Benefits for the Organisation

A management philosophy that embraces customer satisfaction as a primary goal of the organisation, instead of taking a defensive standpoint, can change both the external and internal perception of the organisation.

Shifting the emphasis from the negative view of complaints (the cost, the hassle etc) to the positive (the feedback, the value etc) can have a profound effect. It changes the whole nature of the organisation's relationship with service users. It also empowers front-line staff to use their judgement and initiative.

The evidence from the private sector is that consumers who complain will continue to use the organisations they complain about if they believe their complaint was resolved fairly.

Consumers rarely stop using an organisation when they complain, but they do stop using an organisation when their complaint has not been addressed properly. Complaints almost always give the organisation a chance to put things right and should be treated as opportunities for service recovery.

Organisations can learn to recover from mistakes. A good recovery can turn an unhappy, frustrated customer into a loyal one!

A useful formula is:

Doing the job right first time + Effective Complaint handling = increased customer satisfaction/support

In addition, complaints that are not resolved swiftly can have a significant impact on the overall workload of an organisation. This can have a negative impact on staff morale. Research suggests that problems that arise as a result of poor service and ineffective communication may account for up to one-third of an organisation's total workload.* Adopting an effective system to handle complaints can have real operational benefits for an organisation as well as improving public perception and relationships with service users.

* From the NSW Ombudsman Complaint Handler's Toolkit