Faculty of Business Administration

UNESCO Department for Business Administration

Complaints and claims management

Course 10
Lecturer Ph.D. Professor Ph.D H.C.
Cătălin Valeriu Curmei Nicolae Al. Pop

Professor Ph.D
Mihaela-Cornelia Dan
Complaints and claims management

Discontent recorded by the customer to the rendered service he/she

acquired and/or to the provider take the shape of:
- complaints
- claims
Complaint

Ø The claim broadly

- includes all levels of dissatisfaction experienced by the customer after

the service intended to satisfy one of his/her specific needs.

Ø The claim in a narrow sense

- is a unilateral act, whereby the dissatisfied customer addresses an

arbitration body (consumer protection organization, public bodies, justice
etc.) to request a compensation for the damage he/she allegedly incurred
as a result of consuming/using or inability of using a product.
Complaint and claim – facets of expressing
customer dissatisfaction

Ø Dissatisfaction/satisfaction is not dichotomy

Ø Categories of satisfaction:

1. bivalent satisfaction
2. monovalent satisfaction

3. monovalent dissatisfaction
Stages of enterprise relations with its customers
I
n
t Satisfied customer
e
n
s Loyal customer
i
t
y
o Enthusiastic customer
f
c
u
s Satisfied customer
t
o
m CUSTOMER
e
r
r
e Oscillating customer
l Potential
a buyer
t
i
“Migratory” customer
o
n
Interested in
s the product “Terrorist”
h
i
p
Discontent customer

Duration of customer relationship

Source: processed after Bruhn, M., 2003
Complaints and claims management issues
Defining
Attitude complaints
towards and claims
complaints and
claims
Supporting
organizational
structures
Support by
electronic
equipment Complaints and
claims Stimulating
management the formulation
of complaints

Control of success in
Taking-over
resolving complaints
Analysis of complaints
and claims
complaints and claims
and claims
 Questions encountered by complaints and
claims management

n by whom are complaints and/or claims formulated?

n which is the subject of complaints and/or claims?

n in what form are complaints and/or claims expressed?

n is the complaint/claim justified?

ndoes the customer correlate the complaint/claim with a
material/financial compensation?
n the response to the complaint/claim falls within the competence of the
enterprise it was addressed to or of third parties?
Customer behavior model in the case of complaints and claims
Comparison
Representation of performance quality
Qualitative Representations of
expectations quality

Satisfaction
Negative discrepancy

Discontent

Change of the bidder

Decision on the Own resolution of discontent

possibilities for
negotiation
Negative advertising “from man to man”

Lack of reaction
Complaint (claim)

Perception of
Expectations the action for
of the complaint
complaint filing Satisfaction following the formulation of
the complaint/claim

Significant negative discrepancy

Discontent following the complaint/claim
Decision
Change of the offerer
Own resolution of the situation created
Negative advertising “from man to man”
Lack of reaction
Main problems of customer orientation

§ stimulating the formulation of complaints;

§ receiving and processing complaints;

§ treatment and handling of complaints;

§ appropriate reactions to the formulation of complaints.

Levels of conducting the management of
customer complaints and discontents
Enterprise level

• Foundations, models and

philosophy
• Enterprise culture

Second level of
management First level of
management
• Improving management
of complaints • Measurement criteria,
• Avoidance, elimination of procedural rules and
the consequences of quality standards
complaints

4 3 2
Staff level

§ Employees as reactive
personnel and actors
§Customers as reactive
personnel and actors
The manner in which the customer complaint
was resolved
n financial compensation (return of the product’s counter value,
granting a price discount of financial coverage of damages etc.);
n material compensation (free repair of the defect reported by the
customer, replacing the defective product, giving a gift to compensate
the damage caused etc.);
n immaterial compensation (explanations of the causes that have led
to the complaint, official apologies from the part of the company to
which the complaint was addressed etc.).