What complaints tell you.
WHAT A COMPLAINT IS
Free information about a failure, from someone who cared enough to say.
WHAT MOST DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS DO
Say nothing, and leave.
WHAT THAT IMPLIES
Each complaint represents many silent others.
WHAT TO RECORD FOR EACH
What happened What the customer wanted What caused it What was done Whether it recurred
WHY THE CAUSE
Without it, complaints are handled individually forever.
WHAT TO ANALYSE
Themes across complaints.
WHAT THAT REVEALS
The few causes producing most complaints.
WHY THAT PATTERN IS USUAL
A small number of causes typically account for most problems.
WHAT TO DO WITH THAT
Address those few first.
WHAT TO MEASURE
Complaints by cause, over time.
WHAT A FALLING COUNT FOR ONE CAUSE INDICATES
That the fix worked.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT COMPLAINTS WITH NO CLEAR CAUSE
Ask more questions of the customer.
WHAT TO AVOID
Treating complaints as unreasonable Handling them without recording Measuring complaint volume as a performance target
WHY THAT LAST ONE
It produces complaints not being recorded.
WHAT TO ENCOURAGE INSTEAD
Recording everything.
WHAT TO TELL THE CUSTOMER
What you changed as a result.
WHY
It is the thing that recovers the relationship.
