers to ask for new features or products. If you get these, you should take it as a great sign. When customers make these types of requests, it shows they’re invested in your company and engaged with what you’re doing, so it’s good to show gratitude. 

For these responses, it’s good to acknowledge the idea. If it’s something you’re working on and can talk about, share it with them. If not, you can let them know you’ll pass the message along. Also, if there’s a workaround that would help them accomplish what the feature they’re requesting does, share it as it could be a big win. 

Some help desks also offer the ability to integrate with certain software that make tracking feature requests even easier. For example, Help Scout has a Jira integration that allows you to create feature requests or link to existing ones all without leaving the message. 

A response for a feature request might go like this:

That’s a great idea! It’s not something we’re working on currently, but I’ll be sure to pass it along to the team. In the meantime, there is actually a workaround that could let you do something similar. 

<insert workaround>. 

If there’s anything else I can help with, please let me know. 

8. Out of stock item 

It’s a total bummer when you’re excited about a product only to find out that it’s out of stock. In these cases it’s pretty normal for customers to reach out and inquire about when something might be back in stock. 

For these types of requests, it’s best to give any information that you can. For example, if you know when a restock will happen, tell them. If it’s something that won’t be back, it’s good to share that information. Also, if you have a waitlist, offer to add them to it. No matter the case, be sure to err on the side of caution. If you promise something will be back and it doesn’t happen, you’ll only compound the issue. 

These responses tend to be pretty simple, but it might go something like this:

You have great taste 🙂 Unfortunately, at the moment that item is out of stock. We don’t have a specific timeline on when that item will be back, but we are collecting a waitlist and I’m happy to add you to it and you’ll be notified when it’s available. 

Also, I know it’s not exactly the same, but <other item> is also a great product and could help fulfill your needs. You can learn more about it here <link to item>. 

Moving forward 

Customer complaints are a reality for every business. How you handle those requests can directly affect the viability of your business. Be thoughtful and solution-oriented, and you’ll be on the right path.

If you want even more pointers on how to handle particularly difficult customers, check out our related article, How to Deal with Difficult Customers .

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After spending a few years working as a support agent, Jesse made the switch to writing full-time. He is a Help Scout alum, where he worked to help improve the agent and customer experience.

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Customer complaints: The complete guide

Customer complaints aren’t ideal, but they can help improve your business. Here’s how to handle them in an impactful way.

• Retention program

Customer complaints are an unavoidable aspect of running a business. No matter how good or bad your services are, you will still receive complaints about 1 aspect of what you do at some stage. Complaints can be frustrating to deal with and may even feel daunting to deal with, however, dealing with them in the right manner will foster loyal relationships with your customers and establish your operation as a trustworthy brand. 

You need to know what to do when receiving complaints, how to find a viable solution, and how to ensure your customer is happy with the outcome in order to be competitive in today's market.  Remember a loyal customer is an invaluable asset, while an unhappy customer can cause huge reputational harm to your business.

What are customer complaints?

Customer complaints are issues raised by consumers regarding the goods or services they have purchased from your organization. Customer complaints are common across sectors, and knowing how to handle them is crucial when selling goods and services. Incorrect handling of customer feedback and complaints can drive your clientele directly into the arms of your competitors, as they will look for alternative solutions for their needs if they do not feel valued by your organization. 

Customer complaints are also a valuable resource for a company to use. You can listen to your dissatisfied customers and take what they say into consideration when developing new or improving your current goods and services. For example, if you run an e-commerce website and you regularly receive negative feedback about the website’s slow loading, you will then know that speeding up the website will improve your customer's experience and secure their business for the foreseeable future.

Why do customers complain?

In order to gain a proper understanding of customer complaints and how you should handle them, you need to first be well acquainted with the motivations behind a customer making a complaint. Understanding the motivations behind different types of customer complaints allows you to find a solution that benefits the customer without disrupting your operations. Understanding the reasons behind a complaint can also help you to sift through the complaints and find the ones that are worth listening to.

Customers usually complain when there is a gap or misunderstanding between their expectations of your goods and services versus their experience of using them. As a result, customer complaints are largely intertwined with how customers expect your offerings to be compared to how they feel after paying. To gain an understanding of how a given customer expects your offerings to be, requires you to understand the following types of customers:

Disgruntled : Customers who are angry, frustrated, and unhappy 

Loyal : Customers who are repetitive and have strong habits formed around your goods or services 

Satisfied : Customers who are happy, friendly, and polite toward your company

Curious : Need assistance finding what they want and will ask basic questions to understand your offerings

Demanding: Customers with very high expectations and are often impatient

Consumer complaints are not always bad for business. Here’s why

Customer complaints offer crucial insights into pain points and issues with a company’s products and services. A number of large corporations conduct expensive paid research and focus groups to identify mistakes and find potential issues with their offerings. However, by listening to upset customers, you can get the same value from the people offering free insights after paying you for goods and services.

According to Lee Resource International, only one in twenty-six unhappy customers actually voice their complaints, so when they do, you should act on it. It is not every customer who will complain where there is an issue, many will instead vote with their feet instead. As a result, you should cherish every customer complaint as an opportunity to retain the customer and prevent them from complaining about your services, driving more customers to your competitors.  Also, Microsoft research states that 95% of customers cite customer service as important in their brand choice and loyalty . 

The manner in which you deal with upset customers also has a significant impact on how the complainer will then act. When you listen to your customer complaints and take their feedback on board, you can make them feel like their opinion is important to you. Then finding a suitable solution to their complaints shows that you care about how they interact with your goods and services, and it highlights that you have the competence to find solutions specific to their needs. This establishes trust among your customer base, which prevents them from looking for an alternative to your offerings. 

To sum up, here are the three reasons why customer complaints are essential for the growth of a business:

Provides real-time feedback on your products and services. 

Identifies vital areas for improvement in product and service offerings by highlighting gaps in customer expectations and customer needs .

Offers opportunities to strengthen customer relationships and improve loyalty.

Better customer service begins here.

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What are the types of customer complaints?

Being aware of the different types of complaints and common customer complaints helps customer service representatives be prepared to handle angry or difficult customers. This can in turn, help in reducing customer churn and increasing customer retention. Here are the three different types of customer complaints that businesses encounter.  

Product-related complaints

Product-related complaints are related to goods that you have sold to a customer. Product-related complaints typically happen when your product is faulty, does not perform in the manner the customer expected, or is not well fitted for purpose. If your products are damaged on delivery to your customers or are faulty in any other way, you should offer an immediate solution. Typically you can offer a repair, replacement, or a refund. 

Prioritize repairing or replacing the faulty product, as this allows you to keep the money given to your business, even if your profits are reduced. However, if the customer is very displeased, offering a refund can protect your reputation and prevent harmful word-of-mouth influences. 

If the customer complaint is related to the product not meeting their expectations, you need to discuss the issue with the customers to find out what they expected from your product and where it fell short. Perhaps your advertisements were misinterpreted by the customer leading to a misunderstanding, or maybe you need to make adjustments to any instructions included with the product or what the actual outcome of the product will be. 

Service-related complaints

Service-related complaints can arise from a few different sources, including:

Poor execution- If your service is not performed adequately, where you have made mistakes or caused harm, will likely motivate a customer to make a complaint. Poor execution is a complaint you should definitely listen to as if you get a reputation for providing poor quality of service, your business will not last very long. 

