Managing Complaints and Feedback

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belchonock

Go round the loop to get the most from complaints.

Do you view negative feedback and complaints as a learning opportunity? It's often hard to do so!

Most of us instinctively have negative reactions to complaints, whether they're internal (from co-workers, employees or managers) or external (from customers). And if the complaint is about something we did or created, or someone that we are responsible for, we can often become defensive, or view the complaint as unjustified or not our fault.

But, what exactly is a complaint? And should we view them as something negative?

In their classic customer service book, "A Complaint Is a Gift," Janelle Barlow and Claus Moller define a complaint as "a statement about expectations that have not been met." So feedback and complaints are actually really important. They're an opportunity for us to improve ourselves, our products, our services, and our processes – if we act on the feedback that we receive.

In this article, we'll explore managing complaints and feedback effectively. We'll look at different examples of complaints, and we'll identify how you can use the closed-loop feedback process to ensure that you learn from the feedback and complaints that you receive.

Types of Complaints

Many of us will receive complaints and feedback as part of our job.

For example, ...