Page 86 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

9
Handling complaints

Practical example

One of Dinner Ltd’s clients is Bookdistri. Dinner Ltd has organized the dinner for
Bookdistri’s New Year party. Two days after the party, Paul Paper, the General Manager
of Bookdistri, called Harry Haddock to say that he wanted to make an appointment for a
meeting. After setting a date for the meeting, Harry asked whether Paul was satisfied
about the party. Harry said that he had checked in on it around 10 pm and it seemed to
him that people were having a wonderful time. Paul answered that that was precisely the
reason he wished to speak to Harry, because there had been some problems later on in the
evening. Because Paul Paper sounded a little irritated on the phone, Harry anticipates
some difficulties will arise during their meeting. Usually clients have few or no
complaints, or if they do they never tell him. Since Bookdistri is considered an important
client that Dinner Ltd does not want to lose, Harry prepares well for the meeting.

Introduction

In daily work situations you will come across many situations involving people who have
a complaint. The way you deal with these complaints determines whether guests or
clients are lost forever or whether the relationship with them becomes stronger.
Complaints from guests or clients may turn out to be a good point of departure for
strengthening the relationship. Several studies have shown that clients will remain loyal
to a company if it takes their complaints seriously and handles them well. However, this
requires an attitude of believing that all complaints have a positive side and it also asks
for active listening. Handling complaints consists of five phases:
1 Listening to the complaint.
2 Showing understanding.
3 Investigating the practical aspects of the complaint.
4 Finding a solution.
5 Coming to an agreement.