The biggest complaint about complaints is a lack of follow-up. If a customer goes to the trouble of making a complaint, either in person, over the telephone or in writing, the very worst thing that you can do is to ignore it. This only adds insult to injury.
A friend of mine recently complained to a sales assistant that she had received change for a $20 note when she had handed over $50. The manager was called and he spent some time checking the till against the cash receipts tape. My friend was required to wait around while this was done.
The manager finally said that he would have to wait until close of business to check if there had been a mistake. He asked for a phone number to contact her, and she is still waiting for the call. This business has opened only recently and one wonders how long it will last if its customers' complaints are handled in this manner. The manager lost a perfect opportunity to secure a loyal customer by showing concern for my friend's predicament and handling her complaints quickly and courteously.
A lot of the time, customer complaints aren't handled or processed properly simply because no one knows what to do. Often they are put at the bottom of the in-tray because people don't like to deal with conflict. In some cases it may mean that someone will lose their job, and if you are the person processing the complaint, others may blame you for it.
Whatever the reason, customer complaints cannot be ignored. Ensure that the right systems are in place so that complaints cannot be covered up or hidden in the system. Make it mandatory that any complaint received by your business should be brought to your attention.
When training your staff, emphasize the importance of handling complaints professionally and promptly. I once received a response a year after I had written a letter of complaint to a department. It's hard to believe that my complaint had been shuffled from desk to desk for all that time before someone finally wrote to me to apologize. While it made me a little angry, I have to admit that I was impressed that my complaint hadn't just been thrown in the bin.