Complaint management

Question 1

Define Complaint and its influencing factors

Answer 1

When a customer feels strongly enough that his or her expectations have not been met, he or she may make a complaint. A complaint is when a customer brings a problem to the attention of the organization and expects some redress, probably over and above simply supplying the original product or service that was the cause of the complaint.

Influencing factors:
1. Benefits – Costs – Ratio: the complaint probability depends on the likelihood that the company responses, the Expected costs related to the complaint and the Expected benefits of the complaint.

2. Behaviouristic Explanation: the complaint probabiliy depends on the competences and motivation of the customer.

Question 2

Define Complaint Management

Answer 2

Two definitions:

• Cambridge Dictionary: the system by which a company deals with customers’ complaints
• Financial times lexicon: the process of analyzing and dealing with complaints from customers

Question 3

What are the barriers reasons for not complaining?

Answer 3

Five barriers:

1. Customers believe that the company won’t response
2. Customers do not want a dispute with the person responsible for the service failure
3. Customers do not know their rights nor the company’s obligations
4. Customers fear the effort and a waste of time
5. Customers fear negavtive consequences

Question 4

Illustrate Disconfirmation paradigm for complaints

Question 5

Explain the Disconfirmation paradigm for complaints

Answer 5

There is a comparison between Expectations in the company’s complaint response and the Perception of the company’s complaint response.
These comparision leads to a discrepancy between Indifference (NO) and complaint satisfaction (YES+) AND complaint dissatisfaction (YES -)

Hence, Expectations are greater…
• the more superior the customer feels towards the service provider
• if the company is obviously the cause for the service failure (in the customer’s opinion)
• the more positive complaint responses the customer had experienced in the past
• the more promises the company has made in advertisements.

Question 6

What are the Challenges for complaint management?

Answer 6

Three challenges:

(1) Complaints expand with more digital touchpoints
(2) Some customers have unfulfillable expectations
(3) Some customers love to fight

Question 7

Explain the Direct Complaint Management Process

Answer 7

1. Complaint stimulation: Service guarantees e.g., Money back guarantee, Train customers how to complain, Use digital touchpoints (e.g. e-mail, online community) or just call.
2. Complaint reception: First call experience is crucial, Concept of complaint ownership, Concept of a first prompt complaint response.
3. Complaint handling: Design of an internal complaint handling process (Who does what when?), Define Process Ownership (responsibility for the whole complaint handling), Define Complaint Ownership (responsibility for a single complaint case), Define Task Ownership (responsibility for single complaint handling process steps).
4. Complaint response: Define communication for complaint reception (e.g. confirmation letters, up dating letters, final response, follow-up call), Define solutions (guidelines, regulations, scope for employees)
   • Define responses to special complaints, difficult customers, and handling of unreasonable complaints

Question 8

Explain the Indirect complaint Management Process

Answer 8

1. Complaint analysis: Analysis of complaints to gain new insights / extent customer database / extent customer information: • Numbers (quantity) of complaints, distribution of complaints (e.g. is the complaint connected to a certain time or employee…)
2. Complaint management controlling
   • Objective: Target-orientation of complaint management
   • Evidence controlling • Task controlling, • Cost-benefit-analysis
3. Complaint reporting
   Distributing results of complaint analysis and complaint controlling to internal players
   Complaint -> complaint subject/handling information -> Information of strength and weaknesses of service quality
   dimensions and direct complaint management process/service failure cost -> CEO/Quality Manager/ Service manager/ Customer service/ Marketing/Market research …
4. Use of informations