Handling a Customer Complaint (Free Template)
Most customers who complain just want to be heard and to see something fixed. Staff who freeze or argue turn a cold coffee into a one-star review. This procedure is for front-line staff in cafés, restaurants, salons, shops and cleaning companies, so everyone knows what they can fix on the spot, when to call a manager and how to keep a record of what happened.
Free, no sign-up. Edit it, print it, share it with your team.
What you'll need
- What staff can offer without asking (redo, discount, refund)
- Manager's phone number
- Complaint log or notebook
The steps
Stop what you're doing and face the customer.
Put down what's in your hands. Showing you're listening calms most situations by itself.
Let them finish without interrupting.
Don't explain or defend while they're talking, even if they're wrong about something.
Repeat the problem back in one sentence.
"So your order came out cold and you waited 20 minutes for it." It shows you understood.
Apologize for their experience, plainly.
"I'm sorry, that's not how it should be." No "but" afterward.
Offer a fix you're allowed to give right away.
Remake the order, redo the service or take it off what they pay. If you're not sure what would help, ask them.
Get the manager if the fix is more than you can offer.
Tell the customer who you're getting and how long it will take. Brief the manager out of earshot so the customer doesn't have to repeat everything.
Step away calmly if a customer becomes abusive.
Say "I'm going to get my manager" and leave. You don't have to take abuse.
Watch out: If anyone feels unsafe, get a manager or call for help. Safety comes before the sale.
Fix the problem as fast as you can.
Put their fix ahead of the line. A complaint fixed in 3 minutes is often forgotten.
Thank them before they leave.
"Thanks for telling us. We'll sort it out." A customer who complains is giving you a chance to keep them.
Write the complaint in the log before the end of your shift.
Date, time, what happened, what you offered and who handled it.
Tell the manager if the same complaint has come up before.
A repeated complaint points to a procedure that needs changing, not a person to blame.
How to adapt it
- Decide in advance what staff can offer without asking, and write it into the step about offering a fix.
- Add how to reply to online reviews if your staff handle your social media.
- Role-play two complaints during training. It's awkward once, then it's easy.
- Read the log every month and look for patterns.
Turn this template into training your team will actually open
In ShowHow, your staff read each step on their phone, with photos, in their own language, and you see who has confirmed it. Start from this template or film yourself doing the job.
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