B2B

Hi All

I'm looking to simplify the way we handle complaints and problems across our whole group (40+ companies across the world - some with c500 employees, others with 8 employees and everything in-between). Currently we are very fragmented and inconsistent in our Complaint Handling Processes - it depends on the local cultures as to how well problems are handled and current customer feedback is that we're "ok", but not great.

Whilst I have a number of things on the go looking into simplifying our approach, the one thing I'm struggling to find is another B2B Company (or companies!) who capture what I call "softer" issues - issues that you perhaps wouldn't raise a "complaint" for, but that you'd want to capture and analyse on a regular basis to drive proactive changes, as well as the typical "complaint" type issues.

We're a Manufacturing company making high performance, generally bespoke, sealing products so one size isn't going to fit all, and I'm very aware that best practice can, and should be, taken from non industry specific businesses, but unfortunately, some people in our business still believe that if they can't see something working in a business similar to ours (Manufacturing/technical/bespoke), it'll not work here...!

I'd appreciate any thoughts on businesses I could contact / look at from a best practice point of view - especially if they capture and deal with "softer" problems too..

Many thanks in anticipation

Heather

------------------------------
Heather Grisedale
Service Excellence Manager
James Walker Group
------------------------------

Hi Heather,

If you have not already done so, I strongly recommend reading John Goodman's book, Strategic Customer Service (New York:  AMACOM).  In particular, check out Chapter Three, "Dealing with Customer Problems and Addressing Their Causes."  Goodman outlines a 5-step process for dealing with individual customer complaints (tactical response), then describes a 6-step process for systemic improvement and future problem prevention (strategic response).

I think you will find the content enlightening and adaptable.

Best regards

Randy

------------------------------
Randall Brandt
Consultant
Customer Experience Management
Greater Cincinnati Area, USA
1-859-384-1613
------------------------------

Hi Heather

This is a really interesting point and one we have come across a few times. 

I would suggest that there are three key things that need to be addressed with Complaints Management: 

1. The human aspect - Great listening and communication skills are key; and we recommend conversation cycle training for front liners dealing with complaints

2. Resolution management - Having a standard process in place can sometimes create more problems than it solves, as standard resolutions may not be acceptable from a customer perspective. More importantly, having empowered people following general principles within defined parameters is often a better way forward. The ultimate aim is to increase FCRs (First Contact Resolutions) and reduce the number of escalations to more senior people. 

3. Root Cause Analysis - Resolution management alone is not enough, as this does not prevent the same issues coming up again and again. For every complaint or set of complaints, you need to also run a root cause analysis so that you understand the source of the problem and solve it there, thereby eliminating repeat issues

In terms of the 'softer' issues, this is something the Financial Services industry faced a few years ago, when the whole issue of Payment Protection Insurance mis-selling first raised its head. The FS sector started getting their front liners to record "expressions of dissatisfaction" as well as complaints to ensure that they were capturing anything that could be interpreted as being a complaint - even if it wasn't a 'logged' complaint!  

One challenge with this is getting people to record these "expressions of dissatisfaction" manually. One thing that some companies do nowadays is to record calls, do automated voice-to-text conversion and then run sentiment analysis across the text.

Everything mentioned above works across all industry sectors, irrespective of whether they are B2C or B2B. I hate to say this, but in our experience the "it'll not work here" attitude usually comes from people who feel threatened by the concept of change. 

We are UK based, so if you'd like a call to discuss, we would be very happy to. 

Good luck!

Kind regards

------------------------------
Ian Williams
Director
Jericho
+44 (0) 207 099 1950
------------------------------

Hi Heather, when I led customer experience improvement for many years at semiconductor equipment manufacturer Applied Materials, I noticed robust processes for field-found defects and returned materials authorization. It dawned on me that we could borrow from those processes/procedures and apply them to customer complaints, both formal and informal, for closed-loop handling. If this is something that interests you, I'd be glad to help you work it out.

Lynn

------------------------------
Lynn Hunsaker, CCXP
Customer Experience Optimization Strategist
ClearAction
408-687-9700
lynn.hunsaker@clearactionCX.com
------------------------------