This document provides guidance on handling customer complaints effectively. It begins by outlining the key learning objectives, which are to understand how businesses receive complaints, what customers expect, and how to handle complaints strategically. It then defines what a complaint is and why customers complain, such as unmet expectations or poor customer service. The document recommends listening to customers, empathizing with their frustrations, apologizing, and taking immediate action to resolve issues. Proper complaint handling can help build trust, loyalty, and improve business practices. Businesses are required to acknowledge complaints in writing within two days and provide a final response within four weeks.

1. Complaint Handling
By DanielleWade

2. By the end of this training session you will be able to:
• Identify a business receives complaints
• Note what to expect from customers when they make complaints
• Identify how to handle customer complaints
• Learn strategies to redeem yourself when you/the company has failed in providing the
level of expected service

3. • What is a complaint?
• Why do customers complain?
• Complaint strategies
• How to handle a complaint
• Ideal complaints procedure

4. What is a complaint?

5. What is a complaint?
An expression of dissatisfaction or
concerns made to a company,
related to its product or services.

6. Why do customers complain?

7. Why do customers complain?
• Their expectations have not been met
• To release their frustration
• To help improve the service

8. Most common complaints
Inaccurate information/ lack of adequate
information
Poor customer service
Overpricing
Delays
System errors
Website/App not user friendly
HiddenT&C’s
WHY DO CUSTOMERS COMPLAIN?

9. The customer is not always right
BUT the customer is the customer and without them, a
business would not survive. So being able to resolve the
customers issue is more important than who is right or
wrong.

10. Complaint
Strategies

11. If a customer complains they are giving you a chance to
retain their business rather than going straight to a
competitor.
A complaint gives us the opportunity to
• Build trust
• Build long term relationships (if we have handled the complaint
correctly in the past they will use the service again as they will
believe that we care about their issues and we welcome their
feedback)
• Highlight any internal service issues/failures

12. How to handle a customer
complaint

13. How to handle complaints
People react in different ways when they receive complaints, some people
may:
• Become angry or annoyed
• Become defensive
• Ignore/avoid it
• Wish the customer would go away
• Not believe the complaint
These reactions are a result of people not liking to be blamed/attributed for
things going wrong

14. How to Handle Complaints
• Remember that when speaking to an
unhappy customer, in their eyes we have
not met their expectations.
When a customer makes a complaint they may
display the following behaviours:
• Unreasonable
• Rudeness
• Emotional
• No social skills
• Disrespectful

15. LISTEN -Listen carefully to your customer.
Don't interrupt or tell the customer to calm down, this will only ignite the anger.
EMPATHISE - Feel the pain of the customer, tell them that you can understand how
they feel.
APOLOGISE - Apologise to the customer, even if you feel that you have no part in the
problem.
Do not blame the customer, but there is no need to take the blame yourself!
REACT - Decide what you will do to resolve the problem, and tell this to the customer.
NOW! - Do not delay.Take immediate action!
The longer you wait, the harder it is to produce outstanding customer service.

16. BELIEVE: Believe your what your customer is saying is true
LISTEN: Don't just hear, listen to your customer.
ADDRESS:Apologise and address the problem
SOLVE: Come to an agreement on how to solve it
THANK:Thank the customer for their business

17. Remember
• Not to take it personally
• Remain calm
• Focus on the problem not the person
• Don’t be defensive
• Stay composed
• Don’t make excuses or blame others in the organisation
• Give the customer your full attention
• Paraphrase the complaint in your own words (clarify) to determine that you understand the complaint
• If you don’t know the solution immediately don’t lie
• Contact them when you say you will, even if you haven’t resolved the issue.
• Tell them what you can do not what you can’t
• Find out what it is that they want to resolve the situation
• Once they agree to a solution – do it immediately

18. So always remember BLAST or LEARN

19. Complaint Procedure

20. Under FCA Regulations an FCA regulated business has to accept a
complaint either by
Verbally
Written
Or
Face to Face
Once a complaint is received, it will be acknowledged in writing via
email/letter within 2working days.
The complaint will be investigated and endeavoured to send a final
response within 4 weeks of receipt of the complaint. If unable to resolve the
complaint in this time a holding letter will be sent, advising when it will likely
be resolved.
A business has up to 8 weeks to send the final response to a customer, if
they are unhappy with the final response they may refer their case to the
Financial Ombudsman (FOS)