A complaints procedure ensures that:
All employees know what to do when a complaint is made.
Gives a good impression to customers.
Customers will not make any complaints.
An advantage of having a complaints procedure is that:
It identifies the staff who are not following the complaints procedure.
It ensures a consistent approach when handling complaints so customers will feel satisfied.
It helps to identify the customers who are not being truthful about their experience.
A disadvantage of a complaints procedure is that:
All staff may not follow the procedure and this will result in an inconsistent approach when handling complaints effectively.
It is a waste of time as it takes too long to train staff.
It puts a lot of pressure on staff as all complaints must be resolved immediately.
Complaints can be seen as a positive for a business. It helps the business to:
Highlight the staff that are not carrying out their duties effectively and the business can sack them.
Identify areas for training of staff if similar complaints are made.
Pinpoint the customers that are not being truthful and have a hidden agenda (some form of compensation) and the business can ask them not to return.
It is important that regular checks are carried out on the standard of customer service. The best source of information is from:
Customers
Employees
Both customers and employees.
Comment cards are an excellent way to gather information as:
All customers will complete them as they are not hard to complete.
They are short and easy to complete.
Customers are asked to provide detailed feedback which will enable management to carry out the recommendations.
Social media is a very useful means of collecting information about the outlet as:
The information is always accurate.
It is easy and convenient to share customer’s thoughts and opinions of the organisation.
All customers can participate as everyone has access to the internet.
A mystery customer is:
Someone who visits an organisation and no one in the outlet is aware of the visit.
Someone employed by the organisation to give feedback on their experience. Staff are unaware of who the mystery customer is.
The mystery customer will visit the outlet and introduce themselves to the employees.
If the standard of customer service is monitored effectively, this will:
Ensure that customers do not make any complaints.
Help to identify the staff who are not working efficiently.
Enable the comments received from customers to be used to promote the outlet.
The benefit to staff of providing a good standard of customer care include:
Staff will be rewarded as they are more likely to receive tips from customers.
They will not have to work as hard as other employees.
Customers will feel valued as they have been treated well by the employee.