The concept of "a complaint is a gift" is based on the rationale that when customers complain they are giving the company a second chance to recover the service or product failure; the customer is telling them what is wrong in the hope that the problem will be fixed and they can remain happy customers.
The great thing about complaints is they are a barometer of how a company is doing in the eyes of the customer, a rich source of information and to find out what’s broken and what needs to be fixed. An easy concept to understand but one that rarely seems to be evident in today’s market place.
As consumers, we have all encountered the frustration of complaining. Pretty much every time I’ve complained to a company I’m annoyed of having to explain the problem to half a dozen people – every time I’ve called back to check on the status I’ve had to explain the problem all over again. I continually wonder why it’s up to me to call in to get an update in the first place; surely if they valued my business they should be following up with me!
In the end it isn’t so much the original issue that is the problem, we can all accept that things go wrong from time-to-time, but how I am dealt with is what really riles me.
We enter into these interactions hoping the company will sort out and solve the problem. But what generally happens is we have to fight tooth and nail to get the problem resolved, when all we really want is someone to listen, take responsibility for the issue and, just as importantly, make sure it doesn’t happen again.
What I think organizations don’t necessarily understand is the damage being done by simply not dealing with complaints properly. Companies seem to be so focused on solving the complaint with minimal effort that little attention is given to understanding whether the customer was happy with the way their complaint was handled and how this could impact the future of that customer relationship.
There are many references in the market and industry studies that demonstrate the impact customer service has on customer behavior. As an example, a company with 500,000 customers that gives poor customer service, making no effort at customer retention, will have to find a new customer every two minutes of every day of every year just to stand still.*
A frightening statistic and an even more frightening prospect.
So it seems to me that companies need to stop thinking about complaints as a nuisance and a drain on resources and instead view them as an opportunity to take control and manage their relationships with the precious resource -- their customer base. The other option of course is that the customer takes their hard earned dollars to the competition!
Complaints really are a gift and it’s about time that companies started accepting them!
*Based on the findings of Stauss and Seidel, Complaint Management: The Heart of CRM