Customer careDealing with complaints

emails

letters

phone calls

face to face

The complaint

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What would you do?Reply with no urgency

Reply as soon as

possible

Read the complaint

thoroughly

Throw it in the

bin

Type the letter using any

format

Use a formatted layout

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Always reply to letters of complaint as soon as possible, delays are unprofessional and do not promote good customer relationships.

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Every customer is important and all complaints should be handled with the same level of professionalism.

Well done!

Replying quickly to a letter of complaint provides a positive experience for customers and is very professional.

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Always be professional when dealing with customers, this includes your correspondence.

All letters should be formatted to a company house style.

Well done!

Unless you read and understand the nature of the complaint, you will not be able to reply correctly and your customers will be unsatisfied with your service.

Well done!

Properly formatted correspondence looks professional and improves customer relations.

Just to recap then!Quick thinking: Once you receive a

complaint, don’t leave it. Reply to the letter as soon as possible, no matter how outrageous you might think it is.

Understand the complaint: Read and understand the letter of complaint before drafting your reply.

Look good: use logos and a professional layout for your document.

The reply

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The letter

Dear Mr Henstock

Product: Nestlé Fab Ice Lollies.Complaint: customer found there to be unsealed wrappers in a box of lollies.

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The letter

I refer to your letter received on the 15th June 2011 concerning the unsealed wrappers found in a pack of Nestlé fab Ice Lollies that you recently purchased. We were concerned to learn that you found that there were a number of unsealed wrappers as our products are manufactured under the strictest controls, unfortunately it seems on this occasion the unsealed wrappers were not spotted by the factory personnel and they were then subsequently packed in error.

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The letter

Concerning the filling of the products, our production employees are highly trained in this area, they are made aware of the need to look out for any lollies that are not sealed correctly, they are aware of the correct appearance of product via visual product guides and working procedures. All personnel will be made aware of this complaint and the need for vigilance at all times in production areas. During packing, continual checks are carried out, particularly on colour appearance which includes looking at the seals of the wrappers, flavour and texture. We also conduct a daily taste panel and the results of all of these checks are documented and the results are kept for reference.

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The letter

We can assure you that we take great care to ensure our products are of consistent nature and are manufactured to the highest quality and that all customer complaints are taken very seriously. We are sorry that you have had cause to make a complaint, especially in view of the care that we take at every stage of the manufacture and packaging process to ensure that our products reach consumers in perfect condition.

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The letter

We would like to thank you for bringing the matter to our attention and would like to reimburse you for the expense and trouble with doing so with the enclosed voucher. We hope this letter helps you to clear up your ‘fabitis’ and you have a better experience next time.

If you have any more queries regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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The letter

Yours Sincerely

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TitlesBe professional: address your reply using

the correct title, for instance:

MrProfessor

Dr

Ms

MissMrs

Nature of the complaintRemind your customers of the reasons for

their initial complaint; in this case, both the item and the reason for the customers dissatisfaction with the product are included at the beginning of the reply.

Understand the problemThe nature of the problem has been

clearly understood and has been used in the letter introduction.

The introduction also includes an acceptance that a problem has occurred with a possible reason for the fault.

Using these methods improves customer confidence

Solve the problemIn this section of the letter, the customer

is informed about the production process and what improvements can be made to ensure the quality of the product.

Knowing that a company acts on the advice of its customers is very important in the relationship between a company and buyers of its products.

ApologiseThe customer is always right – well, not

always, but to ensure good relationships, you need to give customers the benefit of the doubt.

Do apologise.

Thank your customersShow that you are grateful for

highlighting the problem.Include incentives such a discount

vouchers or replacement products.Long term custom is important to any

business so do what you can to build on your customer relations.

Thank your customersSign off your letter correctly. If you know the name of the person you

are sending the letter to, use Yours Sincerely.

If you do not know the name of the person you are sending the letter to and have used Dear Sir or Dear Madam then sign off with Yours Faithfully.

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