A Complaint is a Gift

"Customers who complain, after all, are still customers."

"Complaints that customers bring directly to businesses are the most efficient and least costly way of getting information and understanding customer expectations about products and services."

"Companies should be very careful in setting goals to reduce complaints. Doing so can be costly."

"Word-of-mouth advertising can make or break a business or product."

"Even if I had a problem with your company, if you do something nice for me, including something as simple as giving me a free hamburger, I will be more likely to give you more of my businesses and tell others what a great company you are."

"People are insulted; in extreme cases, they're made to feel like criminals."

"It is safe to conclude that problems will always be with us. So companies need to learn about service recovery."

"We must become so comfortable with the idea that a complaint is a gift that there is no hesitation in our responses."

"The service provider's job is to help customers channel this energy so they walk away feeling good about what just happened."

"If the company takes the complaint letter seriously and reflects that in its response, customers will take the company seriously, too."

"Most individuals can grow and improve from discovering their weaknesses."

"It may be useful to separate the dissatisfaction customers experience from the decisions customers make to actually complain."

"Poorly written policies encourage front-line employees to pay more attention to enforcing company rules rather than satisfying upset customers."

"You're just another customer, and this is my job."

"Staff do not have the flexibility to walk away every time they feel poorly treated."

"The entire company undergoes training in effective complaint handling."