The management of complaints and claims has the immediate objective of recovering the trust of a client who has been dissatisfied with the service received. But when we say regain customer trust, what do we mean specifically? trust in what?
But also, good claims management cannot stay there, but should be able to process that information to implement actions that prevent the same problem in the future, with that same client and with any other.
Now, when we say to regain customer trust, what do we mean specifically? trust in what? This is the question that I would like to answer with a brief reflection.
History of claim management
A while ago I hired a mail delivery service, which needed urgent delivery, and in order for my shipment to arrive "in 24 hours", I paid a special rate.
However, the sad result was that my package took 5 days to reach its destination. Obviously I was not satisfied with the service and this has generated a complaint.
At first it was not easy for them to take my complaint (there is usually resistance to registering complaints). But, once I overcame that obstacle, I was amazed at the response I received from the company. A few days later, the manager of the branch from which I sent my package called to tell me that they had received my claim and could reimburse me for the service, without any “but”.
My surprise was greater when I went to the branch to withdraw the promised money. As it is not near my house, or in a place that I frequent, it took me a few weeks to go. I do not deny that I was skeptical, I had doubts about what information or proof they would ask me to locate my claim, how long it would take to find out if the refund was authorized, if my case would not have expired, etc.
But, against all my predictions, it was enough to say my name at the counter, so that the treasurer of an office would come out, with the money in hand and a paper for him to sign. A quick, simple procedure, without any obstacle. I was honestly impressed.
Have you managed to regain my confidence?
Then I wondered if the fact of having carried out this claim management in such an expeditious and efficient way reached this company to keep me as a client.
I wonder, after this experience, would I hire your services again? I seriously doubt it. Why? And here is the key question.
What did this company achieve with efficient and customer-friendly claims management? It got me to gain confidence that they are able to handle my future complaints. But he did NOT get me to trust his main service. And this is the most important thing to avoid losing the customer.
So what is the trust that must be recovered in the client? Confidence that you are able to serve well the first time, this is the main thing. Secondly, in case of failure (there are always circumstances out of control), they are able to recover the service or compensate their clients.
In my case, it was not possible to recover the service (my package had been late, and time cannot go back). They were able to compensate me, but why would I think that next time my shipment will arrive on time? They have not managed to convince me of this.
What elements should a complete claims management have?
As a conclusion and learning from this story, we can say that good complaint and claim management should be:
- Quick. Acting on time allows in many cases to recover the service and minimize harm to the customer as much as possible. I'm not talking about the friendliness of the staff, but rather that they take the issue in hand, and the client perceives that they will do everything possible, without him having to be on top, pushing to get an answer. This is the key that has been missing in my case. Going deep means all the way to the end of the problem. Find out the causes and solve them, to finally communicate to the client that their problem is not going to repeat itself because the appropriate measures have been taken to prevent it in the future.
The latter is what will make the customer trust the company again. Not only that they are able to respond to problems, but that they are able to prevent them.
