CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS: MAJOR TYPES OF COMPLAINTS

Customer Complaints

Five Major Types That You Must Know!

Five Solid Reasons Why Customers Complaints Should Be Taken Seriously

Complaints are most important in the growth of any of the organization, specifically there are so many kinds of complaints but generally they are categorized under five major types which are as under:

Five Major Types of Customer Complaints

1.      Performance/Operations related complaints

2.      Customer Touch Point related complaints

3.      Marketing related complaints

4.      Business/Firm/Company service related complaints

5.      Illegitimate/False Complaints

Now let’s talk about each type one by one

Performance/Operations related complaints

Customer complaints related to product/service defects/shortcomings comes under this type, basically all product/service related complaints, issues are due to some operational or performance related malfunction, shortcoming that results in an uneven or defective value creation.

Customer Touch Point related complaints

A customer touch point complaint here specifically means complaints related to front line staff, administration that deals with your customers. These complaints mainly focus on behavior, attitude, performance (making errors in billing, charges, misbehaving, to be intolerant etc) of the front line employees and administration.

Remember in case you are a service provider, customer touch point complaints are far more important for your business than those who deal in tangible items. According to a study customer perception of a brand depends on front line employees/administration behavior, attitude. 

Similarly other studies have confirmed that employees performance can increase not only brand value but also regains/improves customer trust in the brand.

So if you want your customers to take your brand positively, to love your brand, to advocate about it then you need to improve your front line/administration behavior, attitude and performance.

Marketing Related Complaints

Means when customers complaints that your brand didn’t deliver on the commercial promises it made, like the promises (discounts, BOGO offers, sale etc) you made through your promotional, advertising campaigns with your target market.

So in case of any such complaints, you need to check with your marketing department, team and make sure that a promise made is a promise kept. 

Business/Firm/Company Service Related Complaints

Service complaints that implicitly report issues, problems not with your product/service but with your business, firm or company for instance your business doesn’t provide adequate human resource, training, equipment, tools, facilities, financial support etc to one or other department which is resulting in poor business performance that is affecting overall value delivery and thus resulting in customer complaints.

Such complaints aren’t related to any of the complaints types mentioned above but are still genuine, legitimate as they indirectly points to certain flaws, deficiencies, negligence in your business/firm/company standard operating procedures, policies and practices, protocols, overall strategy, tactics so on and so forth and thus demands careful analysis, evaluation of your business big picture.

Illegitimate/False Complaints

Any complaint that doesn’t come under any of these four types is clearly an illegitimate/false complaint and thus needs no attention but still you got to make sure that your customer who is making an illegitimate complaint get it, get that he/she is making an illegitimate complaint and therefore he/she can’t be entertained as he/she desires. 

Remember an illegitimate complaint maker is still your customer thus you need to take utmost care when dealing with such customer after all it costs five to eight times more to acquire new customer than to retain an old one.

ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD REPORT

Essentials of a Good Report

Business Management

A report is a statement or form, which presents facts relating to an event, progress of action, State of business affairs in a comprehensive and systematic manner. The essentials of a good report are:

(a) The report should be addressed to definite person or body of persons and it should be started with a salutation "Dear Sir" or "Dear Sirs".

(b) The report should be accompanied with a brief title,

(c) The report should contain a table, which states page number in which a particular point is available.

(d) The object of the report must be clear in the opening paragraph.

(e) The facts available in the report should be complete and reliable. (/) Repetition of writing should be avoided.

(f) The report should be free from clumsy and it should be submitted at its proper time.

Essential stages of report writing:

All reports need to be clear, concise and well structured. The key to writing an effective report is to allocate time for planning and preparation. With careful planning, the writing of a report will be made much easier. The essential stages of successful report writing are described below. Consider how long each stage is likely to take and divide the time before the deadline between the different stages. Be sure to leave time for final proof reading and checking.

