Not responding is not an option

Quentin Tannock

Now that the new Consumer Protection Act has been signed into law, companies are going to have to step up and comply. Irrespective of the law, following best practice when it comes to customer service and protection simply makes good business sense.

For a variety of reasons, not all of them logical, some consumers will not want to use the complaints process provided by the supplier. Other customers will use the supplier's complaints channels but will not like the process, or its outcome. Utilising an independent third party can offer a ‘safety net', giving suppliers a second chance at winning back these unhappy customers.

Studies have shown that the vast majority, 60 - 75%, of customers will do business with a company again if it deals with their customer service issue fairly - even if the result is not in their favour. And if the complaint is resolved quickly, with minimum fuss on the part of the customer, more than nine out of 10 customers will buy the product or use the service again.

Bearing these benefits in mind, how can a well-known South African corporation still afford to not respond to upwards of 100 complaints?

As a partner in getclosure!, an independent third party complaints, compliments and consumer affairs portal, I have seen the consumer ratings of those companies who choose to respond versus those companies who don't. Despite our service being free to consumers and at the basic level to suppliers, it bemuses me to occasionally come across a supplier who views us as some kind of threat or a service that is seeking to extract ‘something for nothing' from unwary corporations.

I appreciate that this view could be the legacy of ‘blackmail' and ‘whinge' or 'gossip'-type ‘consumer complaint' websites, which were popular a few years ago - but our service is not a blackmail or gossip site. We offer consumers a way to make direct contact with the company in question, when they have expressly chosen not to use the company's own channels.

It is important to note that we do not publish complaints and we do not presume to resolve your complaints for you. At the request of consumers, your customers, we forward complaints and facilitate the process of getting the complaint resolved by you, the supplier.

Apart from the impact that negative word of mouth from an unhappy customer can have on your brand - it's always worth remembering: in some sectors, it costs up to five times more to win a new client than to retain an existing one.

I will say it again, it makes good business sense to improve your customer service levels whether or not it's the law, especially in these rough economic times. Not responding simply is no longer an option.