Delays- Customers appreciate the timely delivery of services. If your customer expects your services to start by a given date and finish within a certain timeframe, failing to meet these expectations will likely upset them. Some industries are more time-sensitive than others, so take this into consideration when giving your customers timeframe expectations. 

Unprofessional behavior- If you or your staff do not practice professional behavior at all times, it can upset your customers, motivating them to make a complaint. Unprofessional behavior or poor customer service skills will make your clientele feel undervalued, which will motivate them to leave to your competitors. 

Complaints raised due to misunderstanding

The third type of customer complaint centers around misunderstandings. While misunderstandings can feature in the other types of complaints, there are specific complaints that center around customers not fully comprehending what to expect from your goods and services. These complaints can arise from customers misinterpreting your offerings and believing that your product or service will have a better or different impact than the one they received. 

Clarifying your offerings and ensuring that customers can't misunderstand your adverts or listings is crucial for preventing this type of complaint.

How can effectively resolving customer concerns benefit your business?

Effectively handling customer complaints can take your operations to the next level. Here are some of the great benefits you can take advantage of when handling customer complaints:

Increased customer loyalty

When customers believe that you are listening to them when they are unhappy and that you are actively trying to resolve their issues and improve your offerings in the future, the customer will become loyal. They will trust your brand and they will believe that you genuinely try your best to serve your customers to meet their expectations. 

On the other hand, poor customer support can send your customers running to your competitors.

Helps identify key issues

Customer complaints can offer valuable insights into potential issues with your products and services. Identifying issues is crucial for developing high-quality offerings that benefit your customers without causing any inconvenience. Using the complaints you receive to improve how you operate is key in establishing a trustworthy business that retains customers. 

Improved understanding of business space

You get the opportunity to learn more about your customer's standards and expectations within your business space when you receive customer complaints. This allows you to gain insight into industry trends and what your competitors are doing. These insights can help you to identify opportunities for growth, and to identify issues that could face your sector in the coming years.

Brand awareness/reputation

Brand awareness and reputation are arguably the most important aspects of your business. If people associate your brand with high-quality services provided by competent people who are helpful, your business will likely prosper. On the other hand, poor customer experiences will spread through word of mouth, which will deter new leads, and drive away existing customers.

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How to deal with customer complaints?

As a business, it’s essential to have the right processes and technology in place to deal with customer complaints effectively. Here’s how you can go about setting that up:

Simplify the process of reporting a complaint

Maintaining a simple complaint-filing process is a good idea. This ensures the complaint is dealt with in a speedy way, while also ensuring nothing gets mixed up along the way. 

Record customer complaints

Keep a detailed record of every customer complaint you receive. This allows you to check back on them over time so you can find insights into where to make improvements. Keeping records of complaints also offers legal protections, should an unhappy customer try to sue you. 

Track and analyze customer complaints

Track and analyze the complaints you receive so you can find trends in where these complaints are coming from. If you are receiving regular complaints about a particular department or service you offer, it could indicate a systemic issue in your company that needs to be addressed.

The ultimate cheat sheet for common customer complaints

Here’s a cheat sheet containing common customer complaints that you can fix by adjusting your customer service strategy or investing in the right tools and technology.

How to resolve customer complaints?

Satisfactory customer complaint resolution can protect your company’s reputation and, if on a public channel, show other customers and potential customers that you care. Handling customer complaints by taking a thoughtful approach that involves delivering consistent experiences can work out well in your favor. Here’s an effective step-by-step complaint resolution process that you can implement:

Step 1: Respond quickly

The longer your customer has to wait for your reply, the more time they have to get more and more frustrated. This frustration can cause them to leave you for a competitor, so act fast as soon as you hear a complaint. Acting fast makes your customers feel valued, and it shows them that you care, which fosters a trusting relationship and secures repeat business.

Step 2: Sense the tone of the conversation

Tone is an important component when responding to your customer's grievances. If you do not correctly grasp the tone of a conversation, it can lead to misunderstandings and cause further frustration for your customers. For example, you are a mechanic, and a customer has complained to you about a tire you recently replaced going flat, making them late for work. If you correctly read the tone, you will respond to them quickly and find them an easy solution. Maybe you could bring them to work or pay for a cab for them while you repair the damaged tire. 

If you misread the tone, you may neglect the time-sensitive aspect of the issue, causing harm to your reputation with that customer. 

Step 3: Get complete information

If you only know half of the information about an issue, how can you expect to find a comprehensive solution? 

If a customer has made a complaint to you, but you feel there is information missing, or if you are struggling to see why they are unhappy, then ask for more information. Ask the customer questions to find out what they expected from your services, how those expectations were not met, what you could do next time to prevent this issue, and most importantly, whether the problem has happened before. 

If you do discover that the issue has happened before, then you need to prioritize a response that satisfies your customer's needs, as repetitive issues can hurt your brand. 

Step 4:  Provide a solution

Last but definitely not least, find a viable solution to the problem raised by the customer. You can reply quickly to a complaint and offer a response that understands everything about the issue, but if you do not offer a solution, the customer will still feel aggrieved. The whole point of interacting with customer complaints is to find improvements for your goods and services that improve your customers' experience. 

You need to consider what your customer expects or demand from your offerings, and how feasible their request is in terms of cost and time for your business. If you have multiple potential solutions and are unsure about which to choose, bring your customer into the decision-making process by offering them different remedies to their grievances.

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Other best practices for handling customer complaints

Here are some more important practices to implement when handling customer complaints: 

Active listening/communication

Active listening and clear communication is vital when handling customer complaints. You need to listen to their actual complaints to find out what exactly they are unhappy about. This allows you to empathize with the customer and find a solution that satisfies their needs. If you do not actively listen, you may miss key details that can offer valuable insights into how to fix the problem. Not to mention the fact that a customer who feels ignored will likely not come back to you for goods or services. 

Transparency

Customers do not like to feel like they are being scammed or having the wool pulled over their eyes. You need to be honest and transparent with your customers when they are making a complaint. For instance, your customer has complained about a service provided by a staff member of yours who is still in training. If you do not tell the customer that they are in training, they will believe that your services are not up to their standards. 

However, if you inform the customer that the services were performed by an inexperienced member of staff, you can offer them a discount, or you can ensure that only experienced team members work with them in the future. Being transparent about why an issue occurred helps you to find a solution that the customer can understand and is happy with.

Provide staff with proper resources

Providing your customer support team with adequate resources is crucial when handling complaints. The customer support team needs to know what they are allowed to do when resolving issues, and they need to have the information and resources required to serve your customers' needs. For instance, if a long-term loyal customer is making a complaint, your support team needs to know that they are a valued customer who needs to be helped immediately. This information can be offered to your customer support team by keeping profiles of customers with any relevant information included.

Five tips for agents to manage customer complaints better

Here are five important tips to remember when managing customer complaints:

Do not lose your temper or get frustrated, as this will only make the situation worse. If you get flustered, take a deep breath and calm down before responding.

Assure the customer that you’re working to improve

The customer does not automatically know that you are working on a solution, so make sure to tell them repeatedly that you will find a solution in a timely manner. 

Transfer smoothly

When transferring the complaint to a manager or relevant part, make sure the customer is not left to wait for 10 minutes for them to reach the right person.

After finding a solution for the customer, take the time to check in to make sure that their issue has been resolved. Some customers will only complain about something once, so you need to make sure that the solutions you offer work out. 

