How to Deal With Customer Complaints Against Employees

Providing ongoing customer service training to employees can help keep your customers' experiences positive.

Managing customer service issues is an integral part of a successful business model. When customers make complaints against employees, managers can receive valuable feedback and direct insight into their customers' experiences. It also provides a chance for managers to find out how their employees are doing, from the customers' perspective. Managers should always handle customer complaints about employees quickly and sincerely. Being aware of complaints and understanding what causes complaints from customers can help managers continuously improve the customers' experience, hopefully eliminating future complaints about employees.

Instructions

1. Listen intently to the customer's complaint. Take notes and give the customer undivided attention. Sincerely apologize and thank the customer for bringing the issue to attention. Take notes and demonstrate active listening, probing the customer for details to gain perspective on the complaint.

2. Resolve the issue. While not all customer requests can be met, it is important to be reasonable and try to find a resolution. If the complaint is because the customer is upset after being told by an employee that his request was against company policy, it may not be possible to fulfill the request even at the managerial level. However, it is important that the customer leave feeling valued and convinced his complaint was taken seriously.

3. Ask the customer for feedback on the situation. For example, what does the customer feel should be done about the employee? Ask the customer to provide any additional details regarding the experience he had with the employee. It is important to understand whether the employee is actually at fault for something, or if the customer is mainly angry about the situation itself.

4. Meet with the employee who received the complaint. Address the issue and ask the employee about it. Determine the fault, if possible, that led to the complaint. The employee could be at fault if he made an error or behaved inappropriately. For example, if the employee was rude or ignored a customer, the employee may be to blame. If this is the first infraction and it doesn't warrant a dismissal, use the complaint as an opportunity for the employee to improve his interaction with customers.

5. Document the incident. This can be helpful because it provides a record of complaints against an employee and any action that resulted from the incident, such as coaching the employee has agreed to in order to prevent future infractions.

6. Follow up with the customer, if appropriate. Letting the customer know that you handled the situation and took it seriously will help the customer feel valued. Even if the customer did not get exactly what she wanted, the customer will feel like she did the right thing by making her complaint known and believe the company cares about its customers' experiences. Communicating with the customer can leave the customer feeling like she had a positive experience.

References

• Peter Barron Stark Companies: Handling Customer Complaints About Employees
• Manager by Design; What to do When You Receive a Customer Complaint About Your Employee's Performance; Walter Oelwein; January 2011.
• Business Link: How to Deal with Customer Complaints
• CSM; How to Handle Customer Complaints; Kevin Stirtz