Stage One: Understanding the report brief

This first stage is the most important. You need to be confident that you understand the purpose of your report as described in your report brief or instructions. Consider who the report is for and why it is being written. Check that you understand all the instructions or requirements, and ask your tutor if anything is unclear.

Stage Two: Gathering and selecting information

Once you are clear about the purpose of your report, you need to begin to gather relevant information. Your information may come from a variety of sources, but how much information you need, will depend on how much detail is required in the report. You may want to begin by reading relevant literature to widen your understanding of the topic or issue before you go on to look at other forms of information such as questionnaires, surveys etc. As you read and gather information you need to assess its relevance to your report and select accordingly. Keep referring to your report brief to help you decide what is relevant information?

Stage Three: Organising your material

Once you have gathered information you need to decide what will be included and in what sequence it should be presented. Begin by grouping together points that are related. These may form sections or chapters. Remember to keep referring to the report brief and be prepared to cut any information that is not directly relevant to the report. Choose an order for your material that is logical and easy to follow.

Stage Four: Analysing your material

Before you begin to write your first draft of the report, take time to consider and make notes on the points you will make using the facts and evidence you have gathered. What conclusions can be drawn from the material? What are the limitations or flaws in the evidence? Do certain pieces of evidence conflict with one another? It is not enough to simply present the information you have gathered; you must relate it to the problem or issue described in the report brief.

Stage Five: Writing the report

Having organised your material into appropriate sections and headings you can begin to write the first draft of your report. You may find it easier to write the summary and contents page at the end when you know exactly what will be included. Aim for a writing style that is direct and precise. Chapters, sections and even individual paragraphs should be written with a clear structure. The structure described below can be adapted and applied to chapters, sections and even paragraphs.

• Introduce the main idea of the chapter/section/paragraph
• Explain and expand the idea, defining any key terms.
• Present relevant evidence to support your point(s).
• Comment on each piece of evidence showing how it relates to your point(s).
• Conclude your chapter/section/paragraph by either showing its
  significance to the report as a whole or making a link to the next chapter/section/paragraph.

Stage Six: Reviewing and redrafting

Ideally, you should leave time to take a break before you review your first draft. Be prepared to rearrange or rewrite sections in the light of your review. Try to read the draft from the perspective of the reader. Is it easy to follow with a clear structure that makes sense? Are the points concisely but clearly explained and supported by relevant evidence? Writing on a word processor makes it easier to rewrite and rearrange sections or paragraphs in your first draft. If you write your first draft by hand, try writing each section on a separate piece of paper to make redrafting easier.

Stage Seven: Presentation

Once you are satisfied with the content and structure of your redrafted report, you can turn your attention to the presentation. Check that the wording of each chapter/section/subheading is clear and accurate. Check that you are brief regarding format and presentation. Check for consistency in numbering of chapters, sections and appendices. Make sure that all your sources are acknowledged and correctly referenced. You will need to proof read your report for errors of spelling or grammar. If time allows, proof read more than once. Errors in presentation or expression create a poor impression and can make the report difficult to read.

Email Etiquettes

Email Etiquettes

1.  Email Etiquettes: Email has made communication with customers and coworkers easier but sometimes faster and easier escorts to less professionalism. When executing business with the help of an e-mail, it is important for users to exercise simple business email etiquette.
2. Answer to e-mails in suitable manner: Set an expert attitude, Use appropriate language and formatting, Use proper addressing and greetings, Tips For Business Email Etiquette Communication via e-mail gives businesses a rapid way to send messages to customers and colleagues. To avoid any bad circumstances in your email communication, we have some tips on business email etiquettes to make your business communication stronger:
3.  Use proper addressing and greetings: Give the reason of the email in the subject-line so that the receiver knows what the email is all about. Start your letter with the recipient’s full name as well as suffix such as Mr. or Miss. Using the person’s name shows value and professionalism. Also, add a salutation such as Dear and your signature file.
4.  Use appropriate language and formatting: Avoid use of slang text language like LOL and other types of interaction that are deliberated informal. Use simple text to write the letter and keep away from using special formatting or fonts as not all e-mail marketing programs can present it properly. Do not add attachments without first confirming that its right with it or not.
5.  Set an expert attitude: The attitude or tone of your email should always be proficient. Inserting smiley faces and other emoticons in a business e-mail is unsuitable. Even if you know the person you are delivering the email to, you don’t know how many other people may see your mail.
6.  Answer to e-mails in suitable manner: As a normal rule, check emails to see if the recipient is asking a time responsive query or if the recipient has asked you to answer by a definite time or date. You should answer accordingly to avoid missing time limits, as it could have a negative effect on output.
7.  Rephrase your email: It is unethical to send emails with spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. Such mistakes make it appear although you do not have sufficient writing skills. Use the spell checking attribute of your email program to fix misspelled words, and always proofread your work before hitting the send button.
8.  Conclusion: Email provides business person with an easy and fast way to share information electronically. Use the time to master the fundamentals of email. Once the pattern is set up your small business will be e-mail savvy.

