Customer complaints — they come in the form of an angry email, a scathing online review, an awkward in-person encounter, a negative tweet, or an unexpected phone call. As difficult and uncomfortable as they are, knowing how to respond to customer complaints is an important part of doing business, and they must be dealt with properly.
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At a time when the success of your business rests on reputation and the need for positive customer experiences, you should equip yourself with a process for sourcing, hearing, responding to, and fixing customer complaints.
Let’s go through a step-by-step process that coworker, Clint Fontanella, used for responding to customer reviews and complaints when he was a HubSpot support rep. I asked him for some tips for gathering feedback from customers and best practices for addressing issues head-on.
Featured Resource: 20 Review Response Templates
Table of Contents:
- How to Respond to Customer Complaints
- Complaint Response Examples
- Tips for Responding to Customer Complaints
How to Respond to Customer Complaints
- Listen to or read the customer's complaint.
- Take a moment to process the criticism.
- Determine what action you'll take to address the problem.
- Thank the customer for their feedback.
- Apologize and reiterate your understanding of the issue.
- Clearly outline your plan to remedy the situation.
- Thank the customer again and offer follow-up information.
- Check to see if the customer is happy with the result.
- Incorporate changes from customer feedback.
How to Respond to Customer Complaints
Customer complaints come through different mediums like Google Reviews, phone calls, or even a handwritten letter. Each channel will offer different levels of frustration and require unique solutions to resolve the issue. That said, a good starting point is creating a roadmap for responding to these complaints. From there, you can customize your approach for each interaction.
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Free Review Response Templates
20 prompts to help you respond to customer complaints and comments.
- Positive Reviews
- Negative Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- False/Slanderous Reviews
1. Listen to or read the customer's complaint.
When you have a customer complaint, the first action that I recommend taking is to listen to the issue and focus on what your customer is experiencing. Regardless of whether the complaint is over a price increase, a bad meal, or a service outage, this person is reaching out to you to express their frustration.
Though it can be tempting to ignore online reviews, you should give the same time and energy to those who submit feedback digitally as you would with in-person complaints. After all, research shows most consumers are using social media and the internet to discover new brands and products.
I would advise reading through online reviews as soon as you get them so you can provide customers with prompt and thoughtful responses.
Additionally, it’s easy to get defensive or to write off a complaint, but keep in mind that complaints rarely exist in a vacuum. If one customer is coming to you with this feedback, several others are keeping quiet about it. A customer's complaint should always be treated as legitimate, so give their story your full attention and empathy.
Pro Tip: Take detailed notes of the customer's complaint. I would note information such as the date of the incident, any product or service numbers mentioned, how the customer is feeling, and any other relevant information that could help you resolve the issue.
2. Take a moment to process the criticism.
Some feedback can hit hard. It's not easy to acknowledge that you let a customer down, but getting to the root of the problem is an essential step to properly handling their complaint.
If you get this feedback online — such as an online review or through social media — you have some time to understand where the customer is coming from. Here’s a tip that I received from former HubSpot support rep, Clint Fontanella:
If you did not serve this customer directly or were not present when the incident occurred, you can also use this extra time to speak with your employees and investigate what happened.
Processing criticism is harder if you‘re getting it in real time, like in person or over a phone call. This situation calls on you to put yourself in your customer’s shoes sooner rather than later and truly prioritize fixing the issue, which can only be done if you listen to the complaint and digest the meaning of it.
Pro Tip: Once you‘ve taken a moment to process the complaint, reiterate your understanding back to the customer. This shows you’re listening and are taking their concerns seriously. Respond in a timely manner with an apology and a plan of action.
Fontanella recommends having a canned response ready that you can adapt for situations like these:
“While you never want to use the same response for different customers, canned responses give you a baseline to work from. One that I would rely on for cases like these was, ‘I appreciate your feedback about X and I understand how it can prevent you from accomplishing Y. I am going to see what I can do to either help you accomplish Y or find a workaround that can act as an alternative solution.’”
