Section: Complaint Management

Subject: Customer Complaints

Approved by: Adam Jones

Effective Date: 1 March 2005

Last Reviewed Date: 1 March 2005

Policy Owner: 

Policy #

At Massey Services, “Above all, we are committed to “Total Customer Satisfaction!” This statement is one of the guiding philosophies of our company and must be construed by every Team Member as one of their primary job functions regardless of their position. It is through our commitment to total customer satisfaction that we achieve our mission of being recognized as the best service company in our industry.

As part of our ongoing effort to achieve total customer satisfaction, we have instituted a formal process for handling customer complaints which will ensure that all customer requests for extra service or expressions of dissatisfaction are resolved quickly and effectively. For the purposes of internal management any interaction with a current customer which requires some sort of follow-up will be logged in the customer service database and managed through the complaint log.

Principles of Complaint Management  #

• Never let a residential customer’s complaint go unacknowledged overnight. Every complaint will be scheduled at the point of initial contact or their request will be scheduled before the close of business each day via telephone conversation or voice message being left to ensure the customer knows we are responding to their complaint.
• All residential customer complaints will be serviced within 48 hours of the call or at the convenience of the customer.
• All commercial customer complaints must be responded to within 2 hours of the call and serviced within 24 hours of the call or at the convenience of the customer.
• Each afternoon the Service Center Management Team will review the current status of complaints and communicate with Team Members during daily check-in to facilitate the effective resolution of the issue.
• Every logged complaint will receive a follow-up call the day following the service to determine if the customer is satisfied with our response and that all of their concerns were addressed.
• Customer cancellations are usually preceded by complaints. Any customer who has logged 2 or more complaints within the last 60 days must be contacted by a member of the Service Center Management Team. Management must determine the severity of the problem and what additional steps must be taken to satisfy the customer and retain their good will.
• The Management Team must educate all Team Members on how to provide effective customer service as a means of reducing customer cancellations.
• The Management Team must analyze the Complaint Log to determine reasons for complaints and utilize this information in determining the current training needs of the Service Center team.

Adherence to these principles will ensure that every Team Member focuses on Total Customer Satisfaction. The byproduct of this focused effort will be a reduced number of complaints and cancellations and an increase in the growth and profitability of our company. 

Administrative Staff Procedures #

1. Answer the telephone by the third ring using a friendly voice. Always identify yourself to the caller by stating your first name as follows:
   “Thank you for calling Massey Services, this is Adam*” (* state your first name)
   • Listen effectively to the caller to ascertain the reason for their call and to determine the appropriate response to their needs. You should find out if the reason for the complaint has become an ongoing issue.
   • Take every opportunity to educate the customer about the nature of their complaint and set the appropriate expectation for resolving the issue quickly and effectively.
   • Schedule the complaint to be serviced within 48 hours or at the convenience of the customer.
     • If it is the first logged complaint within the past 60 days the complaint will be assigned to the Team Member responsible for the customer’s normal service program.
     • If it is the second complaint (for any reason) within the past 60 days the complaint will be forwarded to the Service Manager for personal handling and resolution.
     • If it is the third or more complaint within the last 60 days the complaint will be forwarded to the General Manager for personal handling and resolution.
2. Log the complaint into the customer service database and print a copy
   • A complaint will be coded in our database as a Visit, a Call or an Inspection.
   • The complaint is coded as a Visit if the request requires an unscheduled visit to the property. The complaint will be printed on the appropriate Service Report.
   • The complaint is coded as a Call if the request requires someone to just call the customer back. The complaint is printed on plain paper.
   • The complaint is coded as an Inspection only if the complaint requires a visit to the customer’s house to evaluate or investigate termite activity or damage.
   • The complaint is printed on a WDO service report and a Termite Protection Evaluation Report is prepared.
3. Each afternoon the Complaint Log is printed and distributed to the Service Manager and General Manager for daily check-in of their Team Members. 
4. Upon completion, each complaint must be documented in writing and returned to the administrative staff to be posted into the customer service database. All target pests which were treated or identified during the complaint resolution must be indicated by common name if possible. Examples:
   • Instead of “ants”, you should indicate that the call was for “argentine ants”.
   • Instead of “weeds”, you should indicate that the call was for “dollarweed”.
   • Instead of “termites” you should indicate the call was for “subterranean termites”
   • Complaints received via email, postmark or from Team Members in the field will be called immediately by a Customer Service Specialist to schedule the complaint and process it in accordance with the procedures above.
5. All complaints will be contacted by the Customer Service Specialist the day following the service to determine if the customer is satisfied with our response and that all of their concerns were addressed. If the customer is not satisfied with our response, the CSS will forward a Call request to the Service Manager to call the customer and resolve the issue before the end of the day. 

