ISO 10002 - Guidelines for complaints handling in organizations
Customer dissatisfaction can damage your business. According to recent research, an average of 25 out of 26 unhappy anonymous customers will subsequently drive away 1,560 of their friends from your business. Smart management will find ways to differentiate themselves from competitors, define customer service standards, and deliver an effective complaint handing system for their customers.
Complaint management is challenging as there is not always a concrete solution to the problem. Success depends on how well you understand the complaint, how it is handled and if the customer is happy with the solution offered. A new release of ISO 10002 for Quality Management: Customer Satisfaction - Guideline for Complaint Handling in Organisations is an excellent customer service certificate and acts as a 'true-to-life' manual designed expressly for this purpose. "A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction made to an organization, related to its products, or the complaints handling process itself, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected." Definition from ISO 10002. ISO 10002 is relevant to any organization that wishes to exceed customer expectations, a basic requirement for businesses of all types and sizes, whether they're in the private, public or voluntary sectors.
Benefits of ISO 10002
There are a number of benefits to implementing and certifying your customer complaints management system:
Customer retention : By adopting the management system, your ability to retain the loyalty of your customers will be enhanced.
Brand reputation : Implementing and certifying your complaints management system demonstrates to stakeholders that you have a real commitment to managing customer care issues and you have processes in place to handle, analyse and review complaints.
Operational efficiency : Implementation and certification ensures a consistent approach to handling customer queries, enabling you to identify trends and eliminate the causes of complaints, as well as improve your organization's operations.
Improved internal communications and relations : It helps you to adopt a customer-focused approach to resolving complaints and encourage personnel to improve their skills in working with customers.
Flexibility : The standard is compatible with ISO 9001 Quality allowing you to add value and efficiency to your organization. ISO 10002 - annex A also provides guidance specifically for small businesses.
Continual improvement : It provides a basis for continual review and analysis of your complaints-handling process, the resolution of complaints and where improvements can be made.