Analyze Patterns of Complaints

Arriving back from lunch, the acupuncturist was handed an urgent message to telephone a new patient. When the acupuncturist called, the patient said, “After I saw you this morning, I was amazed at the relief in my sciatica symptoms. I’d thought that stuff you said about freeing up the channels was nonsense.
     "But whatever you did caused another problem. My eyesight is shot. Everything I’m looking at is fuzzy. I made it safely driving home. I thought it was only the aftereffects that would go away. Now I’m getting irritated. You must have stuck needles in the wrong place!”
     The acupuncturist arranged for the man’s wife to drive him back to the office promptly. He then had the opportunity to analyze the complaint.

• Is this a complaint received from a number of patients/customers/clients? If so, there would appear to be a systemic problem for which it is important to take corrective action. Place more emphasis on fixing the problem than on fixing the blame. Whenever serious problems arise in your retail business, hammer out the difficulties in supportive ways. Use your management hammer to repair the shortfalls, not to pound yourself or your staff into the ground. With our example, loss of visual acuity was not a complaint the acupuncturist recalled ever having heard before from his patients.
• Is the complaint coming from someone who complains about almost everything? If so, it might be time to break up the relationship. Sometimes you’re no longer able to adequately satisfy a customer who’s been frequenting your business. Do it gracefully. Otherwise, the former customer’s belief that you have betrayed their trust can lead to them telling many others to avoid shopping with you. Make the last memory that person has of your business one of you respecting them. After they get away long enough to relax, they might come back. In our example, the acupuncturist had no reason to think this patient was a habitual complainer.

     As it happens, though, the acupuncturist received additional information which cut through any need for a prolonged analysis. You see, while he prepared for the disgruntled patient to arrive, his receptionist came in about another patient. “You know Mr. Brown who’s been receiving treatment here each week for a while? He called just now to say that at the end of his appointment this morning, he must have picked up somebody else's eyeglasses by mistake.”

Click below for more:
Resolve Customer Complaints Carefully
Fix the Problem, Not the Blame
Analyze Errors Accurately
Break Up with Customers Graciously