Customer Service Level 2

Resolve Customer Complaints

Why solve problems or complaints?

In your group, discuss when you last had a complaint or problem with a service or a product you
bought.
 Did you complain?
 If not, why not?
 What happened if/when you did?
 How did it make you feel?

Why monitor customer problems?

To reduce or eliminate further problems
To resolve issues with system failures
To rectify repeat problems
To rectify repeat complaints
To keep informed about services and/or products
To continuously improve

What techniques do organisations use to monitor problems?

Feedback/evaluations
Customer record systems
Monitoring sales
Monitoring returns
Monitoring complaints and problems

Techniques used to monitor customer problems

Different sectors/industries have a variety of ways to monitor problems such as:
 Customer records systems
 Returned products
 Evaluations/feedback
 Sales monitoring

Updating customer records systems/management (CRS or CRM) when customers make complaints
or have problems helps to keep a permanent record. Even positive feedback given by individual
customers should be recorded. This information can be collated and analysed.

Monitoring returned items for common faults or complaints will help establish supplier issues or
product manufacture problems.

Gathering customer feedback/evaluation is a well-established way of generating meaningful

information about service and product breakdown. It will also help to identify potential problems.
Monitoring sales of products and services will help establish trends and highlight slow-moving items.

Are problems always complaints?

NO
Problems are not always complaints, but if not rectified or dealt with effectively then they can
quickly turn into complaints.

Resolutions and their benefits

When a customer has a problem or complaint resolved they feel one or more of the following:
 relief
 satisfaction
 justification
 pride
 Loyalty.
Benefits of finding resolutions
Problems and complaints are a good opportunity for an organisation to critically view and review
their service, offer or product range.
Finding suitable resolutions with customers (internal and external) will create trust, respect and
customer loyalty.
Using effective monitoring techniques will ensure that repeat problems or complaints are reduced or
eliminated.
The result of improving products or services will inevitably improve customer relationships and
profits.

Enhanced business performance

In the previous session we covered ways of monitoring problems and complaints.
Many organisations will create key performance indicators (KPIs). They are designed to measure
strategic goals and objectives. Customer service KPIs are a good tool to measure performance.
For example:
Targets set for how long before a call should be answered
How long calls should take
How many calls in a day/week/month
How many acceptable complaints per month.

Enhanced business performance cont.

The targets are then measured, for example:
 how many were answered within 30 seconds
 how many took 5 mins to conclude
 how many were answered by each person in a day
 How many complaints per month.
Measuring complaints and problems on a regular basis will give an organisation a fuller picture of
the nature and amount of complaints.
This will allow the business to enhance its performance when dealing with complaints. It will help
meet targets, reduce complaints and ultimately improve sales.
It also helps to maintain customer loyalty. Using complaint or problem data helps an organisation
target individuals and/or groups of customers to reach effective resolutions.

Customer loyalty ladder

The customer journey and how they enter the journey via various touchpoints, such as websites,
phone, face-to-face or even social media.
When a customer returns to buy further products/services they begin to show loyalty to the
organisation or brand. This is one of the early stages of the ‘customer loyalty ladder’.

Customer loyalty ladder cont.

Even if a customer has a complaint, this can be turned around so they become a client or even a
supporter of an organisation or brand.
Why is this?
Could it be that the customer’s expectation has been exceeded!
Exceeding expectations can be targeted and measured too!

Negotiating techniques to retain customers

 Retaining customers and turning them into partners or advocates doesn’t just happen: it has
to be worked at.
 If customers are not respected when they have a problem or complaint, they will escalate
the issue higher up the organisation or go to elsewhere, such as Trading Standards, the
press, social media or consumer rights TV programmes.
 Customers often have an idea of what resolution they want to a problem or complaint. This
is even before they take the first step in contacting an organisation or internal department.
 Customer service professionals need to be able to manage this expectation.
 What is the first skill a customer service professional should demonstrate when a customer
complains or has a problem?

Listening
This is the first skill to use when customers approach or make contact with a problem or complaint.
If all the details are listened to and recorded correctly, then the interaction with the customer will be
based on the customers’ perception of the problem/complaint.

Once the problem or complaint has been heard the following skills and techniques should be used.
 Ask relevant questions to confirm understanding.
 Ask the customer what they expect or would like to happen.
 Know if the expectation is achievable.
 Offer alternatives if the expectation is not achievable.
 Prepare for discussion.
 Be ready to compromise.
 Confirm, act and close.

Once a resolution has been reached the following must be implemented:

 share information with interested parties
  record the outcome on the CRS or relevant documents
 monitor and provide feedback about repeated problems or complaints
 analyse information to make recommendations to improve the service or products
 Monitor improvements to see if there is an impact on sales/services.

Recommended support tips:

 YouTube negotiation videos and search engines
 always know your own organisation’s negotiating procedures/limits
 Practise listening and observe others resolving customer problems.

Know how to confirm with customers the nature and cause of problems
When a customer has a problem or complaint, they will be concerned and identifying the nature of
the problem or complaint will depend on their next step.

Customers may ‘let it go’, especially if they are busy or the issue is not costing them money.
Other customers will not ‘let it go’ as the issue is too important to them. This is not always due to
money but sometime due to feelings of ‘fairness’ or ‘justice’.