Specialist/Technician Procedures  #

The Specialist/Technician is the first line of defense in our ongoing quest for total customer satisfaction. They are the primary Team Member involved in handling complaints. Our customer’s level of satisfaction is heavily influenced by the manner in which they are treated whenever they call with a complaint.

1. Specialists/Technicians must remain in contact with the Service Center during the day to ensure a prompt response to complaints. 
2. All unscheduled customer complaints will be replied to before the Specialist/Technician leaves for the day. Never let a complaint go unacknowledged overnight! 
3. Specialists/Technicians must provide service to complaints within 48 hours (24 for commercial customers) of initiation or at the convenience of the customer. 
4. When servicing a complaint:
   • Greet the customer with care and concern; take ownership for the complaint. It’s Our Problem Not Their Problem!
   • Perform a complete inspection. Do not focus only on what they are currently complaining about. Make every effort to prevent other complaints.
   • Create an action plan to resolve the problem.
   • Perform the service if the problem can be addressed immediately.
   • Contact your supervisor if you need help to identify the problem or to prescribe a treatment.
   • Set realistic expectations and tell the customer what you found during your inspection, what you did, what they need to do to help, and what they should expect from our service.
   • Follow-up as necessary to ensure the customer is satisfied.
5. All complaints must be recorded on a service report with the common name of the pest(s) identified and/or a description of the problem clearly indicated. 
6. Any additional request generated from the field during the course of the day must be communicated to your supervisor during check-in. These requests for extra service must be entered into the customer service database each day by the administrative staff.

Inspector Procedures  #

In some situations a customer may personally contact the Inspector who sold the account to request assistance in resolving a complaint. These calls should be immediately forwarded to the Customer Service Specialist to be logged into the complaint system.

1. All requests for call back must be handled before the close of business each day. 
2. Never let a customer’s call go unresolved overnight.

Service Manager Procedures #

1. Perform a formal check-in with each Team Member each afternoon.
2. Review the Complaint Log during the check-in to identify customers who have outstanding or unresolved complaints. Discuss each complaint in detail and strategize on the best way to resolve it. 
3. Review the schedule of each Team Member to ensure that all complaints are serviced within the appropriate time frame. 
4. Use the Complaint Log as a teaching tool to help educate our Team Members on how to provide total customer satisfaction. 
5. Any customer identified with a second complaint (for any reason) within the last 60 days will be personally contacted by the Service Manager. Discuss the issue and inform the customer what the Specialist/Technician will be doing to resolve the issue. 
6. Use repetitive complaints to work in the field with Team Members to help them learn how to prevent the problem from occurring in the future. Any time a Service Manager has to visit a customer’s property to resolve a complaint they must be accompanied by the Specialist/Technician. 
7. Analyze the Complaint Log to determine why customers are calling for extra service. Multiple complaints for the same reason can indicate a trend that can be addressed through planned service training sessions with the whole team. 
8. Service Managers should recognize complaints as a prelude to a cancellation and take decisive and effective action to completely resolve the problem no matter what it takes. 

General Manager Procedures #

1. Any third request for extra service within the last 60 days should be forwarded by the CSS to the General Manager’s attention immediately.
   • Personally review the customer’s service history with the Service Manager and Specialist/Technician to discover what the underlying issues are with the account.
   • Contact the customer to apologize for the complaint and to inform them what will be done to resolve their complaint.
   • Provide a written action plan to the customer outlining the specific issues and steps that will be taken to resolve the complaint.
     • Follow-up to ensure that all action items are completed and that the customer is satisfied.
2. Review the complaint log daily to ensure that all complaints are resolved.
   • Review the complaint log with each Inspector daily during check-in to ensure that all requests are responded to appropriately and in a timely manner.
   • Meet with the Service Manager and Office Manager weekly to review the Complaint Log. Evaluate complaint policy compliance, training requirements and overall Service Center performance.

Corporate Quality Assurance Procedures #

1. Each month the Quality Assurance Department will review complaint reports to identify Service Centers with multiple or excessive complaints.
   • Service Centers with a disproportionate number of complaints will be identified for follow-up.
   • The appropriate Technical Director will work with the Service Center Managers to identify individual Specialists/Technicians that require additional training.
   • Verifiable Training sessions will be held to ensure any training deficiencies are resolved.
2. The Quality Assurance Department will analyze complaints to identify opportunities for program or protocol improvement.

Downloads #