Complaints Policy
CUSTOMER COMPLAINT POLICY
1. INTRODUCTION
Complaints are an important way for the Company to be made accountable to the wider public, provides valuable prompts to review its performance as a whole, as well as insight into how its employees conduct themselves.
This policy has been developed to protect the interests and reputation of the Employer, and applies to all employees.
The purpose of this policy is to enable customers to make complaints, enable its employees to effectively handle and resolve complaints, and to provide a process to collect, collate and retrospectively analyse complaint data to continuously improve operations.
The Employer make take disciplinary action against you if you fail to adhere to the Customer Complaints Policy or Procedure.
1.2 RESPONSIBILITIES:
Management are responsible for:
* establishing a system that manages complaints effectively and efficiently
* ensuring the complaints process is effectively administered
* ensuring all staff are appropriately trained in complaints management
* facilitating the development of the complaints management policy and procedure and the delivery of an effective complaints management system
* conducting internal reviews where the Company has conducted an investigation
* ensuring that recommendations made through investigation reports and internal reviews are
actioned
* referring matters to an external agency for action where appropriate
* maintaining accurate complaint records
determining the response to complaints where escalated
Employees are responsible for:
* handling complaints in accordance with the company’s Customer Complaint Procedure
* maintaining accurate complaint records
1 CUSTOMER COMPLAINT PROCEDURE
1.1 LET THE CUSTOMER EXPLAIN AND LISTEN CAREFULLY
When a customer makes a complaint, in person, on the phone or via email, you must concentrate solely on what the customer is telling you. Make notes of the key facts and their concerns so you may fill out the Complaint Report Form.
Do not interrupt the customer, stay calm, in control and avoid defensive reactions.
If the customer is particularly difficult, it is important to remember the person is not complaining about you personally. Stay composed, be positive and helpful.
In a supportive but concerned tone of voice you can demonstrate you are actively listening and empathetic to the customer.
1.2 ACKNOWLEDGE, THANK AND APOLOGISE TO THE CUSTOMER
At the appropriate time during the conversation acknowledge the customers perspective, and the stress this may have caused them.
Thank the customer for bringing this matter to your attention. This demonstrates that you are concerned and want to assist them and resolve the matter.
You may also need to empathise with the complainant concerning the failure to deliver the level of service expected, if appropriate. By saying ‘sorry’ you are again demonstrating to the customer that you are genuinely apologetic that this has happened to them and showing that you wish to put things right.
1.3 ASK QUESTIONS AND SUMMARISE YOUR UNDERSTANDING
If a customer is angry, ask their permission to ask questions prior to doing so. This allows you to collect all of the facts needed to understand what has happened and to identify how best to resolve the situation.
Ask a combination of open ("what", "how", "who", "why", "where" and "when"), as well as closed questions (for example, "did you?", "is he?").
Finally, summarise your understanding back to the customer to ensure you are clear of the facts. In addition, give the customer the opportunity to share any further facts they may have omitted.
1.4 EXPLAIN THE ACTIONS YOU WILL TAKE AS A RESULT OF THEIR COMPLAINT
Ensure that you only commit to the steps you have the authority to take. For example, explain what you will personally undertake to resolve the complaint, including a specific time that you will get back to them.
Remember to be realistic about timescales and do not over promise. When receiving the complaint, you should take ownership of it. If you need to escalate to a more senior staff member, explain to the customer who will be in contact with them, their name and job role.
1.5 FEEDBACK
Ask the customer what they expect as an outcome. Check that the customer is happy with the suggested actions you have committed to. Where appropriate, ask the customer if there is anything further that you could do at this stage to help them.
1.6 RECORD THE COMPLAINT
Immediately record the complaint on the Complaint Report Form, including what preventative measures should be made to avoid the issue occurring again.
Retaining these forms allows the Employer to see patterns emerge over time. Numerous complaints about a particular process or service might indicate that changes need to be made. This data also allows employees to see what actions were taken to resolve complaints in the past, and can help streamline them in the future.
1.7 ACTION THE AGREED NEXT STEPS AND FOLLOW UP
If the matter was not resolved when the complaint was made and you need to follow up with the client, record your attempts and the outcomes achieved at each attempt. Complaints are to be responded to promptly and handled objectively.
Ensure that all further actions have been taken and all promises made to the customer have been met.
Provide the customer a confirmation when everything has been done as promised, and sign-off the matter as resolved on the Complaint Report Form.
1.8 REVIEW PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
The Employer will review Complaint Report Forms on a continual basis to determine any measures that will be implemented to minimise the risk of similar occurrences in the future.