3. Determine what action you'll take to address the problem.
Consider setting up an action plan for recurring customer complaints. That way you'll know how to solve an issue almost immediately after listening to the details behind it.
However, as you‘re well aware, sometimes a complaint comes completely out of left field and you’re not sure what to do. If you need some time to think about the best course of action, be honest with your customers. Tell them you need time to figure out how you can make it up to them and provide a timeline for when you'll reach out with a solution — or better yet, ask customers what they need for you to make it up to them and figure out if their request is doable.
Your customer will appreciate that you acknowledged their complaint even if you don't have a solution yet.
Pro Tip: If a customer's complaint is due to an issue that you or your team caused, do not hesitate to offer something in return. Whether it be discounts, complementary products, or simple apology coupons, figure out what would help make up for the mistake.
4. Thank the customer for their feedback.
The first thing you should say when responding to a customer complaint is “thank you for letting me know.” We‘ve harkened back to this idea a few times, but it’s important — the majority of customers who have complaints about your business just want to be heard and acknowledged.
Even if the customer‘s comments don’t make you feel good in the moment, you should still thank them for their insight. After all, the information that feedback contains can radically improve your customer experience.
Pro Tip: If the customer is looking for a response, get back to them in a timely manner. Responding within at least 24 hours shows your customers that their feedback is taken seriously and valued. If you’re working on a real-time channel like live chat, be sure to respond as quickly as possible or install a chatbot to keep your support live 24/7.
Free Review Response Templates
20 prompts to help you respond to customer complaints and comments.
- Positive Reviews
- Negative Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- False/Slanderous Reviews
5. Apologize and reiterate your understanding of the issue.
Immediately after thanking the customer, you should apologize for what happened and express empathy by explaining your understanding of the situation. This will let your customer know that you've taken the time to truly listen or read their complaint. Plus, restating the issue can help ensure you did not misinterpret what happened.
For example, let's say an account manager working for an ecommerce platform receives an email from her client, saying his online payment system temporarily went down. I would start the response like this:
Hi Mike,
Thanks so much for reaching out and letting us know. I'm so sorry about the issue with the payment system — once we noticed the issue, we put our team on it and it was resolved within minutes.
That said, I know that doesn‘t make up for the revenue you lost and may not get back. I completely understand you could have lost business because of this issue, and that’s not acceptable.
This response thanks the customer for sharing feedback, apologizes for the issue, explains what led to the situation, and shows an understanding of how the issue affected the customer. Mike now knows that his account rep fully understands the reason for the complaint and values his business and feedback.
Pro Tip: Test different apologies to find the one that best fits your brand voice. For example, you could say “We're sorry we let you down,” or "We apologize for not meeting your expectations.” See which resonates the most with your customers.
6. Clearly outline your plan to remedy the situation.
Not only should you apologize when a customer's experience is not satisfactory, you also need to explain how you will fix the problem. If the example above ended after those two paragraphs, I would have hardly handled it well and I wouldn’t blame the customer if they felt they were left empty-handed. A proper response to a customer complaint is incomplete without an explanation of what happens next.
I would highly recommend going above and beyond when remedying customer complaints. Consider offering some kind of incentive to give your business another chance, like a coupon or gift certificate. This will allow you the opportunity to win back the customer by providing them with a better experience.
Let's return to the example of the broken payment processor, and pick things up where we left them to show how we can remedy this situation:
The product team is making it their new priority to ensure this problem does not happen again. We were able to identify the reason for the issue quite quickly and will be working to safeguard it from a similar outage in the future so you can feel confident using our software moving forward.
In the meantime, we want to make this up to you. I was able to get your software fees for this and next month waived. You should see a credit in your account in the next 3-5 business days – please reach out to me if you do not see that. I hope this in some part makes up for whatever loss your business incurred during the outage.
Thanks,
[Your Name]
This explanation outlines the improvement to the service and compensates the customer for his potentially lost revenue. Now, he knows more information about the issue, what's being done to prevent it from recurring, and is getting free software for sharing his criticisms — this kind of response encourages customer feedback and makes it more likely this customer will share his opinion moving forward.