Learn and move forward

Learn from every complaint you receive and how you dealt with it. Improving the solutions you find for problems will reduce the number of complaints you receive and improve your customers' experience.

Turn customer complaints into compliments with customer complaint software

Dealing with customer complaints efficiently is crucial for maintaining a positive brand reputation and fostering customer loyalty . A customer complaint software like Freshworks’ Freshdesk can help you streamline the process of managing complaints, ensuring a seamless experience for both your customers and agents.

Manage complaints from different channels

Customers may choose to voice their complaints through various channels such as email, phone, social media, or live chat. With Freshdesk , you can centralize all these conversations in a single unified inbox, making it easier for your agents to track and respond to complaints without missing any important details.

Automations for a smoother experience

Freshdesk offers powerful automation capabilities that can help you streamline your complaint-handling process. You can set up workflows to automatically assign complaints to the right agent based on their skill set or the nature of the issue. This ensures that each complaint is handled by the most qualified person, leading to faster resolution times.

Improve inter-team collaboration

Resolving complex customer complaints often requires collaboration between different teams within your organization. Freshworks Freshdesk facilitates seamless collaboration by allowing you to easily loop in relevant team members, share context, and work together on finding the best solution.

Provide options for self-service

Not all customer complaints require direct agent intervention. Freshdesk’s self-service portal empowers customers to find answers to common issues on their own, reducing the load on your support team. You can create a comprehensive knowledge base and integrate it with your support channels, ensuring that customers have access to relevant information whenever they need it

Make data-driven decisions with reporting

Freshdesk’s robust reporting capabilities provide you with valuable insights into your customer complaint data. You can track metrics such as complaint volume, resolution times, and customer satisfaction survey scores. By analyzing this data, you can identify areas for improvement, optimize your processes, and make informed decisions to enhance your overall customer experience.

Customer service software in 2024.

Handle customer complaints with care.

Customer complaints present opportunities for improvement and strengthening customer relationships when handled effectively. By leveraging customer complaint software like Freshworks Freshdesk, you can ensure every complaint is addressed promptly, efficiently, and with the utmost care, transforming potential detractors into loyal brand advocates.

Freshdesk equips your support team with powerful tools to handle complaints seamlessly. Its intuitive interface, transparent communication, and robust reporting capabilities enable agents to respond promptly, analyze recurring issues, implement process improvements, and collaborate cross-functionally to resolve complex complaints comprehensively. With Freshworks as your trusted partner, you can navigate customer complaints confidently, actively listening to customers, empathizing with their frustrations, and working diligently to provide well-rounded solutions that address the root cause of issues, ultimately fostering customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Related resources

Customer service software.

If you’re looking for an alternative to your existing customer service software, or just want to learn more about software for customer support, click here.

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Customer experience software

Click here If you're in search of a comprehensive and adaptable customer experience management software tailored for your business needs.

Customer complaint software

Click here and learn to elevate your customer service with a robust complaint management system. Also, compare the top customer complaint software in 2024.

Frequently asked questions

How should customer complaints be handled.

Handling customer complaints effectively involves prioritizing quick, empathetic, and precise action. Firstly, acknowledge the complaint quickly to show the customer you value their feedback. Next, investigate the issue thoroughly to identify the root cause. Offer a solution that addresses the customer's concern directly and implement it promptly. Finally, follow up with the customer to confirm their satisfaction with how the matter was resolved, reinforcing your commitment to excellent customer service.

What are the three major areas of customer complaints?

The three major areas of customer complaints typically include product-related issues, service-related concerns, and misunderstandings or miscommunications. Product-related complaints may arise from faults, defects, or unmet expectations regarding the product’s performance. Service-related concerns usually revolve around the quality of service delivery, such as delays, unprofessional behavior, or poor execution. Misunderstandings often occur when there is a discrepancy between what was promised or advertised and the customer's experience or perception of the product or service.

How do you get over customer complaints?

After addressing a complaint, it's important to analyze for insights that can help prevent similar issues in the future. This may involve making changes to your product, service, or communication strategies. Cultivating a positive outlook towards complaints as opportunities for growth and improvement is essential. Engage your team in training and discussions about these insights, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and customer-centricity.

What are the 4 steps in the customer complaint process?

Acknowledgment: Acknowledge the receipt of a complaint to let the customer know they are heard and that their issue is being taken seriously.

Investigation: Conduct a thorough investigation to understand the issue from the customer’s perspective, as well as the root cause of the problem. This may involve reviewing related documentation, speaking to staff members involved, or examining the product or service in question.

Resolution: Propose a solution to the customer, ensuring that it directly addresses their complaint. The solution might involve a refund, replacement, or repair that satisfies the customer.

Follow-up: After implementing the solution, follow up with the customer to ensure their issue has been resolved to their satisfaction. This step is crucial for building trust and demonstrates your commitment to providing a high level of customer service.

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Handling Customer Complaint with 11 Best Ways!

In the dynamic world of business, knowing how to handle customer complaints is not just a skill; it’s a strategic advantage.

Understanding the different types of customer complaints and the importance of addressing them effectively is the cornerstone of building strong customer relationships.

Handling customer complaints might seem overwhelming, but it’s a crucial part of running a business.

When businesses quickly and efficiently deal with customer complaints, they can make their products or services better, make customers happier, and ultimately, make their business bigger.

Go see this article that might help you find out how to handle customer complaints precisely!

What is Customer Complaint?

A customer complaint is when a customer is dissatisfied with something they bought or experienced, like the quality, service, delivery, or price.

These complaints can happen over the phone, through email, on social media, or in person. Research by Esteban Kolsky found that 91% of dissatisfied customers don’t even complain ; they just leave.

That’s why businesses should work hard to quickly and effectively deal with complaints to keep their customers happy and loyal.

The Importance of Handling Customer Complaints

Let’s dive into why handling customer complaints is so important for any business.

1. Improving Customer Satisfaction

When a customer takes the time to complain, they’re giving you a chance to make things right. Resolving their issue promptly and effectively can turn a dissatisfied customer into a loyal one.

Happy customers are more likely to come back and spread positive word-of-mouth about your business.

2. Retaining Customers

Statistics show that it’s far more cost-effective to keep existing customers than to acquire new ones.

When you address complaints well, you reduce the chances of losing valuable patrons. It’s like building a sturdy foundation for your business growth.

3. Product and Service Enhancement

Customer complaints often point out real problems with your products or services. They’re like a roadmap to improvement.

By paying attention to these complaints, you can refine your offerings and make them even better, thus staying competitive in the market.

4. Enhancing Reputation

In today’s interconnected world, news, good or bad, travels fast. Handling complaints professionally and efficiently can boost your reputation.

Customers appreciate companies that care about their concerns, and this goodwill can help you weather storms and maintain a positive image.

5. Customer-Centric Approach

Prioritizing customer complaints sends a clear message that you value your customers.

It’s a reflection of your commitment to providing exceptional service. This customer-centric approach can set you apart from competitors.

6. Learning Opportunity

Each complaint is a learning experience. It provides insights into what went wrong and how to avoid similar issues in the future.

This continuous learning process can help your business evolve and adapt to changing customer needs.

7. Building Trust

Trust is the foundation of any successful business relationship. When you address complaints honestly and effectively, you build trust with your customers.

Trust leads to loyalty, and loyal customers can be your most vocal advocates.

Customer complaints may not be the most pleasant part of running a business, but they are undeniably vital.

