But how do we deal with customers who have unrealistic expectations about complaint handling timeframes? The NSW Ombudsman has provided some guidelines and suggested scripts for dealing with customers who make demands about how their complaint should be handled, including insisting on an immediate response.
Suggested Strategies
- Inform the customer that it is your organisation and not them that decides how the complaint will be handled, by whom, and the amount of resources to be dedicated to it.
- Tell them clearly, transparently and firmly from the outset how the organisation intends to deal with the complaint.
- Be honest and upfront about what will and will not happen and what is and is not possible.
- Explain that an immediate response is not possible because there are other demands on the organisation's time, there are processes that must be followed and that the organisation deals with complaints on a first come first served basis - and there other complaints that came in before their own.
Suggested Scripts
Perhaps no-one has taken the time to explain the complaints process to you. Let me.
I appreciate that you want this dealt with right away. But I'm sure that you can also understand that I do have several other complaints that I have to deal with in addition to yours and which were brought to my attention first.
We deal with complaints on a first come first served basis, and as you can imagine, there are files that came in before yours. I'll be in contact with you in [days/ weeks] or sooner if I need more information from you.
Most people who complain to us consider that their complaint is the most important one and want us to deal with it right away or ahead of other complaints. That's not possible in practice.
It's clear this is important to you and you want it handled in a certain way, but there is a process that I must follow to make sure that it's dealt with appropriately and fairly for everyone involved.
I know you feel your complaint is urgent. I've assessed it and have decided I should call the officer/ organisation concerned. I'll be able to do this sometime this week/ I'll need some time to do this and then to receive a response from them. How about you call me [days/weeks] and hopefully I'll have some information for you then?
Ultimately, if you are unhappy with the way we are handling your complaint you are free to raise it with another organisation.
I sometimes use a variation of the last suggested script when a customer says that the organisation is delaying the handling of their complaint. In those instances I will suggest to the customer: If you consider that we are hindering the progression of your matter, I can close your complaint and you are able to take it up in another forum. A word of warning - you have to be very careful with the tone you use and your delivery of this phrase because it can be very easily interpreted as being antagonistic.
I appreciate that you want this dealt with right away. But I'm sure that you can also understand that I do have several other complaints that I have to deal with in addition to yours and which were brought to my attention first.
We deal with complaints on a first come first served basis, and as you can imagine, there are files that came in before yours. I'll be in contact with you in [days/ weeks] or sooner if I need more information from you.
Most people who complain to us consider that their complaint is the most important one and want us to deal with it right away or ahead of other complaints. That's not possible in practice.
It's clear this is important to you and you want it handled in a certain way, but there is a process that I must follow to make sure that it's dealt with appropriately and fairly for everyone involved.
I know you feel your complaint is urgent. I've assessed it and have decided I should call the officer/ organisation concerned. I'll be able to do this sometime this week/ I'll need some time to do this and then to receive a response from them. How about you call me [days/weeks] and hopefully I'll have some information for you then?
Ultimately, if you are unhappy with the way we are handling your complaint you are free to raise it with another organisation.
I sometimes use a variation of the last suggested script when a customer says that the organisation is delaying the handling of their complaint. In those instances I will suggest to the customer: If you consider that we are hindering the progression of your matter, I can close your complaint and you are able to take it up in another forum. A word of warning - you have to be very careful with the tone you use and your delivery of this phrase because it can be very easily interpreted as being antagonistic.
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