How to achieve better customer satisfaction with ISO 10002

Donna Foulis Date published: Feb 26, 24

In today’s world where we’re all faced with seemingly unlimited choices in our day to day lives, customer satisfaction matters more than ever. After all, it’s fairly easy for someone to drop your service or product and switch to a competitor if they have a bad experience. Ideally, the bad experience wouldn’t happen in the first place, but things can, and do, go wrong. So, it’s all about how you deal with it when it happens – making sure that the customer’s complaint is handled in the right way, leaving them feeling heard, respected and happy with the resolution.

ISO 10002 provides a tried and tested framework for getting this right. Read on to find out what it’s all about, how it helps organizations manage complaints and what the six principles of complaint handling are.

What is ISO 10002?

ISO 10002 is an internationally recognized standard for managing complaints. It provides a framework for a complaints management system to help organizations resolve customer issues as quickly and smoothly as possible. It’s all about turning what starts off as a complaint into an opportunity for improvement.

Why it’s important to get complaints handling right

We’ve all been in a situation where an expected service hasn’t gone according to plan. Perhaps it was a late pizza delivery that arrived cold, with all the wrong toppings. What happens next makes all the difference. If the pizza company apologize, refund you, have a fresh pizza sent over with some extra sides free of charge, this is likely to feel like a good outcome and therefore, no need to complain. But if they did the opposite, it opens the door for a complaint to escalate, especially on an empty stomach…

According to research by Hyken, 96% of customers would walk away from a brand because of negative customer service and 76% of customers would be willing to jump ship to a company with better customer service, even if they had to go out of their way to do it. A poor consumer experience can leave a strong impression, and in turn negatively impact business. A good customer experience on the other hand, fosters repeat business and increases the chance of positive brand representation.

Aside from this, a complaint is a good indictor that something might not be right in the wider process. Going back to our pizza example, perhaps a quality check had been missed, or there was an issue managing the volume of orders. This is a chance to map out solutions to make the process smoother, and ensure that quality is always upheld, giving you the best chance to exceed customer expectations.

What are the six principles of good complaint handling?

The parliamentary and health service ombudsman set the standards they expect public bodies to meet when it comes to their services and how complaints are handled. This is summarized in the following six principles and provides a good basis for any organization:

1. Getting things right – This refers to correctly following the law and meeting relevant regulatory expectations. In addition, there should be a clear procedure for handling complaints effectively.
2. Focus on the customer – Ensure the complaints process is straightforward so they can be dealt with as quickly as possible and make the steps clear for customers to understand so they know what to expect.
3. Be open and accountable – Customers should be able to find information on how to make a complaint easily and organizations should be open and clear about the situation, taking responsibility for it and also recording the events so there’s a proper audit trail.
4. Respond fairly and accordingly – A complaint should be investigated thoroughly and based on fact, following the set procedure. But organizations should also take into account the seriousness of each complaint individually, to ensure the outcome is fair and relevant.
5. Resolve the situation – Once everything has been reviewed properly, resolving the complaint in a satisfactory way is the next step. This might range from a simple explanation and apology to financial compensation, depending on the nature of the complaint.
6. Strive for improvement – After the complaint itself has been dealt with, it can then be used as a learning opportunity on how to improve, finding ways to do things differently. In turn, this works to strengthen an organization’s offering and improving trust in their service by showing they can learn from their mistakes.

Where ISO 10002 certification comes in

ISO 10002 takes all these elements and provides a standardized way for organizations to manage complaints. It covers everything you need to do within the complaints process, ensuring nothing is missed and everything is dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible.

A major benefit to having ISO 10002 certification is that it’s a way to showcase your commitment to managing complaints effectively and demonstrating that customer satisfaction is important to you. Whether it’s pizza or something else, every customer wants to feel that they’re being listened to and taken seriously, and this standard provides the guidelines to do just that.