If responding to complaints is your weakest area, then you are not alone.
Complaints handling is officially the weakest area for UK businesses1 and no business is immune from complaints.
When a complaint is not properly dealt with, this can mark the beginning of the end for your favourite local restaurant, beauty salon, boutique or pet boarding business. Despite the years of hard work spent building the brand and the business, one or two mishandled complaints can ruin it all.
So how do you avoid client or customer complaints being the wrecking ball of your brand, business and reputation? I have spent years helping my clients – doctors, retailers, designers, scientists, restauranteurs and entrepreneurs – successfully respond to complaints and emerge all the stronger for it.
It’s all about the response
Respond well and you can reclaim the relationship and your reputation. You can even improve your business and your service or product. Respond badly and after a single negative experience, more than half consumers and clients will leave your business and not return.
Even the big brands don’t always get it right. Read Paul Mackenzie-Cummins’s A bad PR day for Waitrose for a masterclass in mistakes.
“Mouldy Mozzarella”: A Case Study
As a micro-illustration, take my complaint last week to, you guessed it, Waitrose! I bought mozzarella and a moment before eating it, realised that this had been sold to me many weeks after the use by date. I gave Waitrose neat facts, my till receipt and two photos . So how did Waitrose respond?
Badly. In fact, Waitrose’s email reply was as bad as the cheese would have tasted had I attempted it!
Be the Right Manager and remember these top tips
Here are six key things to remember when replying to a complaint. Waitrose have helpfully illustrated the “how not to…” element, with their response wording in italics.
1. Be personal
“I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns regarding the out-of-date product you encountered at our store”. Show the appreciation by recognising what product we are talking about. I didn’t just “encounter” it (“Hello, Mozzarella, you are looking rather tired and old today?”), I bought it and nearly ate it!
2. Be sincere
“Your feedback is important to us.” Wow, I bet you say this to all the girls, Waitrose! No one wants to read AI-generated patter. Dig deep and make sure you mean what you say.
3. Give actual redress
“As your purchase was made in branch we are unable to process a refund… However we can issue an eGift voucher”. You can issue a voucher…but then you didn’t! Nothing was attached to the email.
4. Don’t be vague
“I will escalate this matter to our head office for internal review”. Internal review is fine, but why not reassure customers that the store manager will be immediately notified and all shelves checked. My complaint said that out-of-date items (including sausages and shellfish) were frequently on the shelves of this store.
5. Set a timeframe
No one wants to be left hanging, waiting for a full reply or a refund. Refund immediately and set a short and fair timeframe for a final outcome.
6. Be nice
If a customer takes the time to point out a failing area of your business, and especially where the customer has been inconvenienced, be nice. Go the extra mile and give them something extra: a bunch of flowers, a free coffee. This is low cost, but a valuable step to restoring your brand and reputation.
Help is at hand when you contact me
If you would like expert help in responding to complaints or tackling awkward problems, contact me now.
The Works Counsel has a proven track record in helping entrepreneurs and business leaders respond with clarity and brilliance.
- UKCSI 2025 ↩︎
