|
How Can Complaints Create Long Term Customers?
 Despite customers who complain being
unhappy, more and more businesses are
realising that by handling complaints in the
right way; they can actually create more
loyal customers.
The survey of 1,925 consumers, carried out
by Ipsos MORI for Ernst & Young, indicates
that retailers with knowledgeable,
empathetic, professional staff empowered
with the ability to problem solve
characterize the best complaints handling.
As customers are becoming more assertive
about how they want their complaints
handled, retailers are also taking more
seriously the issue of complaints handling
and its impact upon customer retention.
In the last 12 months, six out of ten
customers have complained or felt they had
cause to complain about a supplier,
including financial services, but did not. A
quarter said they believed they had cause to
complain in the last year but had chosen not
to do so, either because of perceived
difficulties in complaining, not feeling
their actions would be taken seriously, or
because of possible embarrassment.
Philip Middleton, partner at Ernst & Young,
said: “Our research shows that those
retailers who are best able to resolve
customer complaints quickly, satisfactorily
and with minimum fuss are more likely to
retain that customer than those who don’t.
Customers want to speak to knowledgeable
staff that are empowered to handle their
complaint and take it seriously.”
Almost a third of consumers cited staff
inability to resolve a complaint as the key
reason they were dissatisfied with the
complaints handling process. For financial
customers a lack of product knowledge was
the second most common irritant, whereas
retail consumers were more frustrated by
their complaint not being taken seriously.
Quick problem resolution is a key reason for
customer satisfaction in both financial and
non-financial complaints. However financial
consumers were far more likely to prefer
rapid monetary compensation, while for
non-financial consumers a quick resolution
to the problem was more important.
Perhaps surprisingly, there is little
difference between customers’ experience of
complaints handling with banks and insurers
compared to other retail services: 41% of
financial complaints were satisfied with the
outcome compared to 39% of non financial
complaints. Similarly, 32% of financial
customers were dissatisfied compared with
33% of non financial ones. Telecoms
customers were least satisfied with the way
their complaint was handled while high
street retailers topped the poll for
customer satisfaction.
Consumers are also increasingly willing to
escalate a complaint and grow impatient if
rapid resolution is not achieved. The survey
identified three categories of customers:
-
Regular complainers
– those who enjoy complaining and are
proud of their proficiency;
-
Reluctant complainers
– who find the process difficult and
distasteful; and
-
Rational complainers
– the majority of whom seek fair
treatment, value for money and above all
being taken seriously. If their
complaint is handled quickly and
efficiently, they are more likely to be
complimentary about the provider.
The lesson here is to deal with complaints
as quickly and efficiently as possible, most
people fall into the group of rational
complainers and just simply want to be
treated fairly. Solving problems quickly can
create long term customers; not solving them
will lose you customers and create bad
publicity.
For more information read our free article
Why and How to Deal With Customer
Complaints.
|
