Every business has to deal with customer complaints at some point. Unfortunately, you can’t please everyone, and, no matter how hard you may try, there will always be a customer that feels your services were lacking in some way. However, establishing a strategy for customer complaint management will help your business continually improve.

Before addressing customer service complaints, it’s important to understand the commonalities that usually transfer from one unsatisfied customer to the next. Consider the following common customer complaints:

1. Unsatisfied customers complain that the person they initially spoke with wasn’t helpful, didn’t listen or understand what they need, or didn’t understand the product or service well enough to help.

2. Some customer complaint letters or emails may mention that they feel as though no one cares that they’re unsatisfied and employees pass them from one person to the next so that no one really has to deal with them.

3. Other common customer complaints include rude employees and dissatisfaction with the product or service provided.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Provide a customer complaint form

It may seem that providing a customer complaint form is simply asking for trouble. However, if handled correctly, a customer complaint form will both help your business and help the customer to feel like someone is listening. The best way to approach this is to provide a form that is for both customer complaints and compliments. For example, in addition to requesting the customer's contact information and what product or service she used, ask, 'How can we improve our services?' as well as 'What did you appreciate about our services?' Also, consider providing a number of items that the customer rates on a scale of one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 the best. Examples of rated items might be kindness of employees, speed of service and/or satisfaction with product.

I recommend: Look over FormSite.com’s example of an online customer complaint form for ideas to implement on your own website. Business in a Box provides a downloadable customer complaint form that you can adapt as needed.

Use websites for online customer complaints to improve your business

With so many people accessing the internet for all of their needs these days, it's important to appeal to the technology-savvy customer. There are a number of websites available that provide consumers with an outlet to review, compliment and complain about businesses they encounter on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, many of these websites provide resources for businesses to help resolve complaints and improve their services.

I recommend: Become a partner with Measured Up, a customer complaint website, to help establish, manage and improve your customer complaints procedure. Search through posted customer complaints on Complaints.com and get help with resolving complaints that consumers post about your business.

Learn the best ways for addressing customer complaints

There are essential guidelines for handling customer complaints that apply to every complaint and business, regardless of their basis. For example, it's important that your customer service team handle each complaint individually, avoiding the common mistake of treating every complaint in the same manner. Also, hearing the customer out completely, and letting him know you're really listening, are important guidelines.

I recommend: Read the extremely helpful article by Chris Penttila on Entrepreneur.com on dealing with “Tough Customers” that will help please your customers and keep the employees that deal with them happy. Visit Customer Service Point’s website deal with customer service complaints by utilizing the L.E.A.R.N. technique.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Don't be afraid to admit when you don't have the answer to a customer's complaint. Assure the customer that you will find someone to help and follow through with that promise.