Unjustified Complaints
Sometimes the customer’s complaint is unjustified (wrong), and it is better to handle this by letter
rather than on the phone to avoid arguments. And a complaints have to be investigated anyway, it
will usually take time before the customer can get an answer.
a. Let the customer know what has happened:
We have now looked into (investigated) your complaint in your letter of (date) concerning
(goods or service)
Thank you for your letter of (date) in which you told us about (complaint)
b. Tell the customer what has been done:
Our engineers, who visited you on 9th October, have reported back to us and say that the
photocopier you have been using has been left on overnight and this has burnt the motor out . . .
Our laboratory has examined the tee shirts you returned and tell us that shrinking was caused
by washing in boiling water, which the intructions on each garment warn you not to do
c. Explain in tactful terms that you cannot accept the complaint:
Under these circumstances we cannot accept responsibility and therefore, will not be able to
offer you a replacement or refund
Unfortunately we will not be able to offer compensation (money back) as the machine was
demage outside the terms of the guarantee
d. You should still thank the customer for writing to you:
Thank you for writing to us . . .
Thank you for contacting us about this matter
How to handling Unjustified Complaints
1. Is the customer always right?
Here we tackle the age-old notion behind customer service: The customer is always right. But is
that really the case?
The answer is both yes and no.
Yes in the sense that customer complaints should always be given weight and should always be
responded to-regardless of the actual complaint. So both justified and unjustified complaints are
valued because you should strive to keep a healthy customer relationship. So really, even if your
complainant offers a complaint that arises from product misuse or different expectations, the
customer is right because, well, they are your customer.
On the other hand, customers can be wrong (but don't tell them that!) on several different levels.
As mentioned above, you probably receive lots of complaints about customers who use a product
wrong and mistake that for a product failure. Others still might have different expectations about
what a product does-say they wanted a fountain pen that writes in black and red and yours only
comes in black. In this case, the customer obviously misread or misunderstood what exactly your
product offered, and so technically is wrong.
So to you, your company, and your employees, the answer to this question is both yes and no. But
to your customers, really, it's just yes.
2. Keep it friendly
The next thing on our list seems rather obvious, but its importance cannot be emphasized enough.
Complaints come from unhappy customers, so naturally, they must be handled with great care.
The best thing your complaints handling staff can do is respond to each complaint in a
personalized, helpful, and friendly manner, remembering to show your customer with respect and
importance.
Don’t be overly verbose or technical; there’s nothing an angry person hates more than being made
to feel ignorant. Likewise, don’t seem rushed or busy; every single customer deserves your
undivided attention, regardless of their actual complaint.
Long story short, attitude, intonation (for in person complaints and phone calls), professionalism,
and even body language will affect how your customer sees you. Better to keep things friendly
then to make things worse
3. Don’t apologize where you don’t need to
Imagine Peter decides to go out to dinner at your restaurant. After receiving great service and food,
Peter proceeds to make a complaint about your restaurant’s atmosphere, commenting that he
“doesn’t like Texan decor.”
First off, you should realize that this is the perfect example of an unjustified complaint. Sure, Peter
is entitled to like or dislike any kind of decor, but is that really grounds for a complaint?
In this case, you should stick to the initial step of complaints management: that of thanking your
complainant for their input. After that, you can decide if you want to really change up your decor
or not.
The point of the matter is that most unjustified complaints do not actually warrant an apology; in
fact, apologizing to the customer makes it seem like you should’ve provided a service where you
did not.
An admission of fault where there is none is unprofessional, and should be actively avoided when
dealing with all kinds of complaints.
4. What should you tell the customer?
So what exactly should you tell Peter?
As mentioned above, the first thing you should do with Peter-and indeed, any complainant-is thank
them for their comment. This conveys a sense of professionalism and politeness and shows your
customer that you value them.
Though the next steps aren’t necessary for unjustified complaints, you can proceed to follow them
should you feel that they positively contribute to your customer relationship.
After initially responding to your customer, you should let them know that you are actively
investigating the cause of the problem, and what course of action you mean to take to fix it.
If you’re planning on altering your decor because it is in fact unappealing, let Peter know. No
doubt he’ll feel better, that is, if it isn’t Texan of course.