They offer opportunities for growth, improvement, and building lasting customer relationships. Embrace them as stepping stones to success, and you’ll find that your business thrives in the long run.

Type of Customer Complaints

Customers can have various types of common complaints. Here are some examples:

• Product Problems : When there are issues with a product’s quality, durability, or how it works.
• Service Concerns : When customers feel they received poor service or the company wasn’t responsive.
• Billing and Payment Issues : Complaints about billing mistakes, incorrect charges, or payment problems.
• Delivery Problems : Issues with delivery times, shipping costs, or damaged or missing items.
• Technical Support Troubles : Complaints about issues with technical support or getting help with issues.
• Online Service Complaints : When customers face issues with online services like website issues, order troubles, or account issues.
• Discrimination or Harassment : Complaints about mistreatment or discrimination by employees or other customers.
• Social and Environmental Concerns : Complaints related to a company’s impact on society or the environment, such as labor practices or sustainability.

How to Handle Customer Complaints?

Handling customer complaints effectively is crucial. Here are steps to take:

• Listen Actively : Listen to the customer’s complaint without interruptions to understand their issue better.
• Apologize: Acknowledge their frustration and apologize for the inconvenience, showing you take their concern seriously.
• Take Ownership : Assure the customer you’ll resolve the issue, building trust and commitment.
• Be Empathetic: Show understanding and empathy to de-escalate the situation and make the customer feel heard.
• Find a Solution : Identify the problem’s cause and offer a fair solution, like a refund or replacement.
• Follow Up : Check with the customer to ensure satisfaction and gather feedback.
• Keep Records : Maintain complaint records for future reference and pattern recognition.
• Use Feedback : Analyze complaints to improve products or services and enhance the customer experience.
• Be Patient : Stay calm when dealing with upset customers, maintaining professionalism.
• Stay Positive : Thank the customer for their feedback, showing willingness to assist.
• Use Technology : Utilize CRM software to manage and track complaints, improving problem-solving processes and identifying trends.

Also Read: Understanding What is CRM Software

Customer Complaints Examples

Customer complaints are not roadblocks but stepping stones to improving your services and building stronger customer relationships. We’ll examine common customer complaints and provide you with actionable, customer-centric responses.

To help you understand better about where is the customer complaints come from, here are some common examples that businesses should be aware of:

1. Long Wait Times

Customers want quick responses and dislike waiting. Lengthy customer support hold times can lead to complaints and potential customer loss.

Studies show that after about two minutes, many customers hang up, and 34% won’t call back.

To avoid that worst case, this response template might help you:

Dear [Customer’s Name], I’m sorry to hear about your wait time on our customer support line. We understand your time is valuable, and we’re actively working to improve our response times. We appreciate your patience. Best regards, [Your Name]

2. Out-of-Stock Products

While selling out is usually good, it can also lead to complaints if customers can’t find what they want. Keeping product stock levels high is vital to avoid this issue.

The response you can take for this issue is:

Hello [Customer’s Name], We apologize for the inconvenience of our product being out of stock. We’re doing our best to restock it quickly to ensure you can get what you need. To cure your worries, we will contact you if the product has been restocked. Thank you for your understanding. Warm regards, [Your Name]

3. Delayed Deliveries

Customers expect speedy product or service delivery. While delays happen, informing customers about them can lead to positive feedback and fewer complaints.

You can assist this issue with this response:

Dear [Customer’s Name], We’re truly sorry for the delay in your delivery. We’re investigating the cause and will do our best to prevent it from happening again. If there’s anything we can do to assist you during this delay, please let us know. Sincerely, [Your Name]

4. Defective or Damaged Products

Poor-quality products or services, like damaged items or inaccurate descriptions, often trigger complaints. Checking for defects or damage before selling is crucial.

To handle this situation, you can respond to this complaint with this following template:

Hello [Customer’s Name], We apologize for the quality issue you encountered. We’re committed to making this right. We’ll either replace the defective product or issue a refund. Please inform us of your detailed order and the contact that we can reach. Your satisfaction is essential to us. Best regards, [Your Name]

5. Poor Service

Customers want satisfying service experiences, but sometimes they encounter the opposite. This includes representative behavior, tone, and timing.

Poor service can make customers feel their needs aren’t met and lead to complaints about your business.

You can fix the poor service issue with this response:

Dear [Customer’s Name], I’m sorry to hear about your less than satisfactory experience with our service. We’re taking steps to improve our service quality, including additional staff training. Your feedback is crucial to us. Warm regards, [Your Name]

6. Repeating Explanations

Customers can get frustrated when they have to explain their problem to a new representative. Paying close attention to customer complaints can prevent these frustrating experiences.

To handle customer’s frustration within this condition, you can reply with:

Hello [Customer’s Name], We understand how frustrating it can be to repeat your concerns. We’re working diligently to improve our internal processes so that you won’t have to go through this again. Thank you for your patience. Sincerely, [Your Name]

7. Diverted Calls

Getting transferred to another number and waiting a long time can be infuriating for customers. They dislike having to explain their issue from scratch to someone new.

For this issue, you can give your best response like:

Dear [Customer’s Name], We apologize for any inconvenience due to call redirection. We’re actively working on streamlining our call routing to ensure a smoother experience for you. Best regards, [Your Name]

8. No Social Media Response

Customers often turn to social media for inquiries and expect quick responses. Treating social media as a customer service channel is vital to avoid customer complaints.

To clean up the mess on this complaint, you can respond to your customers with:

Hello [Customer’s Name], We’re sorry for the delay in our social media response. We’re treating social media as a customer service channel and will respond promptly to your inquiries in the future. Thank you for your feedback. Warm regards, [Your Name]

Also Read: WhatsApp for Customer Service – A Guide for Businesses

9. No Solution on First Call

Customers expect their issues to be resolved in one call. Most complaints can be fixed during the first call, and failing to do so can lead to more complaints.

This issue can be taken care of with:

Dear [Customer’s Name], We regret that we couldn’t resolve your issue during your first call. We’re enhancing our training and support processes to increase the likelihood of first-call resolutions in the future. Sincerely, [Your Name]

Also Read: Understanding What is Call Centre

10. Lack of Follow-Up

Neglecting to follow up on customer complaints can lead to more dissatisfaction and additional complaints as customers feel their issues are forgotten.

To get your customer’s trust back, this template might help you:

Hello [Customer’s Name], I apologize for not following up on your previous complaint. We’re implementing a system to ensure we proactively check on the resolution of all customer issues. Your feedback is essential in helping us improve. Best regards, [Your Name]

11. Requests for New Products or Features

Occasionally, customers may request additional products or features if your current offerings don’t meet their needs. This can be an opportunity to enhance your product or service based on customer feedback.

To handle this issue, you can respond to your customer with this reply:

Dear [Customer’s Name], We appreciate your input regarding additional products or features. Customer feedback like yours helps us grow and meet your needs better. We’ll consider your suggestion in our future product development. Sincerely, [Your Name]

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8 Tips On How To Handle Customer Complaints (Plus How To Solve Them)

Expert Writer

Brayn Wills is an experienced writer passionate about customer service and relationship building. His expertise encompasses help desk management, customer communication, AI chatbots, knowledge management, lead generation, and more.

Do you know what makes big brands like Amazon, Apple, and Samsung exceptional?  

Besides their high-quality products, what really makes people stick to these brands is how brilliantly they handle customer complaints. 

