How to Handle Complaint

This post is labeled under Personal Development

Are you in a position wherein you receive complaints one time and another? Is it part of your job description to handle a mess out of control? Did you ever feel guilt for whatever decision you made in handling a dispute?

Have you ever wished for an effective way in handling a complaint?

Here’s my advice:

1. Loosen up. One thing you need to know is that we are living on not so perfect world. Be kind to yourself. Because we live on an environment where we experience the consequence of the actions made by other people, you need not to put all the blames to yourself. That will keep you in perspective.

2. “Hear me out!” Listen. This is one of the important things you should do (by doing nothing at all but to listen). You are already relieving the tensions of the complainant by hearing his/her side of the story. Listen with sincerity (not with the intention to answer). Do not be defensive. Have you ever wonder why God made two ears and only one mouth? My hunch is He wants us to listen more than to speak.

3. Empathize. Acknowledge the complaint. Even thank the complainant for calling your attention with regards to the issue being raised. According to Dr. Stephen Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, seek first to understand (then to be understood). Let the complainant be aware that if you were on the same situation like his/hers you will feel the same way.

4. State your position on the matter. Explain of what you can and can’t do. Detail all the actions you will do to cool off the steam. Do not make promises you can’t keep. You don’t need to completely agree with complainant’s solutions. Statistics shows customers who are silent with their complaint hurt your business even more in the long run. So, take seriously of those who have courage to complain. Letting him/her know of what steps your taking and how far you can only go are important steps in handling the complaint.

Our subcontractor for $3 M USD telecom project complained that they were not getting enough materials to implement the project. My position was to assure that all correct materials such as fiber optic cables, accessories, supports were available as we build the project. Because the complaint was brought to the attention of our VP in Public Communication, I was asked to look into the problem and address the complaint as soon as possible.

I thanked the project engineer for giving us time to discuss the issue. I even commended him for taking action early on because any unseen problems can delay the project as it reaches its end.

As I listened to him attentively, I discovered he was using a revised implementation plans totally different from the plans used when projecting the material take off. Not only he had incorrect materials for the project but an incomplete accessories for the proper materials to be used. The impact of having two different plans was enormous that you need to coordinate the corrections to engineering, purchasing and warehouse departments.

I asked him to give me at least a month to correct the problems. I listed all the actions and informed him of when to expect the result of each stage as I completed tasks. Because of the partnerships we had forged during our meeting, trust began to build on our business relationships. We updated each other on the actions we had taken. We felt so happy because our bosses knew that we reached another milestone of the project. Our project was completed on time.

You, too, can do it. And let me know your stories.

Here’s to making happy customers.

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