Dealing positively with written complaints
Featured in the Complaint handling for positive outcomes training manual
By Nina Lockwood
Category: Customer Service
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
Generally speaking, if a customer has made an effort to write a letter to an organisation complaining about a product or service, they may have tried to complain by other methods and not been satisfied with the response they received. Alternatively, they could feel intimidated at the thought of complaining in person and therefore wish to put their thoughts in writing. Either way, written complaints involve dealing with emotional customers who are dissatisfied with the product or service they have received. This training activity will encourage participants to consider the effort that has gone into writing the letter of complaint, and how to ensure a positive outcome to the situation by writing an appropriate response.
In the first part of the training activity, participants consider the effort that will have gone into writing a letter of complaint, and the potential impact of this effort on how the customer is feeling towards the organisation. In the second part, they discuss the benefits of responding by letter to a customer complaint, and also consider the impact that getting these letters right will have on the future profit of the organisation. Practical exercises then enable the participants to highlight the key elements of a successful response letter and look for ways to improve the standard letters provided in the training activity. You take the group through the key principles of writing for results in a group session, using actual letters provided by the participants or the examples provided. You then lead a group discussion to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the participant’s approaches. Finally, the participants are encouraged to place the emphasis on regaining a customer’s confidence through effective letter writing in a small-group exercise that links the key learning points of the training activity in a final conclusion.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to show participants the basic skill of constructing effective letters in response to customer complaints, taking into account factors that might be influencing how the customer is feeling at that point in time.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 6 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 02:15:00 |
| No of Pages: | 18 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers with all members of staff responsible for dealing with written complaints and those who would potentially respond in writing to a verbal complaint.
Download the training activity, Dealing positively with written complaints as featured in the Fenman training manual; Complaint handling for positive outcomes