Dealing with customers is an art that requires perseverance and patience, more than anything else. So, whether you are a month-old startup or a multinational corporation, there is only one mantra that can keep your business growing, and that is: 

Take every complaint as an opportunity to win customers for life!

While some customers will be easy to please, some will give you sleepless nights, ready to pounce on you at a single instance of inconvenience, and vent their frustration on social media. 

Feels familiar? 

Fret not as this blog is here to guide you on handling customer complaints gracefully and analyzing them to gain front-line insights. 

Let’s turn every complaint into a golden opportunity to bring customers closer to your business!

Table of Contents

What are Customer Complaints? 

Customer complaints signal a customer’s disappointment with a business. They show a disconnect between what customers are promised and what they actually receive. This gap is often a result of faulty products, inadequate customer support, or sometimes even baseless assumptions from customers’ end. 

Customer complaints pinpoint problems that you never knew existed and can help you gain front-line insights into what customers prefer and what they don’t. 

For example, when a customer expresses disappointment regarding a delayed response on social media or any other channel, it is a formal complaint. Such complaints show that customers value fast responses over anything else, so you can take timely steps to turn your support process more efficient. 

Below is an example of a customer expressing disappointment when not provided access to TV on a flight of 4 hours.

Types of Customer Complaints 

Customer complaint handling is a challenging process. Knowing the different types of customer complaints will certainly help you devise the right strategy and use the right tactics for a delightful customer experience .

Let’s look at the common types of customer complaints that your support team may have to deal with.

2. Product-Related Complaints

These complaints are about a faulty feature or missing functionality in a product. Such complaints are also raised when customers are confused about working with your product. 

How to handle this complaint? 

If the complaint is about a faulty product or feature, dig further into the problem to understand what is wrong. If the product is really defective, get it replaced with a fresh one immediately. If there is a problem with a feature, see if your tech team can resolve the issue or guide the customer on how to correct it.

2. Long Wait Time

Customers expect instant gratification regardless of how a complaint is raised – via call, email, ticket, or social media. In fact, for 12% of customers , lack of speed is the number one cause of frustration. This figure can translate into mind-boggling numbers if not dealt with on time. 

Take a step back and identify the workload of your agents. Are your agents always drowned in an ocean of customer complaints across channels? If yes, that means your small team is not enough to handle the heavy workload. Consider hiring more agents for a fast and efficient support process. 

You can also adopt tools like an online knowledge base , live chat , and help desk . Club them to automate menial tasks and streamline the support process for maximum efficiency.

3. Product Delivery Complaint

Delay in delivery is one of the most common concerns of customers who purchase products online. The website promises delivery within 2 to 3 days, but in reality, it takes over a week for a product to reach the customer. The matter gets even worse when the product is delivered to the wrong address. This can be true even for companies that offer same-day delivery services.

This shows a disconnect between what a company promises and what the customers receive. 

Your support team should immediately report these issues to the concerned department and ensure that the delivery is fast-tracked. Find out what is causing such delays and problems in the product delivery. Were there any transit issues? Was the product not dispatched on time? Once the issue comes to your attention, convey it clearly to the customer and immediately speed up the delivery process. Reassure customers that you will take extra care of product deliveries in the future.

4. Repeating Problems 

Suppose you are frustrated about something and have to explain the issue to multiple people. You take deep breaths every single time to don’t lose your cool. Now think of your customers in a similar situation. 

Around 72% of customers call customer service “poor” if they have to repeat their issues multiple times to multiple people. The need to repeat issues arises due to two reasons. First, when a service rep doesn’t heed the customer’s complaint. Second, when customers are transferred from one agent to another their time holds no value. 

How to handle this complaint

A sure-shot way to handle such situations is to avoid transferring the customer to different agents. The transfer process is tedious and ends up frustrating customers even more. Instead, see if you can contact the subject matter expert internally and solve the problem without the painful call transfers. 

A better solution would be to invest in help desk software . Modern help desk tools come with a round-robin ticket assignment system that automatically distributes customer complaints to agents who are best suited to handle them. It’s the best way to delegate work and ensure that agents are neither overwhelmed nor under-utilized.

5. Impolite Agents 

Customer support reps are always at the frontline, representing your brand and talking to customers on your behalf. So, when they don’t seem fully invested in a customer, they put your brand’s reputation at stake. When reps talk in an uninterested tone, fail to resolve complaints or meet customers’ sky-high expectations, they send a message that your company doesn’t care enough. 

First of all, when such issues are reported, ensure that you gather enough details before coming to conclusions. Criticizing your reps is not going to solve the problem. Instead, reintroduce them to your company’s service quality standards and, if possible, provide them the required training to prevent such issues in the future. Explain that they are your company’s ambassadors, so their tone, body language, and how they deal with problems have a deep impact on your reputation. 

Aside from these, you may encounter many other types of complaints on lack of follow-ups, out-of-stock products, and even the most minor issues that concern customers. 

Now, before we learn about how to deal with customer complaints, let’s understand how we should analyze them in the first place.

How to Analyze Customer Complaints 

No customer can ever be 100% satisfied . That means complaints will keep flowing, no matter how hard you try to keep customers happy. 

Complaints are inarguably a great way to gain valuable pieces of feedback that help you improve and grow your business . 

But to turn every complaint into a growth opportunity, you must analyze it to the core. 

The first step of complaint analysis is to ask the right questions and get the right answers. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself and your team to gain deeper insights into customers’ pain points: 

• How frequently do we receive a particular complaint? 
• Which channels do customers use to raise complaints? 
• What type of complaints do we receive the most? 
• Which departments do the complaints belong to? 
• Have the resolutions provided in the past worked for customers? 
• Has the support team recorded these resolutions in the self-service help center ? 
• How complex and urgent is this complaint? 

A rigorous analysis will help you find and fix the root cause of the complaints, identify patterns, and take practical steps to reduce customer complaints.

8 Tried and Tested Tips for Customer Complaint Resolution 

All growth-focused businesses have one thing in common. They constantly face the question – “How to handle customer complaints?” gracefully and win customers for life. 

If you are also one of these businesses longing for the right answer to this question, we’ve got you covered. Here are ten proven tips and tricks to successfully handle customer complaints.

1. Acknowledge the Problem & Accept Your Mistake  

Understand that a customer who lodges a complaint is already frustrated. Such challenging situations can make or break your brand image. One mistake can fan their frustration, and in a moment, you will find customers vowing to end the partnership forever. 

The very first thing you should do at this point is to keep your cool. Pay attention to what your customers have to say, acknowledge the problem, accept your mistake, and most importantly, don’t hesitate to apologize. 

Be it life or business; a simple apology has the power to mend even the most complex problems. 

A simple statement such as – “Thank you for reaching out to us. We apologize for the inconvenience caused. Rest assured that we are looking into the problem and will get back to you at the earliest” can work wonders. 

Such a positive attitude portrays you as an organization that takes ownership of its actions and is ready to do whatever it takes to win back its customers.

2. Ask the Right Questions to Gain Clarity on the Issue

If you do not have complete clarity on customers’ pain points, how can you solve them? 

When customers come to you for help, let them speak their hearts out. Take note of everything they say and dig deeper into the matter by asking relevant questions. This will help you get to the depth of the matter and find an appropriate solution for the problem. 

