Why (And How) You Should Keep a Customer Complaints Log
Make the most of any and all feedback.
No business owner likes customer complaints. However, the truth is that almost every business owner will receive at least one—and very likely many more than one—along the way.
While some complainants are certified, experienced moaners who like the sound of their own voice (or the look of their own comments), others are in fact providing you with a service: valuable feedback. In fact, we’d say the vast majority of complaints are legitimate and helpful. Yes, there are some people who love to complain. But most of us only do so when we have an actual bone to pick, and genuinely want to give feedback that could help a service or product to improve.
So how can you harness the power of complaints? A customer complaints log is a great start. Here’s why and how you should make one.
Why you should log your complaints
It’s tempting to ignore complaints and pretend they don’t exist. Who wants to re-read them several times and even return to them down the track? Unfortunately, you do—if you want to to gain any value from the experience.
You should log your complaints because:
They’ll highlight opportunities to improve! This is the crux of it: when you know what isn’t landing well with your customers and audience, you know what to improve. With complaints recorded, you’ll be able to identify patterns and see which aspects of your service or product need to be adjusted. Often, a complainant will include feedback in their review which you should file away as valuable information.
They are a valuable training resource. Having concrete real-life examples to point to when you’re explaining the “why” of your processes and procedures is very helpful. You could use a situation that resulted in a complaint as a training scenario, and ask what could have been done better.
They help you to maintain transparency and integrity. Keeping a log of complaints demonstrates your commitment to improving your services and products, and you can communicate this to customers. Thanking them for their feedback is a gracious way to respond to a complaint. You might even go back to them later, if appropriate, to demonstrate what you’ve done to address their complaint.
How to log your complaints
As admin experts, we’re pretty good at creating efficient, helpful systems and processes! Keeping a log of complaints requires a good system; here are our tips:
Make the most of your job management software and put relevant notes, complaints, and feedback under the customer’s profile. This is particularly helpful for tailoring your service to suit particular people, when possible.
Along the same vein, you can use any CRM software you have to record data and possibly create reports or insights with the analytics tools available.
If you don’t have the option in your software tools, the basics are just fine. You can keep a spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets; a perfect solution for smaller businesses and organisations.
Delegate the ultimate responsibility for ensuring complaints are logged to a specific person. Having one individual in charge of this makes it more likely it will happen. Your VA is a good option!
Make sure there’s a clear procedure for recording complaints, and everyone knows what they need to do when they come across one. This might include a Google form with fields for essential information: the customer's name, contact details, date of the complaint, nature of the complaint, the person handling it, resolution status, and follow-up actions. Categorising complaints can also make it easier to identify trends and problems.
Record the progress of the complaint, including action taken and individuals involved. Note down when it is resolved, but keep the record of it. Jot down any feedback provided during the resolution process.
Of course, customers’ personal data should always be stored securely and accessed only when necessary, in accordance with any relevant laws.
Once you’ve got your complaint logging systems underway and have begun a collection, don’t just let that valuable information sit. Review it regularly, identify patterns and recurring issues, and make informed decisions about how you can improve.
Need help to log complaints and create efficient systems to take your business to the next level? Released has a team of VAs with all the necessary skills—get in touch!
