The Customer Complaint System: A Tool for Customer Service Improvement

Why Attend

This specialized course tackles the issue of customer complaints by focusing on its two components: the behavioral aspect related to the individual employee who deals face to face with the complainant, and the system's or procedural aspect related to how the organization should process a complaint, every step of the way, from the moment it is raised to its conclusion. Relying on ISO 10002 guidelines and other international best practices, the course also covers the necessary preparations an organization must go through in terms of culture development and openness before it can hope to benefit from complaints, recover complaining customers, improve internal processes and achieve new heights in customer satisfaction.

Overview

Course Outline

Schedule & Fees

Course Methodology

In addition to short presentations by the consultant and the resulting written or oral questions that are debated by the group, this course relies on case studies, exercises and the design of procedures and forms by work teams as well as role plays.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

Defend the vital role of a customer complaints management system in enhancing organizational performance
Demonstrate how a properly trained employee handles, step-by-step, complaining customers, gains their confidence and gratitude and secures their satisfaction
Implement a customer feedback system that will maximize customer satisfaction and retention
Manage every phase of the complaint handling process from preparation to closing including receipt, analysis, escalation, tracking, and all internal and external communication
Formulate relevant key performance indicators to assess and audit complaint systems

Target Audience

Customer complaint system managers and staff, customer service managers and staff, as well as managers and staff of support departments such as HR and IT, that provide services to other departments (internal customers) in the organization.

Target Competencies

Customer orientation
Empathic outlook
Emotional control
Meeting standards
Systems judgement
Organized workplace
Quality orientation

Introduction to understanding your customers

Interesting facts and figures
Customer retention
The principal foundation of retaining and developing our customer base
The 'PRIDE' model for understanding customer needs
Service mix elements
The service quality model and service gaps
Managing customer expectations

Introduction to complaints management

The importance of complaints
'Customer complaint' definition
Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty
The 'Kano' model
The danger of ignoring complaints
Levels of complaints
Sources of customer complaints
Types of Complaints
Complaints handling: process and behavior
Dealing with customer complaints

Complaints management standards and Complaints Handling Process (CHP)

Complaints management standards - background
Linkage to ISO 9001 process model
ISO 9001 and requirements for complaints management
Essential elements of a complaints management system
ISO 10002 Structure
Scope and guiding principles
The complaints handling policy
Responsibility and authority

Top management
Management representative
Other managers
All personnel in contact with customers
All other personnel

Planning and design

Objectives of the CHP
Customer satisfaction, linkages and alignment
Resource requirements
Competency requirements

Operation and communication

Essential elements
Receiving, recording and tracking
Assessing, investigating and closing

Maintenance and improvement

Collection of information
Satisfaction with CHP
Monitoring the CHP
Auditing the CHP
Management review

Assessing and monitoring a complaints management system

Quotes on measures
Where do KPIs come from
Metrics, measures and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Some organizational Key Result Areas (KRAs)
Criteria for ‘good’ KPIs
Analysis of complaints: root cause analysis
Prioritizing problems
Finding effective and efficient solutions

Mombasa

Mombasa (Kenya)2025-09-22$2100

Arusha

Arusha (Tanzania)2026-06-22$1995