Adapted from

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 TYPES OF REPORT WRITING

A report is a methodical, well-organised document that defines and analyzes a certain issue or a problem. The main purpose of a report is to provide information to its readers. Reports are used in different professions, and there are various types of reports varying according to the purpose. So, we are going to look at different types of report writing. We’ll be focusing our attention especially on the formats of Informal and Formal report.

However, always keep in mind that there is no universally accepted format in report writing. You should follow the format set by your company or course.

Informal Reports

The purpose of an informal report is to inform, analyze and recommend. It usually takes the form of a memo, letter or a very short document like a monthly financial report, research and development report, etc. This report is shorter and informal than a formal report. It is written according to organization‘s style and rules. The informal report is generally more conversational in tone and typically deals with everyday problems and issues of an organization. Sales reports, lab reports, progress reports, service reports, etc. are few examples of this kind of reports.

An informal report usually consists of 

·         Introduction

·         Discussion

·         Recommendations and reference

 Introduction:

Mention the general problem first, so that the readers can understand the context. Then state the specific question or tasks arising from the problem that you will be dealing with. Finally, explain the purpose of the essay and its expected results. Since this is an informal and a short report, this part does not need to be long. Two or three sentences will be sufficient.

Discussion:

Present your findings clearly and briefly, in an appropriate method. You can use lists, tables, charts, etc. with adequate explanations. Present your results in descending order of importance. This way, the most important information will be read first. This will be the longest part of your report since this contains the major information.

Conclusions and recommendations:

The conclusion of a report, depending on its intention, should remind the reader what actions need to be taken. Recommendations section might not be needed unless it is requested. It depends on the company’s/organization’s policy.

Formal report

The purpose of a formal report is collecting and interpreting data and reporting information. The formal report is complex and long, and may even be produced in bound book volumes. A formal letter generally consists of

·         Title page

·         Executive summary

·         Introduction

·         Method / methodology

·         Results / findings

·         Discussion

·         Conclusions

·         Recommendations

·         Appendices

·         Bibliography

Title page: Title page should contain the title of the report, name of the author, name of the course (if it is written by a student) or company.

Executive summary: Executive summary is the summary of the whole report in a logical order. This should highlight the purpose, research methods, findings, conclusions, and recommendations. An executive summary should be written in the past tense and should not be longer than 1 page. Though this section is included in the first part of the report, it is easier to write this part, after completing the rest of the report.

Introduction: The introduction should contain the main problem, its importance and the goals of the research. The background and context of the report are also included in this part.

Method/Methodology: This is the section where you explain the methods used in your research. If it is a scientific research, you can describe the experimental procedures.

Results\Findings: This section presents the results or findings of your project/research. You can also present data using visual methods such as tables, graphs, etc. However, do not interpret the findings here.

Discussion: In this section, you can explain what the above results mean. You can also analyze, interpret and evaluate data, note trends, and compare results with theory. Generally, this is referred to as the most important part of the report.

