Customer Complaint Handling Procedure Sample
Here's a sample Customer Complaint Handling Procedure that you can use as a starting point for your organization's quality management system. This procedure outlines how customer complaints are received, documented, investigated, resolved, and analyzed to enhance customer satisfaction and identify areas for improvement.
Customer Complaint Handling Procedure
Purpose:
This Customer Complaint Handling Procedure is established to ensure that customer complaints are effectively and consistently managed to address customer concerns, improve customer satisfaction, and identify opportunities for continual improvement.
Scope:
This procedure applies to all employees and departments within the organization responsible for receiving, investigating, resolving, and analyzing customer complaints.
Responsibilities:
1. Customer Service Representatives: Customer service representatives are responsible for receiving and initially documenting customer complaints.
2. Quality Assurance Department: The Quality Assurance Department is responsible for overseeing the complaint-handling process, conducting investigations, and ensuring effective resolution.
Procedure:
1. Complaint Receipt:
a. Customer complaints may be received through various channels, including phone, email, website forms, or in person.
b. All complaints are recorded promptly, and the date of receipt is documented.
2. Initial Documentation:
a. Customer service representatives gather essential information from the complainant, including contact information, a detailed description of the complaint, and any relevant supporting documents.
b. Complaints are classified based on their nature and severity.
3. Complaint Registration:
a. Complaints are assigned a unique reference number for tracking purposes.
b. The complaint details are recorded in a central complaint management system.
4. Investigation and Analysis:
a. The Quality Assurance department conducts a thorough investigation of the complaint, involving relevant departments or personnel as necessary.
b. Root cause analysis is performed to determine the underlying reasons for the complaint.
5. Resolution:
a. Once the investigation is complete, the organization takes corrective actions to address the root causes of the complaint.
b. Corrective actions may include process improvements, product revisions, or other measures to prevent recurrence.
6. Communication with the Customer:
a. The organization communicates with the customer to inform them of the resolution or proposed corrective actions.
b. Customers are provided with a timeline for resolution if applicable.
7. Follow-up and Closure:
a. After corrective actions have been implemented, the organization follows up with the customer to ensure their satisfaction and verify that the complaint has been resolved to their satisfaction.
b. The complaint is marked as closed in the complaint management system.
8. Documentation and Records:
a. All details related to the complaint, including the investigation, corrective actions, and customer communication, are documented and retained.
b. Records are maintained for a specified period as per the organization's document retention policy.
9. Complaint Analysis:
a. Periodic analysis of customer complaints is conducted to identify trends, recurring issues, and areas for improvement.
b. The Quality Assurance department reviews complaint data to drive continual improvement efforts.
Review and Audit:
This Customer Complaint Handling Procedure shall be reviewed and audited periodically to ensure its effectiveness and compliance with ISO 9001:2015 requirements.
Please customize this procedure to align with your organization's specific processes and requirements. Additionally, ensure that you follow any relevant industry-specific regulations or standards that may apply to customer complaint handling.