Complaint Management Best Practices
The Intersection of Customer Service and Regulatory Compliance
Customer complaint management has become an integral part of business, both from a regulatory perspective and a customer service standpoint. Regulatory bodies have established specific requirements for capturing, investigating, resolving and reporting customer complaints. Simply stated, complaint management is the formal process of recording and resolving a customer complaint. Complaints are expensive, both in direct and indirect costs. But for this price, companies can extract priceless knowledge, because complaints contain the direct voice of the customer. If complaints are transformed into knowledge about customers, they can provide a valuable amount of capital for enterprises. To exploit this capital, companies must design, build, operate and continuously upgrade systems for managing complaints. These systems are called “customer complaint management systems” (CCMS). Complaint management is just one initiative under a broader compliance management strategy.
Best Practices
The following paragraphs highlight four best practices for automated, complaint customer compliant management processes:
- Classify customer complaints
- Analyze and report trends
- Take management action
- Continuous improvement of the complaint process
Classify customer complaints – As individual complaints are recorded, the nature of the complaint, along with the product or service the complaint is about, requires classification. In the banking sector, for instance, complaints that violate federal laws, or internal bank policies and procedures should be classified separately from other customer service issues.
Analyze and report trends – Once complaints are classified, the data should be analyzed and reported on a regular basis. The goal of analysis is to identify themes or trends that occur with front-line service delivery. This is done with an eye toward both regulatory matters, and those that help improve customer experiences. Given that many bank Ombudsmen report to their chief executive and board of directors on a semi-annual basis. This ensures complaint management activities receive senior executive attention and accountability.
Take management action – With issues identified, actions must be taken to improve front-line service delivery. This may include updating customer service standards, improving communications, or providing additional training to staff on products/services. Actions should remedy systemic issues. Changes should be monitored closely to ensure actions result in fewer customer complaints.
Continuous improvement of the complaint process – Although a complaints management process may exist, it is important to know how well it is working. Ask key questions to customers who use the system, including whether or not they view the process as accessible, easy to use, and fair. This will identify areas for improvement. Since research indicates that complaints handled professionally and in a timely manner result in customers continuing to do business with a company, it is essential that customers who complain are satisfied with the complaint management process. This will not only help retain business, but will also reduce the damage that negative “word of mouth” has with existing or potential customers.
