CSE0_ Effective complaint handling Belfast 25 th March 2009 Clement De Souza Principal Consultant & Lecturer

CSE0_ CSE – Easy to use + commitment Staff training Learn from mistakes Review Process

CSE0_ Effective Complaints Management Responding effectively to customer complaints and feedback Analysing causes of complaints and working on them to prevent recurrence Learning more about yourself and your customers and acting on that knowledge

CSE0_ Attitudes and Response to Complaints Negative Positive Ignored Rationalised Reacted to Responded to Encouraged Welcomed Listened to Defended Denied _ 09

CSE0_ Complaint Management Process: Key Elements Customer Input Fix Immediate Problem Inform Customer Analyse Data Record & Document Complaint Improvement Action on Root Causes Measure & Monitor Feedback to and from Customer Interface Complaint Analysis Prevention & Continuous Improvement

CSE0_ Is Customer complaints handling the same in: The private sector? The public sector enforcement agencies? The public sector non-enforcement agencies?

CSE0_ Pre-requisites Ensure commitment to act at all levels Blame-free culture that has a positive perception of complaints Complaint handling process well understood All understand their roles and have received appropriate training

CSE0_ Hierarchical Customer Expectations Buckingham and Coffman: Level 4ADVICE Level 3PARTNERSHIP Level 2AVAILABILITY Level 1ACCURACY

CSE0_ Managing the Customer Interface - Success Factors Empowered staff with clear authorities Effective internal communication Providing data to front line staff handling complaints seen as a priority Commitment to respond to customer within agreed timescale

CSE0_ Sources of Complaint Data Customer letter Customer telephone call Direct to front line staff Report/feedback cards Help lines Customer Driven Supplier Driven

CSE0_ Complaint Analysis  Pareto Analysis by: >Products/service type >Customer >Problem type  Isolate high frequency or high cost complaint areas  Investigate and discover root causes (possibly using improvement teams)

CSE0_ Possible Causes Human error (in production or service) Poor training Poor attitude Poor design Inadequate systems Incapable equipment Misuse Misunderstanding “Trying it on” Staff Customer Organisation

CSE0_ Problem Prevention & Continuous Improvement Eliminate root causes Avoid blame Measure performance Communicate with the customer

CSE0_ Complaints Handling Measures Cycle Times Reply to customer Resolve immediate problem Eliminate root causes % of complaints resolved in target time Cost of complaints % of complaints for specific issues (trends) % of customers satisfied with how complaint was handled

CSE0_ Critical Success Factors Commitment to action Blame-free, positive attitude to complaints Seek customer feedback from all sources Encourage, don’t just react Don’t shoot the messenger Analyse and isolate root causes Constant feedback and communication with the customer