Any interaction with a customer will involve polite and informative conversation. It will consist of
effective questioning techniques, especially if a customer has a problem or concern.
Asking customers the right questions is a skill that should be practised along with non-verbal skills,
such as facial expressions and posture.

Questioning is a powerful tool when dealing with customer problems and complaints. Using the
correct types of questions will ensure misunderstandings are minimal.
Questions types commonly used with customers:
 open
 closed
 leading
 Confirming.

Problems and complaints

Remember:
 Problems and complaints must be dealt with efficiently and effectively so that all parties are
happy.
 Establishing if a customer has a problem or a complaint is key to ensure things do not
escalate into a worse situation.
 Using effective questioning, confirming techniques and involving the customer in the
resolution will ensure satisfaction.

Authority and legality

Finding resolutions to customer service problems can be easy or difficult. It will depend on the
nature of the problem and the extent of the resolution. In many cases the resolution can be carried
out by the individual dealing with the problem; however in some cases the resolution needs to be
authorised. This may cause drawbacks to the business, such as loss of productivity/time but in the
long run can be the most cost-effective!

The customer loyalty ladder and how customers can move from being customers to partners. This is
every organisation’s ideal type of customer. This can be achieved if the level of response to problems
and complaints is correct; however, the customer service professional should be fully aware of their
level of authority to agree resolutions to problems and complaints. The cost of a resolution both in
‘customer loyalty’ and ‘cost to the business’ terms needs to be carefully managed.

Legislation
Customer service professionals should know and understand the following legislative acts:
 Sale of Goods Act (Sale of goods and services to consumer regulations)
 Sale of Goods and Services Act 1982
 Trade Descriptions Act
 Data Protection Act
 Children and Young Persons Act
 Consumer Credit Act.

Sale of Goods Act (Sale of goods and services to consumer regulations) and Sale of Goods and
Services Act 1982
These two acts relate to the pricing and quality of products and/or service supplied to a consumer.
Goods and services should be fit for purpose, of good quality and as described.
Services must be provided to an acceptable standard and at a reasonable price (if the price was not
agreed in advance).

Trade Descriptions Act

States it is a criminal offence to sell or offer for sale goods that have a false description.
Other relevant consumer legislation:

The Consumer Credit Act which covers cancellation periods, annual percentage rate (APR) and
ownership of goods when one third has been paid
Children and Young person’s Act covers sales of age-restricted products and services.

Data Protection Act

This act relates to the confidentiality of information and who has access to it. It has 8 principles that
data should:
 be obtained lawfully and fairly
 be kept no longer than necessary
 be obtained with the consent of the individual
 be available only to authorised personnel
 be adequate, relevant and not excessive
 be treated confidentially
 be accurate and up-to-date
 Not be transferred to any place without adequate protection.
Legal consequences and drawbacks
If legislation is breached or ignored there will be consequences – both to individuals and to the
business.
Legal consequences:
 fines of thousands of pounds
 the loss of licence to trade or sell certain products or services
 the business being closed down by the courts
 Imprisonment.
The drawbacks of reaching resolutions with customers may include
 productivity/time being lost
 loss of revenue
 Temporary loss of reputation.
However the consequences of not following legal guidelines far outweigh the drawbacks.

Ethics
Apart from legislative regulation, organisations often have an ethics policy. This can be sometimes
be included in a code of practice or even in the company mission/vision statements.
Key principles of an ethics policy include:
 fairness
 trust
 transparency
 ‘Open door’ management systems.

Authority, legalities and ethics

Remember
 Levels of authority must be established in a customer service team. This will avoid possible
conflict with colleagues and customers.
 Legislation must be understood by the customer service professional so that information
and sales of goods or services are within the law.
 Individuals and organisations face prosecution, fines or even prison if found guilty of
breaking these laws.
 Organisations who have an ethics policy will expect the customer service professional to
understand it and work with its principles.

Evaluation techniques and tools

In order for a service to improve organisations have to look within. They have to evaluate the things
they do well and the things they don’t do so well.

SWOT analysis
This an effective way to consider each strength/positive of a resolution reached with a customer, as
well as considering the weakness or negatives of the resolution. Then any opportunities for
improvement and threats can be addressed.
Another technique is using survey/feedback questioning with customers, compiled and instigated by
organisations or market research agencies. This type of data is often called qualitative data.
Interviews (if cost effective) can be useful too.

Other techniques involve analysis of data such as retention and sales figures as well as CRM system
data. This can give an organisation some quantitative data to work on if a complaint/problem is
persistent

Tools used to evaluate effectiveness of resolutions:

 technology is widely used to gather feedback, especially with multi-channel organisations
 telephone surveys are also widely used to conduct evaluation of customers’ experiences
after they have had a complaint resolved
 data analysis and SWOT records are tools which can be used by the customer service
professional to monitor their own effectiveness after reaching resolutions with customers.

Evaluation Techniques
Remember
 Evaluation of customer resolutions will enable an organisation to improve.
 SWOT is a valuable tool to evaluate the successful and less successful aspects of resolutions.
 Qualitative and quantitative data will help to measure outcomes and customer responses.