Pro Tip: It’s always nice to offer incentives, but it’s not always possible. In these cases, sometimes just letting the customer know that you will cycle their feedback upward is enough to show that you are taking their complaint seriously.
7. Thank the customer again and offer follow-up information.
If you've followed the steps up until now, the complaint should be sufficiently addressed and your customer should feel like the issue has been fully resolved.
If that's the case, thank the customer once again for reaching out and offer follow-up information or instructions if the customer needs to get back in touch with you.
This step is particularly important for online reviews, which contain much less back-and-forth discussion (if any) compared to complaints made over email, on the phone, via social media, or in person. If customers are writing a review online, they might not have the contact information to follow up with the best person, so consider leaving the name, phone number, and/or email address of the person to speak to at the end of a negative online review.
If you‘re in a situation where you need more time to offer a solution, be sure to provide your contact information and give the customer a timeline for when you’ll follow up with them.
Pro Tip: Send a customer satisfaction survey shortly after you address the complaint to obtain data about how the customer viewed your resolution process. The survey shows you what you're doing right and wrong, and which areas you could improve upon in the future.
Free Review Response Templates
20 prompts to help you respond to customer complaints and comments.
- Positive Reviews
- Negative Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- False/Slanderous Reviews
8. Check in to see if the customer is happy with the result.
After some time has passed, you should follow up with the customer to see if they're satisfied with the resolution.
The time frame is definitely fuzzy for this one. Some issues can be followed up within a few days or even weeks after they were resolved, while more time-sensitive ones warrant a follow-up within a day.
If your solution involves giving the customer a gift certificate or free product, reach out to them for feedback after they've had another experience with your business.
Use your gut here: It's better to over-communicate than the other way around, as it shows you really do care about the problem and wish to make up for it.
Pro Tip: If you can, offer an additional discount or perks for their loyalty in the future. This lets them know that your business is willing to make it up to them in the long run. Plus, it's a great way to show appreciation for their patience.
9. Incorporate changes from customer feedback.
After all is said and done, it‘s time to follow through with your promises. If you complained about a mishap and were promised a change that didn’t happen, wouldn't you be pretty upset?
Not every complaint warrants a change in business strategy. For example, if one customer complains her shipment was damaged, this doesn't mean you need to overhaul your entire supply chain. However, you should take note of how you handled the situation and keep it as a reference in case a similar situation comes up again.
At HubSpot, Fontanella’s team would store all of this information digitally via its help desk. This provided an overview of how the support team was doing and made it easier to identify trends in customer feedback.
This is on you to listen carefully, draw connections between complaints, and determine if larger action is warranted. If you receive multiple complaints about one employee, one product, or one feature, that probably means there's a problem with that employee, product, or feature.
For example, if 100 customers complain about having damaged shipments, maybe you should look into your warehouse or shipping centers.
Pro Tip: Create a feedback loop so customers can easily alert you to potential issues. This way, you can quickly identify any problems before they become a bigger issue. Plus, it shows customers that their opinion matters and that you're always looking for ways to improve the customer experience.
This process has proven to be a reliable method for responding to customer complaints. Dani Wawryk, Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications at Vendasta, outlines a similar process in the video below:
Let’s see it in action, though, with some samples you can modify for your own support team.
Complaint Response Examples
1. Sample Letter Responding to a Complaint
Hello, [Customer Name],
I‘ve had a chance to review your complaint, and I’d like to apologize for [Issue]. Thank you for taking the time to share that with me so I can make it right. [Rephrase issue] is something that our team at [Company] doesn't take lightly.
Based on what you‘ve shared with me, here’s how I can resolve the problem. [Explain solution.]
I'll be working on this ticket from start to finish, so you can respond to me directly with any follow up questions. How does that sound?
In the meantime, I‘ve shared your feedback with our team and we’re [method to ensure the root cause of the complaint is addressed].
