Complaint data can be invaluable to the development of your business, Allowing you to assess your performance, identify any

complaint trends and better align your services to suit customer expectation.

Adopting a narrow definition of a complaint will mean you are not Able to assess accurately the real needs of your customers or the true level of dissatisfaction. Definition of a complaint is very broad:
..An expression of dissatisfaction made to a supplier in relation to,

# Why do customers complain? o Obtain compensation o Release their anger o Help to improve the service o Because of concern for others # What proportion of unhappy customers complain? Generally 9% to 37% of unhappy customers can make complaints to the firms. # Why dont unhappy customers complain? There are three primary reasons why dissatisfied customers dont complaint: 1] They think that it is not worth the time or effort. 2] They further think that no one would be concerned about their problem or solving it. 3] They do not know where to go or what to do.

To outline the courses of action open to a dissatisfied customer Explain the factors influencing complaint behaviour Identify the principles of an effective service-recovery system Explain the techniques for identifying the root cause of service failures

 Restitution: Restitution means making good a loss. If a customer facing any kind of damage or dissatisfaction during the working from the organization, they can make complaint to that institution to take the proper restitution from such firms.

Self-Esteem: Some customer can make complaint only for their self- esteem. Selfesteem means to thing yourself highly of or high regard. These people think that we are the best in the organization. Theoretical Explanation: These kinds of customers are listening or got any kind of information from some other source and believe only on that.

Customer satisfaction is linked not only to fault free service, but also to what transpires when something does go wrong. First law of quality might be: do it right the first time - but service failure does occur.

1] Passive: This group of customer is least likely to take any action. They are unlikely to say anything to the provider, less likely than others to spread negative words of mouth, and unlikely to complaint to a third parties. 2] Voicers: These customers actively complaint to service providers, but they are less likely to spread negative word of mouth to go to third parties with their complaint. They tend to believe complaining as a social benefit and therefore dont hesitate to voice their opinion. 3] Irritate: These consumers are more likely to engage in the negative word of mouth to the friends and relatives to switch provider than the others. 4] Activists: These consumers are characterized by above propensity to complain on the entire dimension.

1] An acknowledgement of receipt of the complaint:

It is a strong need that you acknowledge the receipt of all complaints, verbal or written. It is a good idea to allocate a complaint reference number and provides the customer with a contact point for further correspondence.
2] An accurate and accessible record of complaint information: Be sure that your recorded version of the complaint matches exactly that of the customer. Also make sure that the complaint record is accessible by any area of the organization that the customer may contact. 3] Attachment to timeframes for resolution:

According to TIO, the company or firm should attempt to resolve complaints on first contact, but if this isnt possible, then a complaint should be finalized within 30 days.

4] Customers must be inform about any delays in resolving a complaint: As soon as the company realizes that they are unable to resolve a complaint in the timeframes given, contact the customer, advising him or her of the delay and set a new timeline. 5] Rewarding Attachment amongst Your Staff: The complaint handling procedures should be a standard componentof your employee induction training and should also be included inOngoing training as required. 6] Inform Customers Of Complaint Handling Procedures:

A brochure or fact sheet is a great way to make customers aware of your Complaint handling procedures. You should outline the main components of your procedure and send it to customers with your first bill and when they lodge a verbal or written complaint with you.

DOING THE JOB RIGHT THE FIRST TIME

EFFECTIVE COMPLAINT HANDLING

INCREASED CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY

Do nothing, but the service providers reputation is diminished Complain to the service firm Take action with a third party such as ACCC Defect and do not use the provider again

Service Recovery in an organization progresses through a series of stages, shown in the following points: Stage 1, Expiring: The service of the consumer in this stage is expire means finished. There is no complaint handling. Angry customers are ignored. Letters to VIPs and even the CEO about a damaged shipment go unanswered. Stage 2: Reactive: Customer complaints are heard, and a response is made. But it's a careless process with no defined goals for the response and no one owning this business process. Stage 3: Active Listening:

At this stage, the response to issues voiced by customers is structured. Specific people have the responsibility to respond to complaints and guidelines are in place for the response. However, it is still reactive. Stage 4: Attentiveness: The critical change from Stage 3 to 4 is the move from reactive to proactive solicitation of customers with issues. The solicitous role is accomplished by encouraging customer to voice their complaints. Stage 5: Rechecking/ Frequentness: The pinnacle of Service Recovery Practices is achieved when the complaint identification merges with business process improvement or six sigma programs to support root cause identification and resolution. In essence, we see two levels of feedback loops. First, feedback from the customer to the organization. Second, feedback from the customer-facing groups to its business partners within the organization.

Fail safe your service Welcome and Encourage Complaints Act quickly
(a) Take Care of problems on the frontline (b) Empower Employees (c) Allow Customer to Solve Their Own Problem (d) Treat Customer Fairly (e) Learn from Recovery Experiences (f) Learn from Lost Customers

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Unconditional:-The service recovery should make its promise unconditionally no strings attached. 2) Meaningful:-The firm should recover elements of the service that are important to the customer. The payout should cover fully the customers dissatisfaction. 3) Easy to Understand and Communicate: Customers need to understand what to expect. Employees need to understand what to do. 4) Easy to Invoke and Collect: The firm should eliminate hoops or red tape in the way of accessing or collecting from the recovery.

Guarantee is an assurance of the fulfillment of a condition. In a business context, a guarantee is a pledge or assurance that a product offered by a firm will perform as promised and, if not, and then some form of reparation will be undertaken by the firm.For tangible products, a guarantee is often done in the form of a warranty.Services are often not guaranteed. Service experience is intangible. The Power of Service Guarantees: Force firms to focus on what customers want. Set clear standards. Require systems to get & act on customer feedback. Force organizations to understand why they fail. Reduce risks of purchase and build loyalty. How to Design Service Guarantees: Unconditional. Easy to understand and communicate. Meaningful to the customer. Easy to invoke.

A good guarantee forces the company to focus on its customers.

An effective guarantee sets clear standards for the organization.

A good guarantee generates immediate and relevant feedback. When the guarantee is invoked there is an instant opportunity to recover, thus satisfying the customer and helping retain loyalty. Information generated through the guarantee can be tracked and integrated into continuous improvement efforts. Employee morale and loyalty can be enhanced as a result of having a service guarantee in place. A service guarantee reduces customers sense of risk and builds confidence in the organization.

57% of respondents had experienced at least one problem with products/services in the past 12 months 73% with a serious problem took some action to have it corrected (this varied between 49% and 93% depending on the industry and nature of problem). Only 34% who took action were satisfied with the way the problem was resolved 89% of those who were not happy with their complaint outcome said they would not deal with the same firm again

Complaining households made an average 3.4 contacts in an effort to have their most serious problem resolved Satisfaction declined the further up the hierarchy the customer had to go to get it resolved On average, a dissatisfied complainant tells nine other people, while a satisfied complainant tells half as many

Keep customers informed of progress: uncertainty breeds anxiety Consider compensation: this may reduce further complaints and legal action Persevere to regain customer goodwill: outstanding recovery efforts can build loyalty and referrals

Blueprinting: understand the processes behind service delivery to identify potentially weak links Control charts: displaying performance as measured by specific criteria over a period of time

If in doubt, believe the customer. Keep a database of how often customers invoke service guarantees or of payments made for service failure. Customers are reluctant to cheat if service quality is high. (rather than just satisfactory) Managerial implications: Firms can benefit from offering 100 percent money-back guarantees. Guarantees should be offered to regular customers as part of membership program since regular customers are unlikely to cheat. Excellent service firms have less to worry about than average providers.