Introduction
Hardly ever has the word “complaint” been used in a positive sense. Originally, it comes from Latin where it meant “hit” or, figuratively, “hit on the chest.” Although some businesses happen to treat complaints as hostile fault-finding and try to avoid or ignore them, complaints are claimed to have a positive outcome and, thus, should be managed properly.
Analysis
Nowadays, a complaint tends to be associated with pain, discontent, and irritation. This word can stand for a medical disease or a legal claim. It is, therefore, obvious that no one enjoys getting complaints. However, a complaint is one of the ways for the customer to inform the business on how to continue developing. Businesses strive to put the best foot forward in order to make products or provide services. Despite this, clients have enough courage to say that they do not appreciate the endeavor. What is more, businesses should welcome such applications and attitude. A complaint can be treated as a means of expression.
Customers tend to groan and moan, which might seem unfair at first, but their message appears to provide crucial information for the further development of the organization. Hence, a complaint proves to be a gift. As a matter of fact, complaints are acknowledged to be feedback which helps businesses to quickly and cheaply amend their production quality, service style, and working directions in order to comply with the customer’s requirements. In the long run, these are clients who any business is based on and who purchase products and services. Therefore, a complaint should be viewed as a strategic tool or, in other words, as a means for the business to find out something about the products and services which have not been known yet. Complaints, thus, can become an asset but neither a loss nor expenditures (Knox and Van Oest 44-46).
It is a universal truth that a business does not exist without clients. Complaints are one of the main means of direct communication with a customer. Nowadays, the concept of a client has been broadened. Presently, a client is not the one who pays but anyone who benefits from services and products, including patients, students, and public transport passengers. Besides, there has appeared a notion of an internal client which implies colleagues and the management. Customers have found themselves at the top of the hierarchical structure of the organization. They are at the center of any business. This fact happens to be ignored. Numerous customer surveys show that a client often endures discontent. The staff, production, service, and system strategies are obstacles for a client to get a positive experience. If the business is interested in client-based development, complaints should be at the center of attention. What is called a complaint is, in fact, one of the immediate and significant means to express discontent for the business. Therefore, it is better to use the word “feedback” instead of “complaint” (Yilmaz et al. 951-53).
In reality, the majority of businesses consider complaints as their failure which they are unwilling to admit. Besides, some businesses tend to think that complaints might result from the client’s desire to get services and products free of charge. Although companies should accept complaints, they struggle to decrease their number. However, according to Hyken, if analyzed deeper inside, complaints have advantages, and it is necessary to learn how to manage them but not how to avoid them. Complaints are an efficient and effective way to inform the business that it has a perspective for improvement. So, if necessary improvements are not made, customers will have to shift to another producer or service provider. Hence, complaints should be managed but neither avoided nor ignored (Hyken).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is necessary to point out that complaints should be considered as feedback. Many businesses tend to avoid or ignore them. However, it might be reasonable to manage complaints.
Works Cited
Knox, George, and Ruther Van Oest. “Customer Complains and Recovery Effectiveness: A Customer Base Approach.” Journal of Marketing, vol. 78, no. 5, 2014, pp. 42-57.
Hyken, Shep. “Customer Service Speaker Explains How to Handle Complains.” YouTube. Web.
Yilmaz, Cengiz, Kaan Varnali, and Berna Tari Kasnakoglu. “How Do Firms Benefit from Customer Complaints?” Journal of Business Research, vol. 69, no. 2, 2016, pp. 944-55.