Let’s be honest, complaints aren’t usually anyone’s favourite part of Customer Service. But what if we’ve been looking at them the wrong way?
I recently asked Heads of Customer Service and Customer Experience a simple question: Can a well-handled complaint actually create a better customer experience than if nothing had gone wrong?
And it sparked a much more interesting conversation because perhaps the real question isn’t whether complaints are good or bad, it’s what happens next. A customer who has never had a problem has never had to test your organisation but a customer who has a problem gets to see what you’re really made of.
- Do you listen?
- Do you take ownership?
- Do you make it easy?
- Do you communicate?
- And, most importantly, do you do what you said you would do?
Get those things right and something interesting can happen. A customer who started the conversation frustrated can finish it thinking: “They actually cared.”
That doesn’t mean we should create problems just to demonstrate great service but it does mean every complaint is an opportunity to show the customer what your organisation stands for.
And that’s where Customer Service and CX leadership really matters because great service recovery isn’t just about fixing the immediate issue, it’s about what the customer remembers afterwards.
So I’d love to know what you think.
Can a brilliantly handled complaint create a stronger customer relationship than if nothing had gone wrong in the first place?
👉 Listen to the conversation and hear the thinking behind this question (opens in a new tab).
👉 And if you’re a Head of Customer Service or Customer Experience and would like to join me on the Customer Service Gold Dust Podcast, you can register your interest here (opens in a new tab).
What’s your experience?
Have you ever seen a customer become more loyal because of how their complaint was handled?