A Complaint Is a Gift: Recovering Customer Loyalty When Things Go Wrong
- ISBN13: 9781576755822
- Condition: USED – VERY GOOD
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Product Description
The first edition of A Complaint is a Gift introduced the revolutionary notion that customer complaints are not annoyances to be dodged, denied or buried, but are instead valuable pieces of feedback that can be used to improve an organization’s products and services. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated. There are two brand new chapters on the Internet, a new section entitled Handling Complaints Directed at You and another new section that turns … More >>
A Complaint Is a Gift: Recovering Customer Loyalty When Things Go Wrong
Tags: Complaint, Customer, Gift, Loyalty, Recovering, Things, Wrong
A disappointed new edition. Content-wise, prefer 1st edition much better than this much anticipated 2nd, revised edition. Really want to ask for refund!!
The framework of the book is basically the same like the 1st edition, but content-wise, it is a watered-down version, which touches upon e-complaints, impact of web 2.0 and blogging on complaint management too lightly and not in-depth enough. Try Citizen Marketers and Creating Customer Evangelists–much much
better written and more up-to-date, and both have refreshing point of views on customer complaints.
Two previous important chapters on “building a complaint-friendly service culture” and “company policy and organization system-building on complaint handling” are ripped out (which are very important concepts and tools for first edition readers). This new edition is launched after 12 years, but the authors did not introduce any revolutionary ideas on complaint handling and their points of views are a bit too dated and overly common-sensical, such as valuing customers, treating customers well to attract loyal customers (many ideas are already known and are cliche ideas from the 80s/90s–TQM, Total Service Excellence Era).
This book is a bit “academic”–more about the “why” than the “how” of complaint handling. Part One, the first 5 chapters are the boring “why” chapters, whereas Part Two starts to talk about the “hows”. Part Three on Personal side of Complaints Handing is a bit out of context (this should be a business book, not suddenly a personal self help or self-improvement book!). The last chapter teaches customers how to complain effectively, and even encourage customers to become “complaint activist”. This should be a book fully on complaint handling, not suddenly “How To Complain Effectively?”. These 2 chapters are most boring and difficult to get through.
Many customers complain easily these days. The Chapter on “Why Most Customer Don’t Complain” is a bit dated and illogical. If customers don’t complain easily and more often, how come the authors suggested that the complaint rate is sky-rocketing in the US (or at least in the hotel or airline industries), and internet and blogging have also deepened such phenomenon!? This book tends to stand on the customer side, but not showing enough empathy to the frontline service staff who are currently working under more stress than ever, such as limited manpower and resources, etc. in the age of service automation. There are good and bad customers. Some chapters should be devoted to help frontline service staff to handle unreasonable customers, while not just paying lip service, mostly or totally standing on the side of the customers (pleasing only their corporate clients).
Everyone knows that mishandling complaints could affect the business bottom line. The authors are advisors or arm-chair theorists, who tend to play the teachers’ or real life complainers’ roles, but do not have actual field experience either as frontline service managers or service staff (except as consultants servicing their clients!), thus failing to provide a balanced view (seeing complaint handling from both customers’ and service staff’s perspective–and be more fair to the people at the service frontline too).
If you want to read this book, read the 1 st edition (yes, examples are dated, but better written and more insightful reading experience!). Besides, the 1st edition has many used books available which cost only less than $3 to buy, which are much better deal. Read the 2nd edition as the last or second priority!
Rating: 3 / 5
The new Complaint Is A Gift provides even updated advice on communicating effectively with customers and practical guidance for changing employee attitudes toward complaints. I disagree with the review that said the first edition is better. The why section is critical for getting others to pay attention and we are seeing a decline in a lot of complaint RATES not total complaints due to “trained hopelessness”, the fact that consumers believe that nothing will be done if they complain. Janelle’s book helps you ocnvince the consuemr it is worth their time to compalin.
Rating: 5 / 5
The first edition of this book was a jewel. This new, completely updated version about using customer feedback as a strategic business tool is even better. The new examples are simultaneously instructive, touching, and entertaining. Research summaries are worth the read alone. They will shake up anyone who doubts the power of listening to your customers.
Jim Kouzes
Coauthor of the bestselling and award-winning
The Leadership Challenge
Rating: 5 / 5
Bravo! I found this book readable, intelligent, and highly
informative. The chapter on the personal side of Complaints Handing
is important to all those who feel that their value as a customer is
dismissed and want to learn how to best structure a letter or phone
call that works. While this is certainly not a self-improvement
book, it does give the reader insights into the managerial mind of
companies. And it will help you to improve!
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a great follow on from the original Complaint is a Gift. While it keeps the fundamentals of complaint handling it identifies very clearly the impact that new means of communication can have on companies.
With the majority of people expressing doubt as to the worth of complaining directly to a company, the author’s chapter on “Why Most Customers Don’t Complain” is important. A company should encourage and prefer that an unhappy customer contact them directly, instead of going online and posting a negative review. People do research and a negative review on a number of on-line sites can effectively cause a business to lose a potential customer. There’s a wonderful example of poorly handled complaint letters from a New Zealand catering firm. It really makes the point. Lots of food for thought!
Rating: 5 / 5