Thanks again for trusting us with your business.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
What we like: What works about this letter is that it allows customer service representatives to take responsibility for solving the problem. Instead of deflecting blame onto the “company” as a whole by using “we” statements, the rep uses “I” statements to make the conversation more personal. This is a genuine way to build trust with the customer and assure them that their feedback isn't falling into a void.
2. Sample Email Responding to a Complaint
Hello, [Customer Name],
Thanks for bringing the duplicate charge issue to our attention. We discovered that this was an isolated incident, and it has since been resolved. You‘ll see a full refund in your account within seven days. I can assure you that this won’t happen again and we have put strict measures in place to prevent it in the future.
I recognize that this was an inconvenience, and I‘d like to regain your trust. I’ve credited your account for next month's payment — this is in addition to your full refund. Let me know if you do not see that by tomorrow. [Company name] appreciates your business and we hope to continue serving you moving forward.
Thank you,
[Team Department]
What we like: This simple, yet effective email covers all the bases of handling a customer complaint. It acknowledges the customer's issue, offers an apology, and goes above and beyond to resolve the matter. Finally, the rep extends gratitude to the customer for doing business with the company and expresses interest in continuing the relationship now that the complaint has been handled.
Free Review Response Templates
20 prompts to help you respond to customer complaints and comments.
- Positive Reviews
- Negative Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- False/Slanderous Reviews
3. Sample Phone Script Responding to a Complaint
Representative: “Hi there, thanks for calling Pearl Provisions. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with today?”
Customer: “Hello, my name is Pam. I'm not happy with the service I received last week at Pearl Provisions. My family's food was served cold and I didn't receive any acknowledgement of the issue by the manager.”
Representative: “Pam, I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience at our restaurant. I understand that the meals you received were not served according to our high standards and there was no recourse to make things right.”
Customer: “Yes that is correct and I'd like some sort of redress for the inconvenience.”
Representative: “Pam, I can assure you that I'll make things right. We hope you'll give us the opportunity to earn your business again. First, I'll pass your feedback to the manager of the restaurant and confirm that this incident will be reviewed and resolved. With your permission, I can also mail you a gift card that you can use at the restaurant anytime within the next month. Does that sound like something you'd be interested in?”
Customer: “Yes that would be great. Thank you.”
Representative: “Alright, let's get that gift card mailed to you.”
What we like: Restating the issue goes a long way in this response template. In doing this, the rep assures the customer that they understand the problem and the impact it's having on their business. Following this up with an applicable solution makes this a practical template that can be customized for just about any type of complaint.
4. Sample Response to a Technical Complaint
Hi, [Customer Name],
Thank you for reaching out and letting us know about the issue with your subscription renewal. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience your disruption of service may have caused.
Once our team looked into the issue, we realized there was a software bug on our end that prevented your subscription from automatically renewing and quickly resolved it. Our development team is making it a priority to ensure this issue does not happen again.
That said, I recognize how frustrating this experience must have been. So, I want to make it up to you by waiving your subscription fees for the next three months. A credit should appear in your account within the next 3-5 business days. Please reach out to me if you have any issues accessing it.
Thanks,
[Your Name]
What we like: I like this response because it acknowledges what happened, accepts responsibility, and quickly resolves the problem. Plus, the rep goes above and beyond by offering to waive the customer's subscription fees.
5. Sample Response to a Shipping Complaint
Hi, [Customer Name],
Thank you for letting us know you haven't yet received your order. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and understand your frustration.
According to our records, your package was sent out from our warehouse on [Date]. I‘ve looked into your order’s status via UPS and it is currently listed as [status] and is expected to arrive by [Date]. To stay updated with your order's status, you can visit this link: [link].
In the meantime, I‘ve shared your feedback with our team and we’re committed to doing everything we can on our end to prevent shipping delays.
If you don't receive your delivery by the expected arrival date, please let me know by responding to this email. We appreciate your business and hope to continue serving you.
Thanks,
[Your Name]
What we like: In this scenario, the rep solves for the customer by providing information on when their order was shipped, a status update, and when they can expect their order to arrive. They also offer instructions on how to get back in contact with them in case the package does not arrive on time.