For example, suppose a customer comes to you complaining about a poor support experience. In this case, you can put up questions like: 

• Can you point out instances where you felt the support rep wasn’t at his best behavior?
• How much did you have to wait on call to finally connect with our support representative? 
• How many support reps did you speak with during the call? 
• Did the agent provide you with a solution to your problem, and were you satisfied with the response? 

Asking the right questions also give customers an impression that you genuinely care about their problem. 

Customers come to you heavy-hearted, loaded with frustration, and leave light-hearted with the assurance that their complaints will be resolved.

3. Identify the Customer Type & Respond Accordingly 

Every customer is different, and therefore your strategy to handle their complaints should also be different. 

The way no two snowflakes are alike, no two customers can be the same. 

Some customers do not hesitate to express their disappointment openly. Others are bold enough to quit your business completely without any complaints. Some reach out only when things go over their head, and then there are those who don’t get tired of contacting you for basic problems. 

These are just a few types of customers that you might have to deal with. You will have to understand their behavior and thought process and accordingly set the tone and flow of the conversation. 

For example, being polite and empathetic always works with customers who criticize openly. Those who contact you frequently for minor issues should be handled with patience. Try to stay calm even if you have to answer the same questions multiple times. You never know they might end up becoming your brand advocates!

4. Share Self-Help Articles With Customers for Quick Complaint Resolution 

It is believed that self-help is the best help. 

According to HBR, 81% of customers like to resolve issues on their own. This means they seek support only when things go out of control. 

While self-service is super quick, other forms of support such as phone calls, social media, and ticketing are not as fast. You might have heard tales of slow customer service on social media, right? 

There is a way you can speed up the complaint resolution process. Whenever a customer comes to you with a complaint, instantly share the link of a relevant self-help article over chat, social media, or even in your ticket responses. You don’t have to manually type the solution or repeat it multiple times on call. 

Introduce customers to the right self-help article, and the complaint will be resolved in no time! The more you promote self-service , the easier it will be to handle customer service complaints, or even better, reduce their number in the future.

5. Take Regular Follow-Ups

Following up is an important step in customer service complaint handling.

There are two benefits of taking regular follow-ups. One, you have complete clarity on whether or not the solution you provided is of real help to customers. And second, it reflects positively on your brand. Follow-ups reassure customers that their concerns are of top priority to you. 

While following up with customers, reiterate the issue and the solution once again to ensure everyone is on the same page. Apologize again for the inconvenience caused to the customer. It is also a good time to solicit their feedback on the support experience and reassure them that such issues will not happen in the future. 

For example, after a day of solving the complaint of a faulty product, contact the customer again, and ask: 

“Hi XYZ, we recently received a complaint from you regarding a faulty product. We hope that the issue is resolved. Are you happy with the product replacement?” 

“Hi XYZ, this is about your complaint raised on XXX. We would like to know if the new product is working to your expectations. And if there is anything we could do to help you.” 

When customers feel cared for and attended to, they are likely to stick to your company even after all the inconvenience they had to endure initially.

6. Document the Solutions in Your Knowledge Base 

If you are wondering how to handle complaints that are raised frequently by customers, here’s what you need to do. 

When you resolve customer issues, document them in your online knowledge base. 

When you create detailed knowledge base articles on each customer issue you receive frequently, it reduces the chances of customers contacting you for the same problem repeatedly. The next time customers face a similar issue, they can visit your knowledge base and find the solution right away. 

While this promotes self-service in customers, it also saves your support team considerable time and effort in answering the same questions repeatedly. 

At a time when customers’ inclination for self-service is rapidly increasing, it makes sense to record all recurring customer issues along with their solutions in your knowledge base.

You can employ knowledge-base software to document all customer issues in a centralized help center . Support agents can record tickets and their responses, structure the articles to make them readable, and ensure that the knowledge base covers all crucial customer concerns. 

With no specialized training required to use a knowledge base software , your support reps can quickly set it up and start using it for customer self-service and complaint resolution.

7. Offer an Effective Plan of Action

How to respond to customer complaints in the very first instance? 

First contact resolution depends on a lot of factors, one of them being the type of complaint you receive and whether or not you have an immediate solution for the same. 

There will be times when your support reps will not have an immediate response to provide. 

Does that mean you should let your customers walk away? No, right? 

In such situations, your support reps have to play smartly. Instead of responding negatively, they can ask customers for some time to look into the matter and provide them a plan of action stating how and by when the matter will be resolved. 

If you know that a particular problem is beyond your control and you don’t have the means to solve it, convey it politely to your customers. Detail the steps you would be taking and reassure them that you will put in your best efforts to address the concern. 

Set the right expectation from the get-go, so there is no room for later disappointment. 

8. Deploy a Ticketing Tool to Streamline the Complaint Resolution Process

Handling customer complaints, one after the other, can be messy and frustrating-inducing. 

Often, the support process gets too complicated, and crucial matters go unnoticed. Even the quality of responses customers receive takes a hard hit when reps have to handle multiple complaints simultaneously. 

While small teams prefer using Gmail to keep track of customer complaints, a ticketing tool is a better choice when your customer base expands. 

Modern ticketing systems bring all your support tickets to a shared space, where agents can easily manage and track them. With a round-robin ticket assignment system, tickets are automatically distributed to relevant support reps best suited to handle them. 

This way, complaints in the form of tickets are routed to the right agent with relevant expertise for instant resolution. Agents can monitor the status of each complaint, prioritize them as per urgency, and ensure that every customer gets equal attention. 

Here is a short video that explains how a ticketing system works.

What is a Customer Complaint Management System? 

A customer complaint management system is an online platform for end-to-end complaints management. From consolidating customer requests on a centralized dashboard to tracking, prioritizing, and resolving them, this system provides a 360° solution for complaint management. 

It automates manual tasks such as ticket assignment and gives agents a transparent picture of important and not-so-important complaints, resolved and pending complaints, and a lot more. With such transparency, agents can keep a firm track of every customer grievance from the time they are raised until they are completely addressed. 

Deploying this robust system can make customer service complaint handling fuss-free and straightforward for your support team. Here’s how: 

• It allows you to go one step further and share surveys to capture valuable customer feedback . 
• You also get the option to create online FAQs and a knowledge base to promote self-service and reduce the inflow of customer complaints. 
• It helps you provide support across multiple channels, including emails, chat, and ticket forms. 
• You can easily track agent performance and support process efficiency with built-in reports. 

It’s Time to Turn Customer Complaints into Compliments 

No matter how hard you try, customers will always have a reason to complain. While some customers will be patient enough to listen to what you have to say, others will not leave a chance to spoil your name on social media. 

Does that mean you should run away from complaints? 

Running away is the trait of the faint-hearted. In the business world, you can survive only if you are strong enough to handle these complaints gracefully and turn them into growth opportunities. 

And it all starts with acknowledging the issue and apologizing even when you are not wrong. Identify the root cause of complaints by asking the right questions, take regular follow-ups, and deploy customer service tools and be ready to do whatever it takes to keep your customers happy. 

In the end, it all boils down to one thing – how you treat customers today determines how well they will treat you tomorrow. 

So take every step cautiously, follow the above-mentioned tips and use complaints to win customers for life.

About the author

Brayn Wills

Brayn Wills is an experienced writer passionate about customer service and relationship building. His expertise encompasses help desk management, customer communication, AI chatbots, knowledge management, lead generation, and more. Brayn provides practical strategies to enhance customer satisfaction and drive business growth. His work has been published in publications like GetFeedback, CustomerThink, and Apruve.

