How to handle customer complaints: six steps from taking the complaint to the closing call
Sado AI team · · 5 min read
In short
Complaint handling isn’t one polite conversation but a process that sees the problem through. Listen to the complaint and write it down: who, what happened, when, the order number and what the customer wants. Give every complaint an owner and an exact deadline, and tell the customer that deadline. When the problem is fixed, call the customer and ask whether they’re satisfied; only then is the complaint closed. Once a month, count complaints by reason and fix the one that comes up most.
Where complaints get lost
In many companies a complaint is heard and then lost. The operator says “we’ll sort it out”, writes it on a scrap of paper, and the manager never hears of it. Three days later the customer calls again, much angrier this time.
That’s why you need a process: every complaint has a record, an owner and a deadline. Then none is forgotten, and the manager sees which problems keep coming back.
Six steps of complaint handling
- Take it. Hear the customer out, don’t interrupt and don’t argue. “I understand, that’s unpleasant” is enough; looking for who’s to blame comes later.
- Log it. Ask for and write down the facts: order number, date, what happened, what the customer wants (a refund, a replacement, a fix or just an apology).
- Assign an owner. Each complaint has one owner: the warehouse, delivery, a technician or the branch manager. “We’ll all look into it” means nobody will.
- Give a deadline. Tell the customer an exact time: “We’ll get back to you by noon tomorrow”. If you don’t know yet, say when you’ll call to tell them.
- Fix it. The owner finds a solution in time. If they’re running late, they call the customer before the deadline passes.
- Closing call. Once it’s fixed, call the customer: “Is the problem solved, are you happy with it?” If yes, close it; if not, go back to step four.
The complaint log: which columns you need
| Column | Example |
|---|---|
| Date and time | 4 November, 10:15 |
| Customer and phone | Nodira, phone number |
| Order or service | Jacket, dry cleaning, No. 4512 |
| What happened | A stain left on the sleeve after cleaning |
| What the customer wants | Cleaning again, free of charge |
| Reason type | Quality |
| Owner and deadline | Workshop head, by 6 pm on 5 November |
| Status | Open / fixed / closed |
The log can be an Excel sheet or a separate CRM pipeline, as long as every complaint sits in one place everyone can see.
Example: taking a complaint
Caller: Hello. I picked up my jacket yesterday, and at home I saw a stain on the sleeve.
Sado: Oh, I’m sorry, that’s unpleasant. Could you give me the order number?
Caller: 4512. My name is Nodira.
Sado: Nodira, I’ve noted it: jacket, stain on the sleeve. What would suit you, shall we clean it again?
Caller: Yes, but free of charge this time.
Sado: Of course, free of charge. Tomorrow before noon our workshop head will call you and say when to bring it in.
Caller: Fine, I’ll wait.
The operator didn’t argue, logged the facts, asked what the customer wanted and gave an exact deadline. The free re-cleaning came from the company’s written rule, not from the operator.
Once a month: count the complaints
For example, 38 complaints in a month: 17 about delays, 9 about quality. So the delivery schedule comes first. These numbers are only an example. Each month, take four things from the log:
- The number of complaints by reason type: quality, delay, staff behaviour, price, wrong order.
- The single most frequent reason and a plan to fix it, agreed with its owner.
- The average time to close: how many days from taking the complaint to closing it.
- The list of repeat complainers: these are the customers you are most likely to lose.
How an AI operator takes a complaint
Sado’s AI operator takes a complaint at once, at night and at weekends too: it listens, asks your questions (order number, what happened, what the customer wants) and records the answers as separate fields. It doesn’t promise solutions it doesn’t know: it says the person in charge will call and creates a task. When your rule says so, it transfers the call to a staff member at once.
The recording, transcript and short summary are in the portal, and in the CRM too if Bitrix24 is connected. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
How quickly should you respond to a complaint?
Take it at once, in the same call. The time to fix depends on the problem, but give the exact time in that conversation and don’t be late.
What if the customer demands compensation?
Write a rule in advance: when you offer a refund, a replacement or a discount, and who decides. Then the operator doesn’t promise anything on their own and hands the case clearly to the person in charge.
Do complaints have to be kept in a CRM?
No, a simple sheet works too. What matters is that everyone can see each complaint’s owner, deadline and status.