Provide a customer complaint form

It may seem that providing a customer complaint form is simply asking for trouble. However, if handled correctly, a customer complaint form will both help your business and help the customer to feel like someone is listening. The best way to approach this is to provide a form that is for both customer complaints and compliments. For example, in addition to requesting the customer's contact information and what product or service she used, ask, "How can we improve our services?" as well as "What did you appreciate about our services?" Also, consider providing a number of items that the customer rates on a scale of one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 the best. Examples of rated items might be kindness of employees, speed of service and/or satisfaction with product.

I recommend: Look over FormSite.com’s example of an online customer complaint form for ideas to implement on your own website. Business in a Box provides a downloadable customer complaint form that you can adapt as needed.

Use websites for online customer complaints to improve your business

With so many people accessing the internet for all of their needs these days, it's important to appeal to the technology-savvy customer. There are a number of websites available that provide consumers with an outlet to review, compliment and complain about businesses they encounter on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, many of these websites provide resources for businesses to help resolve complaints and improve their services.

I recommend: Become a partner with Measured Up, a customer complaint website, to help establish, manage and improve your customer complaints procedure. Search through posted customer complaints on Complaints.com and get help with resolving complaints that consumers post about your business.

Learn the best ways for addressing customer complaints

There are essential guidelines for handling customer complaints that apply to every complaint and business, regardless of their basis. For example, it's important that your customer service team handle each complaint individually, avoiding the common mistake of treating every complaint in the same manner. Also, hearing the customer out completely, and letting him know you're really listening, are important guidelines.

I recommend: Read the extremely helpful article by Chris Penttila on Entrepreneur.com on dealing with “Tough Customers” that will help please your customers and keep the employees that deal with them happy. Visit Customer Service Point’s website deal with customer service complaints by utilizing the L.E.A.R.N. technique.