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Complaints Training

Boost customer satisfaction and retention with this in-house course

Handling Customer Complaints

It is vitally important to handle a customer complaining about your service or products empathetically.

In addition, a strong communication structure is required, in order to stay in control of the conversation and to achieve a successful outcome. Crucially, a customer complaint well handled can win you a lifelong customer, who remains loyal to your organisation.

However, complainants displaying difficult behaviour can be as challenging for the recipient to manage as the complaint itself. As a result, we offer some tips for dealing with difficult behaviour , to help appease these difficult situations.

Here are some practical tips for effectively dealing with customer complaints:

1. Actively listen and makes notes

Concentrate solely on what the customer is telling you. Make notes of the key facts and their concerns, so that you have a record of the conversation to refer to in the future.

Importantly, don’t interrupt the customer, stay calm and in control. Above all, remember that you are representing your organisation and they are not “having a go at you personally”.

In a supportive but concerned tone of voice you can demonstrate you are actively listening and empathetic to the customer. For example, use a few small statements such as “right”, “oh dear”, “I’m sorry to hear that”, “that must have been disappointing”, as well as paraphrasing what they have told you.

Need help? Try our customer service training .

2. Acknowledge the customer’s concerns and thank them

At the appropriate time during the conversation, when there is a natural pause for example, recognise the level of distress this may have caused them. In addition, thank the customer for bringing this matter to your attention. Importantly, this will demonstrate that you are concerned and want to put the matter right or resolve the situation.

3. Apologise for the impact or the inconvenience caused

You may also need to empathise with the complainant concerning the failure to deliver the level of service expected, where appropriate. By saying ‘sorry’ you are again demonstrating to the customer that you are genuinely apologetic that this has happened to them and showing that you wish to put things right.

4. Ask questions and summarise your understanding

Remember to seek permission from a customer who is very angry, to ask questions. As a result, you can then collect all of the facts needed to understand what has happened and to identify how best to resolve the situation.

Ask a combination of open (“what”, “how”, “who”, “why”, “where” and “when”), as well as closed questions (for example, “did you?”, “is he?” Importantly, this will confirm the key facts and glean the information you need. Then summarise your understanding back to the customer to ensure you are clear of the facts. In addition, give the customer the opportunity to share any further facts they may have omitted.

5. Agree and explain the actions you will take as a result of their complaint

Ensure that you only commit to the steps you have the authority to take. For example, explain what you will personally undertake to resolve the complaint, including when you will get back to them.

Remember to be realistic about timescales – do not over promise. It is always better to under promise and over deliver, rather than the other way round. Take ownership of the complaint, but should you need to involve a colleague, explain to the customer who will be in contact with them, their name and job role.

6. Ask for feedback on the next steps

Check that the customer is happy with the suggested actions you have committed to. Where appropriate, ask the customer if there is anything further that they think you could do at this stage to help them.

7. Action the agreed next steps and follow up

Review actions in line with your organisation’s procedures. You should then:

• Record the complaint
• Ensure that all actions have been taken and no details missed
• Send a “thank you” letter or email to the customer confirming that everything has been done as promised
• Inform your team leader or manager who may wish to offer compensation, or complimentary additional services or products, by way of an apology to the customer or…
• Put measures in place to recognise the customer in a special way, next time they use your company’s products or services.

8. Assess preventative measures

Finally, review procedures with your team leader or manager to ensure future mistakes are not made and you learn from each complaint to enhance your customer service experience.

To help team leaders and managers develop their problem solving skills you may find our tips on developing your creativity helpful.

About the Author

Kim Larkins , MCIPD is Company Founder of KSL Training. Kim has 30 years training and HR management experience in the Retail, Hospitality and Pharmaceutical industry.

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A Better Answer Blog

How to handle customer complaints the right way.

by Jessica Brown , on Jul 25, 2019 11:22:39 AM

If you work in customer service or more specifically, a call center , chances are you've dealt with customer complaints before. And if you haven't, don't worry, your time is coming.

Customer complaints range from people who are mildly annoyed to those who are in a rage, and you have to know how to effectively deal with each one to resolve the situation, make the customer happy, and leave them with a good feeling about the company you're representing.

In this article, we look at how you can handle customer complaints to accomplish the above, so you and the customer walk away satisfied at the resolution.

Steps to Handling Customer Complaints

When you get a dissatisfied or angry customer, it's easy for you to lose your cool too, which only worsens the situation. However, you can make the interaction go more smoothly if you keep these tips in mind.

• Stay Calm If you have an angry customer, the last thing you want to do is to worsen the situation by becoming irate yourself. This is easier said than done because in most cases, the customer is yelling at you or saying nasty things to you. But in reality, they're mad at the company, not you in particular, and it's easy to forget that when you're interacting. So, no matter how upset they are, or what they say, keep a calm demeanor. Often, when they see you react in a relaxed manner, they calm down too. Now, if they're verbally abusive or threatening violence, then you need to politely tell them that behavior isn't justified and that if they don't calm down, you'll have to end the call.

Download: Improve your customer service with these 3 strategies!

• Listen & Empathize To bring a person's level of frustration down, it's essential you listen to their problem and empathize with it. Many times, a person is at the end of their rope, and they feel no one is listening to them about their issue. So, validate their problem and tell them they have a right to be upset about the poor service or the broken item or whatever. You can even share an anecdote about something that went wrong with a service or product you ordered to let them know exactly how they feel. This goes a long way to bringing down the tension so you can solve their issue more quickly.
• Acknowledge the Problem The worst thing you can do is to act like the customer's problem doesn't exist or that it's somehow their fault (even if it is). So, whatever their problem is, treat it the way you'd like to be treated if the roles were reversed. Also, don't offer excuses — they don't want to hear it, instead, accept the problem and apologize for the issue.
• Get the Facts You can't help the customer if you don't have all of the information, so have them to tell you everything that's wrong and how they think it got to that state. The more information you have, the better the solution you can find or at least direct them to the proper department that can solve their particular issue.
• Offer a Solution Don't let the customer go without offering a solution to their problem. Remember, they're calling you because they need help, and if you turn them away without guiding them, you've lost a customer, and they'll be sure to tell everyone about their experience. If you don't have the answer, tell them you'll get it or direct them to someone who does have the answer. And if you can't get the solution right away, offer to call back once you have an idea that can help them. If you can't get them an immediate answer, offer something to compensate them for their problem.; this could be a free month of service, a voucher, or some other kind of token to make the situation better. Lastly, don't offer a solution that won't work to get them off the phone or tell them what they want to hear, because they'll call back with the same problem.
• Thank Them Whether you were able to solve their problem or not during the call, it's essential you thank them for bringing the issue to your attention and make sure they know you value their input. Many people feel large companies don't care about them or the problems they have with a product or service, so it's vital you do all you can to make them feel like they're helping to rectify a problem or making the company aware of a concern.

What to do When the Customer is Irate?

Sometimes, when the customer calls, they are angry to the point they're yelling or using foul language. When this happens, it's difficult to look past their hostility and see the underlying issue.

As mentioned above, one of the best ways to diffuse a situation with an angry caller is to be as kind and respectful as possible and to acknowledge their problem. Don't tell them it's their fault, even if it is, and don't offer excuses.

