Practice—client relationships: handling complaints effectively

When a breakdown in the practice-client relationship occurs, an effective complaint handling procedure enables practices to redeem themselves in an unhappy client's eyes. Indeed, research has shown that a customer whose complaint has been handled well, is more likely to remain a customer afterwards and to continue to make future purchases than if they had never experienced a problem at all (Rothenberger et al, 2008). It is as if effective complaint handling demonstrates the extent to which a company cares, which may not always be apparent during the normal course of business.

Of course, it is far better for a complaint not to have arisen in the first place, but since it is impossible to please all of the clients all of the time, occasional complaints are an inevitable fact of life, no matter how well organized the practice. To minimize the occurrence of complaints, practices need to do two things — ensure that they are doing all they can to prevent complaints arising in the first place, and ensure they have effective procedures in place for dealing with a complaint once it has arisen. The first task is about effective client communication and the second is about successful service recovery so that a valued client is not lost. Many clients who have an issue with their practice do not bother to complain — they simply go elsewhere. This is the worst case scenario, because the practice may continue to remain ignorant of what it is doing wrong with the inevitable consequences. When clients have a complaint, they need to be able to express it without feeling awkward or guilty. They also need to be willing to give the practice the opportunity to learn and to improve the service it provides. In this way, complaints represent valuable and useful client feedback.