Finding the root causes of customer complaints …

1 Finding the root causes of customer complaints can help you fix problems as well as increase loyalty You probably know the averagenumber of customer complaints yourcustomer service center receiveseach week. But do you know theroot cause of these complaints ? John Goodman, president ofTechnical Assistance Research Pro-grams (TARP), suggests that untilyou understand the causes of cus-tomer problems, you won t be ableto address them correctly. TARP,based in Arlington, Virginia, spe-cializes in measuring and improvingcustomer care. Goodman presentedthese views at the 13th annual Inter-national Call Center Managementconference (ICCM) held recently of customer dissatisfactionGoodman says the typical caus-es of customer dissatisfaction fallinto five categories:1. Defects caused by productionor service failures and/oremployee Marketing Misleading customer error or unreason-able customer is incorrect butmakes a reasonable problems in the first cate-gory, Goodman says, can be fullyresolved within the confines of acompany s plant or service deliveryoperations.

2 In the other four cate-gories, either the customer or themarketing department causes or con-tributes to the a customer service manager,there may not be much you can doto rectify marketing mistakes, otherthan inform marketing of the cus-tomer complaints they are when a customer has unrea-sonable expectations or makes a mis-take in using your product or service,there are some things you and yourcustomer service department can doto reduce or even eliminate certainkinds of or unreasonable expectationsCustomers make mistakes,Goodman says, when they are unin-formed about the proper use orassembly of the product and fail toread the directions. He offered thefollowing example: One automobilemanufacturer discovered that a largepercentage of the complaints thatvehicles cruise controls did not workwere caused because the salespersonhad failed to provide the customerwith hands-on training on how to usethe device when the vehicle wasdelivered.

3 The company resolved this problem by compensating salespeo-ple for providing education to cus-tomers on how to use all of theThis article was reprinted from the October 2001 issue of customer Service readers may subscribe to the monthly newsletter by visiting phoning (973) 265-2300. 2010 Alexander Communications Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior written permission of Alexander Communications s options and how to main-tain the car. Not only did this drasticallyreduce the number of complaintsthe company received, but internalresearch showed that this educa-tional session can also have a sig-nificant impact on customers long-term satisfaction and , had the company and itscustomer service department notbeen diligent in keeping track ofroot causes of customer complaints ,this problem may have incompetence cancause problems in virtually everyindustry,Goodman says.

4 For exam-ple: A New York bank found that80 percent of the complaints aboutwire transfer errors from a corre-spondent bank were the result ofcustomers giving an incomplete orinaccurate address. A more extremeexample, related by a communica-tions executive, is a staff memberwho suggested that dusty floppydisks might be the cause of poortransmission client soffice manager replied, Oh, no. Ihave just washed them with soapand water. In addition, as a resultof customer ignorance, techniciansat some computer companies beginby asking customers who contactthem questions such as, Is itplugged in? and Is it turned on? Unreasonable customer expecta-tions also account for noted that one bleachmanufacturer received suggestionsto make its liquid bleach taste better customers were using it towhiten their teeth!

5 If your customer surveys areuncovering ways customers are mis-using your product, pass this infor-mation along to the marketingdepartment so they can add appro-priate labels on the product or helpyou develop a customer mistakesCustomers cause problems by using products and service inways other than they are intended,although their mistakes may bequite reasonable. Goodman provid-ed the following example: Arm-strong World Industries found thatthe low-maintenance, no-wax finishes on its floorings failed whencustomers cleaned the floors withabrasive powders that scratched the smooth surface,permanentlydestroying the low-maintenanceproperty of the floor. Customersused these abrasive cleanersbecause older types of flooring hadrequired s customer servicedepartment undertook a preemptiveeducational call with each customer ,preventing a problem that couldhave cost the company $12,000 inrevenue per customer over the cus-tomer s average period of of waiting for a complaint tobe received, customer service calledeach new customer and impartedfloor cleaning information to elimi-nate the for actionIf your customer service depart-ment is responsible for customer sat-isfaction surveys, two types of datamust be gathered to identify thecauses of dissatisfaction and developstrategies for their reduction.

6 Good-man suggested the following:1. A random sample of cus-tomers must be surveyed to deter-mine the full range of problems thatthey have encountered. This, Good-man says, is because the complaintrate for marketing and product per-formance related problems is signifi-cantly lower (5 percent to 20 percent)than product defect/failure problems(25 percent-50 percent). The surveywill pinpoint the range and loyaltyimpact of perceived The second set of data set tobe collected is complaints about thefull range of problems, including thecause. In this analysis, the volume isnot as important as the cause of thedissatisfaction, Goodman says. Intalking with the customer , the cus-tomer service agent should probe toidentify the actual cause improp-er use, improperly set expectations,or actual defect.

7 By combining the prevalencedata from the random survey withthe cause data from the complaintinterviews, the key problems bycause can be identified. Then theteam can take action on the wholerange of causes of ways to reduceproblemsOnce the customer -based prob-lems and their causes have beenidentified,there are three inexpen-sive ways you can reduce or elimi-nate these Effective labeling or direc-tions:Effective labeling or direc-tions can inexpensively decreasecustomer problems. For example, 2010 Alexander Communications Group, Inc. All rights study: How customer education can reduce complaintsTARP recently conducted a study with Alamo Rent-a Car in which 2,000customers were mailed a pamphlet, A Consumer s Guide to Renting a Car. A survey was then sent to this group and to 2,000 consumers who had notreceived the pamphlet.

8 Both groups had previously rented from Alamo atleast results: Customers who had received the guide and then rented a car indicateda 24 percent higher level of overall satisfaction with Alamo than those whohad not received the guide. Willingness to rent from Alamo next time was significantly higher (10percent) among those who got the guide before renting, and the percentageindicating they would definitely rent again was 15 percent higher for thosewho received education. While overall problem experience was not lower, problems with ratesand bills were significantly lower. This study suggests that educating customers on your product or servicecan not only reduce customer complaints , but increase loyalty as Dannon Yogurt Companyomitted the cautionary label regard-ing pits on cherry yogurt containers, complaints about broken teeth dou-bled.

9 Instead of redesigning thescreening process for cherry pits,the company reapplied the label,resulting in a more than 50 percentdrop in Proactive education:Pre-emptive education is a cost-effectiveway to resolve common customerproblems. Vodafone proactivelycalls customers three weeks aftercell phone activation. This call froma customer service agent solves anyoperating problems the customermay be having; it also assures prop-er expectations about the amount ofthe first bill, which is often morethan the customer Easily accessible assistance:Easily accessible customer assistanceis also an effective use of customerservice resources. GRACO children sproducts, a toy manufacturer,reduces returns and dissatisfaction byenclosing with its toys a card thatreads, Call us before you return oneof our products to the store.

10 Thisenables customer service to attemptto solve any problem the customermay be having with the product. In another example offered byGoodman,Dresser manufacturingnow helps prevent damaged productsby putting on all its complex fittingslabels that say, If this fitting doesn tseem to fit, call us at 800-xxx-xxxx. In this way, customer service cantalk to the installer before the prod-uct is damaged and to takeTo help reduce customer dissat-isfaction and in the processreduce complaint calls to your callcenter follow these steps:1. Collect data to determine theroot cause of the customer com-plaints you are Sort these causes into groups,such as product defect, marketingmiscommunication, or customerignorance/education Meet with your team todevelop effective strategies toresolve the problem.