Also, some customers are more difficult to calm down than others, so when you get one who's difficult, it's helpful to explain that you can't help them if you can't have a respectful conversation about the problem. Acknowledge their anger, but try and bring the tension down so you can better resolve the issue. Most people are okay after they're able to vent their frustrations, however, if you get someone who won't settle down or becomes abusive or threatens violence, explain that you can't continue the conversation if they don't settle down.

Dealing with angry and upset callers is part and parcel of the customer service industry, so it's wise to practice the techniques discussed above to remain calm and talk someone down from their anger and into a productive conversation to get them the help they need. Remember, most people want help and for their issue to be acknowledged, and if you can do those things, you're on your way to diffusing a bad situation and keeping a customer happy.

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AI may not steal many jobs after all. It may just make workers more efficient

The widespread assumption that ai chatbots will inevitably replace service workers, the way physical robots took many factory and warehouse jobs, isn’t becoming reality in any widespread way., by paul wiseman | associated press • published september 2, 2024 • updated on september 2, 2024 at 5:12 pm.

Imagine a customer-service center that speaks your language, no matter what it is.

Alorica, a company in Irvine, California, that runs customer-service centers around the world, has introduced an artificial intelligence translation tool that lets its representatives talk with customers who speak 200 different languages and 75 dialects.

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So an Alorica representative who speaks, say, only Spanish can field a complaint about a balky printer or an incorrect bank statement from a Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. Alorica wouldn’t need to hire a rep who speaks Cantonese.

Such is the power of AI. And, potentially, the threat: Perhaps companies won’t need as many employees — and will slash some jobs — if chatbots can handle the workload instead. But the thing is, Alorica isn’t cutting jobs. It’s still hiring aggressively.

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The experience at Alorica — and at other companies, including furniture retailer IKEA — suggests that AI may not prove to be the job killer that many people fear. Instead, the technology might turn out to be more like breakthroughs of the past — the steam engine, electricity, the internet: That is, eliminate some jobs while creating others. And probably making workers more productive in general, to the eventual benefit of themselves, their employers and the economy.

Nick Bunker, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, said he thinks AI “will affect many, many jobs — maybe every job indirectly to some extent. But I don’t think it’s going to lead to, say, mass unemployment. We have seen other big technological events in our history, and those didn’t lead to a large rise in unemployment. Technology destroys but also creates. There will be new jobs that come about.’’

At its core, artificial intelligence empowers machines to perform tasks previously thought to require human intelligence. The technology has existed in early versions for decades, having emerged with a problem-solving computer program, the Logic Theorist, built in the 1950s at what's now Carnegie Mellon University. More recently, think of voice assistants like Siri and Alexa. Or IBM’s chess-playing computer, Deep Blue, which managed to beat the world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997.

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AI really burst into public consciousness in 2022, when OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, the generative AI tool that can conduct conversations, write computer code, compose music, craft essays and supply endless streams of information. The arrival of generative AI has raised worries that chatbots will replace freelance writers, editors, coders, telemarketers, customer-service reps, paralegals and many more.

“AI is going to eliminate a lot of current jobs, and this is going to change the way that a lot of current jobs function,'' Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, said in a discussion at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in May.

Yet the widespread assumption that AI chatbots will inevitably replace service workers, the way physical robots took many factory and warehouse jobs, isn’t becoming reality in any widespread way — not yet, anyway. And maybe it never will.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers said last month that it found “little evidence that AI will negatively impact overall employment.’’ The advisers noted that history shows technology typically makes companies more productive, speeding economic growth and creating new types of jobs in unexpected ways.

They cited a study this year led by David Autor, a leading MIT economist: It concluded that 60% of the jobs Americans held in 2018 didn’t even exist in 1940, having been created by technologies that emerged only later.

The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which tracks job cuts, said it has yet to see much evidence of layoffs that can be attributed to labor-saving AI.

“I don’t think we’ve started seeing companies saying they’ve saved lots of money or cut jobs they no longer need because of this,’’ said Andy Challenger, who leads the firm’s sales team. “That may come in the future. But it hasn’t played out yet.’’

At the same time, the fear that AI poses a serious threat to some categories of jobs isn't unfounded.

Consider Suumit Shah, an Indian entrepreneur who caused a uproar last year by boasting that he had replaced 90% of his customer support staff with a chatbot named Lina. The move at Shah's company, Dukaan, which helps customers set up e-commerce sites, shrank the response time to an inquiry from 1 minute, 44 seconds to “instant." It also cut the typical time needed to resolve problems from more than two hours to just over three minutes.

"It's all about AI's ability to handle complex queries with precision,'' Shah said by email.

The cost of providing customer support, he said, fell by 85%.

“Tough? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely,’’ Shah posted on X.

Dukaan has expanded its use of AI to sales and analytics. The tools, Shah said, keep growing more powerful.

“It's like upgrading from a Corolla to a Tesla,'' he said. "What used to take hours now takes minutes. And the accuracy is on a whole new level.''

Similarly, researchers at Harvard Business School, the German Institute for Economic Research and London’s Imperial College Business School found in a study last year that job postings for writers, coders and artists tumbled within eight months of the arrival of ChatGPT.

A 2023 study by researchers at Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and New York University concluded that telemarketers and teachers of English and foreign languages held the jobs most exposed to ChatGPT-like language models. But being exposed to AI doesn’t necessarily mean losing your job to it. AI can also do the drudge work, freeing up people to do more creative tasks.

The Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, for example, introduced a customer-service chatbot in 2021 to handle simple inquiries. Instead of cutting jobs, IKEA retrained 8,500 customer-service workers to handle such tasks as advising customers on interior design and fielding complicated customer calls.

Chatbots can also be deployed to make workers more efficient, complementing their work rather than eliminating it. A study by Erik Brynjolfsson of Stanford University and Danielle Li and Lindsey Raymond of MIT tracked 5,200 customer-support agents at a Fortune 500 company who used a generative AI-based assistant. The AI tool provided valuable suggestions for handling customers. It also supplied links to relevant internal documents.

Those who used the chatbot, the study found, proved 14% more productive than colleagues who didn’t. They handled more calls and completed them faster. The biggest productivity gains — 34% — came from the least-experienced, least-skilled workers.

At an Alorica call center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, one customer-service rep had been struggling to gain access to the information she needed to quickly handle calls. After Alorica trained her to use AI tools, her “handle time’’ — how long it takes to resolve customer calls — fell in four months by an average of 14 minutes a call to just over seven minutes.

Over a period of six months, the AI tools helped one group of 850 Alorica reps reduce their average handle time to six minutes, from just over eight minutes. They can now field 10 calls an hour instead of eight — an additional 16 calls in an eight-hour day.

Alorica agents can use AI tools to quickly access information about the customers who call in — to check their order history, say, or determine whether they had called earlier and hung up in frustration.

Suppose, said Mike Clifton, Alorica’s co-CEO, a customer complains that she received the wrong product. The agent can “hit replace, and the product will be there tomorrow," he said. " 'Anything else I can help you with? No?’ Click. Done. Thirty seconds in and out.’’

Now the company is beginning to use its Real-time Voice Language Translation tool, which lets customers and Alorica agents speak and hear each other in their own languages.

“It allows (Alorica reps) to handle every call they get,” said Rene Paiz, a vice president of customer service. “I don’t have to hire externally’’ just to find someone who speaks a specific language.

Yet Alorica isn’t cutting jobs. It continues to seek hires — increasingly, those who are comfortable with new technology.

“We are still actively hiring,’’ Paiz says. “We have a lot that needs to be done out there.’’

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