1. POLICY FOR CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
1. Acknowledge their anger and apologise
Whilst you are listening to them, make a note (mentally or written down) of the main
points of their grievance. Once they are finished, thank them for their comments,
acknowledge their anger and apologise.
When you are being shouted at, it’s easy to feel that they are blaming you
personally. It’s extremely rare that this is the case.
But you are representing your company and an apology for the experience they’ve
had whilst using your company, should not be seen as you holding your hands up
and claiming the fault as all your own! The power of the word, “sorry” is immense. An
apology early in the conversation is often the key to managing the call without having
to escalate it.
2. Reassure the customer Use the notes you made whilst listening to demonstrate
that you have a secure grasp on the problem by giving them a précis of what they
have just told you. Mirror some of their (less colourful!) language, keep your tone
measured and calm and ask a closed question at the end to check you have a full
understanding.
By now, the customer should at least be ready to let you help them. Assure them
that is exactly what you’re going to do and explain the realistic options you have
available to you. If the customer wants something that simply is not possible,
apologise, give reasons why this is not an available option and then tell them what
you can do for them.
3. Act Finally, once you have explained what you are going to do to resolve the
customer’s problem, do it. Follow it through and ensure that what you promised is
delivered. Hopefully, by this point, you will have a happy customer who will return to
your company, not to mention a happy agent whose days are a little less stressful!
4. Make it easy to speak to a live agent Communicate the ease and accessibility of
reaching live agents in channels of the customer’s choosing, and prepare and
empower your employees to provide first-contact resolution. Most customers who
say it is hard to deal with a company said it was because their issue was not
resolved the first time they contacted them for service.

2. Self-service certainly has its time and place, but when issues are complex or
frustrating, customers want (and demand) access to live agents. In fact, preference
for live web chat has grown in the last year.
5. Aggressively promote the fact that you want feedback You want to know
when you get it wrong. And, make it easy for customers to contact you and get
immediate access to empowered and empathetic agents. If customers can’t find a
convenient way to give feedback, they may just defect to another company without
saying a word.
6. Use proactive communication Let the customer know about an issue first and
connect them to an agent. Almost all customers say it is appropriate for a company
they do business with to proactively contact them. However, companies must be
sensitive to the reasons and channels they employ, as the vast majority of customers
are not open to anything and everything. You only get one chance, so don’t burn the
bridge by not providing the best agent and technology-based experiences your
customers want and expect.
7. Empathize with the customer The first thing you need to think about when
dealing with complaints is how you would feel if you were the one making the
complaint. Empathy and understanding are paramount to giving good customer
service whether it is in sales, customer service or customer complaints departments.
Allow the customer to vent their feelings and then remind them that you are here to
help them and will do everything in your power to resolve the issue. This gives them
the feeling that you see them as more than just a number on a system and can act to
calm the customer down especially if it is a difficult or challenging situation.
The fact that you are offering to help them goes a long way to calming them down
initially and if you can minimise passing them from department to department this will
also help them to remain calm and listen to any options you put forward.Base the
discussions with the customer on facts, don’t let emotion drive the conversation.
8. Make sure you act on social media Social media is becoming the vehicle of
choice for customers, frustrated by poor customer service. But these complaints can
be amplified very loudly – particularly on Twitter. Start by listening to the social
media channels. Once you understand what is being said it is time to
intervene. This can also be by social media – particularly to try and find out a
customer’s phone number – but would probably be better if it is by a proactive follow

3. up call. If this is done in a timely fashion it can go a long way to diffuse any
frustration the customer is feeling.
9. A complaint is an opportunity for the business to learn and grow As a
business, every complaint should be treated as serious and the customer with a
small ‘expression of dissatisfaction’ should be given the same courtesy as someone
whose complaint is huge. Remember to be a ‘goodwill’ company. Be thankful that
your customer is voicing their problem, but realise that they may still use your
competition the next time they need your product or service. You may not gain their
future loyalty, but use the situation they bring up to minimise it happening again.
10. Act on the new knowledge you have One of the most important factors in
complaint handling is to demonstrate that the company has acknowledged the
complaint for the future. Don’t stop at telling them that feedback such as theirs helps
you to grow as a company – make it feel real by telling them how you will be raising
this issue with the customer services manager so that (where possible) this is 1)
resolved 2) not repeated with other customers. Finally, after the complaint has been
dealt with and is coming to a close, advise them that you hope that this recent
situation hasn’t adversely affected their long term relationship with you as a
company. Reiterate that you hope the compensation you are offering may go some
way to restoring their faith in the company / product or service.
METHODS AND MEANS OF
COMMUNICATION:
 WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS DISPATCHED BY MAIL E.G. STATEMENTS DETAILING TAX
LIABILITIES AND PAYMENT SCHEDULES. PAPER-BASED ITEMS SENT BY MAIL HAVE THE
ADVANTAGE OF PROVIDING A CLEAR, FILLABLE STATEMENT THAT IS LIKELY TO REACH
ITS INTENDED CUSTOMER OR RECIPIENT
 TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION….. AS IT IS THE EASIEST FORMOF
COMMUNICATION