The situation
A customer calls back about an unresolved issue:
“I called last week and nobody got back to me. I’m really not happy — I want to speak to a manager.”
Your role
You take the call. Your job is to stay calm, take ownership, and follow the complaint-handling procedure — including knowing when and how to escalate.
A good approach
- Acknowledge and apologise for the experience. “I’m sorry we didn’t get back to you — that’s not the standard we aim for. Let me help.”
- Take ownership. Get the details and the original reference number so the customer doesn’t have to repeat their whole story.
- Try to resolve it yourself first. Many complaints can be fixed at first contact. Check what you’re able to do.
- Escalate appropriately. If it’s beyond what you can resolve, or the customer reasonably wants a manager, escalate to your team leader (Noah Kelly) or the Customer Service Manager (Emma Wilson). Brief them first so the customer doesn’t start again.
- Record everything. Log the complaint, the actions taken and the outcome using Log feedback, so it’s tracked to resolution.
Watch out for
- Don’t become defensive or blame a colleague.
- Don’t transfer a frustrated customer without explaining what you’re doing and why.
- Don’t promise an outcome a manager hasn’t agreed to.
Reflect
- What does our charter promise about acknowledging and resolving complaints?
- How could complaint records like this help the business improve?