6. Sample Response to a Social Media Review
Hey, [Customer Name],
Thanks for taking the time to share about your experience at [Company]. I understand that [Rephrase issue] and I apologize that you were not served according to our high standards.
I‘ve passed your feedback along to our management team and will follow up with them to ensure that this issue is prevented in the future. Additionally, I’d like to make it up to you by sending you a gift certificate that you can use at any of our locations within the next six months. Please private message us your email address and we can get it sent over to you.
Best,
[Your Name]
What we like: Given the public nature of social media reviews, it‘s important to ensure your response is crafted with understanding and care. Not only will addressing the complaint help regain the customer’s trust, but it can also showcase your company's customer service to prospective customers and potentially attract new business. In the example above, the rep addresses the problem, apologizes for it, and presents an offer to remedy the situation.
Let’s wrap up with some general tips that we gathered on responding to customer complaints.
Free Review Response Templates
20 prompts to help you respond to customer complaints and comments.
- Positive Reviews
- Negative Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- False/Slanderous Reviews
Tips for Responding to Customer Complaints
1. Stay calm, even when it's not your fault.
It would be naive to pretend every customer complaint is a valid one. Sometimes customers get things wrong, mix up companies, and make mistakes. It can be frustrating to proceed calmly without letting the customer know where they went wrong immediately upon leaving a negative review but don't give in to the temptation.
You'll still want to follow the steps above to diffuse the situation and be empathetic. Fontanella advises, “to make the customer feel like they’re right, even if they were wrong in the first place.”
Once the customer is calm, you can kindly explain to them where the mix-up happened and offer a genuine explanation. As soon as the customer understands the issue, politely ask that they remove the negative review — that‘s if they don’t offer to do it first.
Remember to assume positive intent during encounters like these, in my experience a bit of calmness and understanding goes a long way when resolving customer complaints.
2. Avoid deflecting blame.
As a member of the customer service team, the buck stops with you. If your sales team makes a huge blunder, don‘t let the customer know that. After all, they don’t care who did it, they just want a solution. Plus, it doesn't build trust with the customer or your sales team to throw them under the bus.
Get comfortable accepting criticism that has been misplaced. Instead, you can relay the feedback behind the scenes in a respectful manner — a training refresher can be the perfect forum to address the root cause of a complaint without playing the blame game (and nobody wins in the blame game).
3. Put yourself in the customer's shoes.
A bit of empathy makes all the difference when resolving customer complaints. After all, you‘re a customer more often than you’re a customer service representative, so put yourself in their shoes when you find yourself in these situations. How would you want the issue resolved? What would make you do business with your company again?
Provide the customer with a fair and constructive experience to get through the turbulent situation. Put their feelings and needs first as much as you can within the scope of your customer service policies.
4. Seek the customer's permission to provide a solution.
Before you spout off a decision in haste, ask the customer for their permission to allow you to solve the problem.
“I understand how inconvenient this is for you. Can I share a few options I've come up with to make things right?”
It seems obvious that they'd want you to fix things, but asking for permission in a heated exchange gives the customer a moment to willingly cooperate and come to the best solution. It puts you on their side and positions you both against the problem rather than customer vs service rep.
Bonus Tip: Build a response plan and bank.
If your business receives feedback often, make sure you have a documented brand voice and response strategy in place.
Remember, you may want to download and customize these review response prompts if you find yourself spending too much time responding to reviews each week.
Handling Customer Complaints
Responding to customer complaints is never fun, but it‘s part of the job. Taking the time to develop a strategy for responding to these complaints and handling each incident with care shows your customers that you value them. This makes it much less likely that they’ll do business with a competitor. Keep these best practices in mind the next time you go to respond to a review, a tweet, or have a conversation with someone who shares feedback with your business.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
![5 Expert Tips for Responding to Customer Reviews [+ Examples]](https://blog.hubspot.com/hubfs/customer reviews examples_featured.png)
