Every complaint must be dealt with on an individual basis and each organisation will have their own methods and procedures for complaints handling. However, the following are a number of general approaches that can be adapted to individual circumstances:

•       Use appropriate body language to show empathy with the customer.

•       Use diplomatic phrases to calm angry customers, for example, “This is obviously an unsatisfactory situation” or “I’m sorry that you’re upset about this…so here’s what I’ll do…”

•       Apologise for the fact that there has been a problem and show you are taking the customer seriously.

•       Do not interrupt the customer.

•       Use effective listening skills to get an overview of the problem so you know what action to take next.

•       Clarify details by repeating what has been said; for example, “So you say that the delivery van turned up 5 hours late”.

•       Make brief notes of the complaint - this will help you identify staff that you may want to talk with later.

•       Be positive and encourage the customer so they do not feel embarrassed. For example, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention, hopefully I can sort out this situation”.

•       Inform the customer of the action you intend to take.

Who to Go to in Time of Trouble?

It is important that you understand the way to handle conflict within your own organisation, your level of authority in any given situation and when it is important to call your line manager in to support you and aim to resolve the situation.

Every organisation should have a way of doing this, perhaps a flow-chart that shows what you should do when a customer complains.

Often, as a junior member of staff, your role will be ‘handling’ the complaint rather than ‘managing’ the complaint, because you will not be in a position where you are able to make decisions about how to ensure that the customer is satisfied. Therefore, when a customer complains and you know that you cannot deal with the complaint, listen to them, apologise, thank them for bringing

Every complaint must be dealt with on an individual basis and each organisation will have their own methods and procedures for complaints handling. However, the following are a number of general approaches that can be adapted to individual circumstances:

•       Use appropriate body language to show empathy with the customer.

•       Use diplomatic phrases to calm angry customers, for example, “This is obviously an unsatisfactory situation” or “I’m sorry that you’re upset about this…so here’s what I’ll do…”

•       Apologise for the fact that there has been a problem and show you are taking the customer seriously.

•       Do not interrupt the customer.

•       Use effective listening skills to get an overview of the problem so you know what action to take next.

•       Clarify details by repeating what has been said; for example, “So you say that the delivery van turned up 5 hours late”.

•       Make brief notes of the complaint - this will help you identify staff that you may want to talk with later.

•       Be positive and encourage the customer so they do not feel embarrassed. For example, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention, hopefully I can sort out this situation”.

•       Inform the customer of the action you intend to take.

Who to Go to in Time of Trouble?

It is important that you understand the way to handle conflict within your own organisation, your level of authority in any given situation and when it is important to call your line manager in to support you and aim to resolve the situation.

Every organisation should have a way of doing this, perhaps a flow-chart that shows what you should do when a customer complains.

Often, as a junior member of staff, your role will be ‘handling’ the complaint rather than ‘managing’ the complaint, because you will not be in a position where you are able to make decisions about how to ensure that the customer is satisfied. Therefore, when a customer complains and you know that you cannot deal with the complaint, listen to them, apologise, thank them for bringing.