The Complaint-Recovery Process
By:Keith Spears
OISM 470W
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Complaint-Recovery
 In this presentation, I will describe and
explain how to properly design and execute
a “complaint-recovery” strategy.
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Complaint-Recovery
 What is the complaint-recovery process?
- a process associated with resolving
complaints
Main focus of Complaint-Resolution Process
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What is a complaint?
 Complaint – anything or everything that
someone does to let someone else know
that they’re needs have not been met.
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Complaint
 Complaints are not always a bad thing.
- people who complain want to be satisfied;
and if you do it right, those same people
who complained to you earlier, will come
back later.
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Complaint
 Take Walmart for example
- has a policy saying that they will replace
anything that was bought from there store
that is broken or defective, as long as they
have it in stock, hassle-free.
- you need no receipt (in most locations)
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Complaint
 My experience with Walmart
- I returned a product that was defective.
- no resistance
- no questions asked
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Complaint-Recovery
 Process involves:
- creating a strategy
- training employees
- implementing strategy
- learning from mistakes
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Creating a strategy
 Accommodation is the best strategy.
- figure out problem
- give what they want or possible
alternative
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Training Employees
 Training your employees is the single most
important aspect in resolving and
recovering from complaints.
- they represent company
- first person to meet with complainant
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Training Employees
 Train your employees to be empathetic
- give a soft, soothing apology
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Training Employees
 Train to listen by communication
- ask questions to discuss the problem
- listen to what the customer is saying
- but do not interrupt or become defensive
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Training Employees
 Thank and Apologize
- thank customer for talking to you
- APOLOGIZE, again
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Training Employees
 Offer solution
- give the customer what they want or
possible alternative
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Training Employees
 Make sure that during training you create
possible situations for the employees.
Like exercises, examples, etc.
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Implementing Strategy
 Properly executing strategy will be easy if
employees know what they are supposed to
do (proper training).
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Learning From Mistakes
 Strategy will not always work.
- must focus attention to those who are not
affected by strategy
- learn through surveys, letters, etc
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Learning From Mistakes
 Annual Customer Satisfaction Surveys
- one way to find out what
customers
think of your products/services.
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Learning From Mistakes
 Ex. Cheung Kong Holdings Goodwell
Property Management
- winners of Hong Kong Management
Association 2001 Quality Award
- adopted “customer suggestion
promotions days”
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Learning From Mistakes
 Performance Measurement Systems are
another way to understand, align, and
improve performance.
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Exercise(Question)
 John had a Playstation 2(PSX) on reserve at
a local Sony store. The day he took it home,
the PSX did not cut on; it was broken(
possibly from shipping or mishandling at
the store). John comes into the store angry,
yelling at the guy to the register, “Where’s
the manager?” To John’s surprise, the guy
at the register is the manager, which is you.
What do you do?
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Exercise(Answer)
 First, you calmy ask John what the problem
is.
- remember always to be kind, calm and
curteous.
- if he continues to yell, continue to listen
but assure him that you can hear; but say it
nicely so not to get him even more upset.
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Exercise(Answer)
 Second, ask John if he’s absolutely sure
that something is wrong with the system
and it’s not something he might be doing.
- now this might upset some people, so let
him know that it’s company policy to ask
those type of questions.
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Exercise(Answer)
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Third, make sure that you know whether or not the
problem can be resolved at that store.
- if the situation cannot be handled in the store,
then you assure John that his problem will be
taken care of as soon as possible and apologize
for the trouble. Then refer to the store’s policy on
the situation.
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Exercise(Answer)
- if the situation can be handled in the store,
apologize to John for his troubles and
immediately replace the broken product.
Apologize to John again and assure him that if any
other problems arise, they will be taken care of at
once. (Because the PSX was so highly anticipated
and costs so much money, you might want to
apologize again and possibly offer some sort of
certificate for Sony products to show that you
really are sorry).
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Exercise(Answer)
 Lastly, you report the problem to your
bosses so that they can properly take care
of the situation. The customer, John, might
not trust expensive Sony products any
more, so you should send him a letter of
apology. You also should send him a card to
fill out to let Sony know how their product is
working, his feelings about purchasing
other Sony products, etc and send it back.
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Conclusion
 This concludes my presentation. I hope that
you have learned something from these
slides. Maybe I could have helped out
where one company might have fell short.
Always remember to focus on your
customers, because your customers pay
the bills in more ways than one!
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