Conclusions: This is a brief summary of findings. Conclusion should not be confused with Results/Findings section as the conclusion is a simplification of the problem that can reasonably be deduced from the findings.

Recommendations: In recommendation section, suitable changes, solutions should be provided.

Appendices: This contains attachments relevant to the report. For example, surveys, questionnaires, etc.

COMPLAINT RESOLUTION PROCESS

Complain Resolution Process

Managing complaints in your business

A well-developed complaints handling policy gives your business a strategy, guidelines and clear set of directions for handling customer complaints.

For the growth of every organization it is very much necessary to have a well established complaint resolution process. Once you have created a complaints handling policy, it's important to implement it within the day-to-day operations of your business. There are different kinds and types of complaints; the most important thing to deal complaints is to have a developed process to be dealt with a specific kind of complaint.

Creating procedures for complaints

Complaints can be settled under three stages:

1.      Finding out why your customer is unhappy

2.      Doing everything you reasonably can to make your customer happy

3.      Reviewing the incident to consider potential improvements to service or complaints handling.

Communicating complaints procedure

Be sure that your staff is well aware and skilled in complaints policy and procedures. It's vital that they understand their role in resolving and recording complaint incidents, and nominating complaint contacts.

You should also take steps to communicate your complaints policy and procedures to customers (e.g. through your website and business communications).

Reviewing your complaints handling policy

Your complaints handling policy will ensure you are keeping good records of complaint incidents.

Schedule time periodically to review your business complaints and check for patterns in the type, nature and handling of complaints.

This review will allow you to identify issues such as:

·         the number and type of complaints

·         customer service weaknesses

·         your staff's complaint-handling skills

·         Customer complaint behaviour and your management approaches.

Resolving complaints

While many complaints are easily resolved, some can be very challenging. Resolving complaints with dissatisfied customers requires good business processes, courteous communication and strong conflict resolution skills.

Managing unresolved complaints

If you are unable to resolve a complaint after taking all reasonable steps, you may find a third party dispute resolution service helpful.

If your customer lodges a formal complaint about your business, disputes can be resolved using alternate dispute resolution processes such as mediation, without involving the courts.

Mediation can be arranged through non-government providers out of the court.

TIPS FOR MANAGING COMPLAINTS

Tips for managing complaints

When choosing your approach for communicating with a customer, think about how you would like to be treated if you were making a complaint to a business.

Arrange a meeting with the customers who are making a complaint. This may include making it clear to the customer that you are eager to listen and treating them with courtesy and consideration.

If your customer is agitated or hostile, explain to them that a calm, courteous level of conversation will be the fastest way to resolve their issue. You can also ask for their commitment to courtesy.

The following tips offer approaches to managing a customer complaint on an interpersonal level and an organisation-wide level.

Complaints solving steps

·         Speak to the customer in person.

·         Thank the customer for raising their complaint with you.

·         Treat the customer with genuine empathy, courtesy, patience, honesty and fairness.

·         Respond to the complaint quickly.

·         Tell the customer how you will handle the complaint. If you can't resolve their complaint on the spot, tell them what will happen next and when. Ensure that you are honest and realistic.

·         Show the customer that you understand.

·         Research the situation before you speak to the customer (e.g. check records, speak to staff and check how these compare with the customer's version of events).

·         Listen intently, ask questions to clarify and summarise back to the customer your understanding of what they've said.

·         Don't jump to conclusions, lay blame or become defensive.

·         Focus on solutions and involve the customer in developing them. 

·         Keep the customer updated on progress, act quickly on promises and inform them when an action is completed. Tell them how you will prevent the issue from happening again. Assign one person to manage each complaint to its outcome.

·         Make sure staff members who deal with complaints have the full authority to organise solutions that are acceptable to customers.

·         When staff members who deal with complaints can't resolve them, make sure they can refer complaints directly to another person who can.

·         Make sure the customer is satisfied with the proposed solution before proceeding.

·         Follow up with the customer within a week to make sure that issues have been resolved to their satisfaction.