- Owner
- Customer Service Manager
- Effective date
- September 15, 2026
- Review cycle
- Every 12 months
1.Purpose
To make sure every customer complaint is acknowledged quickly, investigated fairly, resolved within the agent's authority or escalated appropriately, and logged so recurring issues can be identified.
2.Scope
Applies to formal complaints received through any channel about service, product or billing. Routine questions and support requests are covered by the relevant channel SOP, such as call handling, email support or live chat.
Definitions
- Complaint
- An expression of dissatisfaction about service, product or billing that requires investigation and a response.
- Authority limit
- The maximum refund, credit or exception an agent can approve without escalating.
- Goodwill gesture
- A discretionary credit, discount or apology offered to repair a customer relationship.
- Root cause
- The underlying reason a complaint happened, as opposed to just the symptom the customer reported.
3.Responsibilities
- Support Agent
- Logs, investigates and resolves complaints within their authority, and communicates outcomes to customers.
- Team Lead
- Approves resolutions above the agent's authority limit and handles escalated complaints.
- Quality Analyst
- Reviews closed complaints for recurring themes and reports trends.
- Customer Service Manager
- Owns the complaint process and acts on trend reports to drive improvement.
RACI matrix
| Activity | Support Agent | Team Lead | Quality Analyst | Customer Service Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Log and acknowledge the complaint | R/A | I | - | - |
| Investigate and determine resolution | R | A | I | - |
| Approve resolution above standard authority | C | R/A | I | C |
| Implement and communicate the resolution | R/A | I | - | - |
| Review complaint trends | I | C | R/A | I |
R = Responsible, A = Accountable, C = Consulted, I = Informed
4.Materials and PPE
Materials, tools and systems
- →Complaint log or CRM
- →Refund and goodwill authority matrix
- →Customer contact and account history
- →Response time target reference
5.Procedure
- 5.1
Log the complaint
Support AgentThe Support Agent logs the complaint with the channel it arrived through, the date, the customer's details and a clear description of the issue.
- 5.2
Acknowledge receipt
Support AgentThe Support Agent sends the customer an acknowledgment within the target response time, confirming the complaint has been received and is being looked into.
Checkpoint: Acknowledgment is sent within the target response window, even if the full resolution will take longer.
- 5.3
Classify the complaint
Support AgentThe Support Agent classifies the complaint by category, such as billing, product or service, and assigns a severity based on impact to the customer.
- 5.4
Investigate the complaint
Support AgentThe Support Agent reviews the customer's account history, prior interactions and any relevant records to understand what happened.
- 5.5
Escalate if outside authority
Support AgentThe Support Agent escalates to the Team Lead when the complaint involves a policy exception, a refund above their authority limit, or a repeated failure to resolve.
Warning: Never promise a resolution outside your authority limit; escalate first and let the customer know a specialist will confirm next steps.
- 5.6
Determine the resolution
Support AgentThe Support Agent, or the Team Lead for escalated cases, decides on the resolution: a correction, refund, replacement, apology or goodwill gesture appropriate to the issue.
- 5.7
Communicate the resolution
Support AgentThe Support Agent clearly explains the resolution and any next steps to the customer, in plain language rather than internal process terms.
Checkpoint: The customer confirms they understand and accept the resolution, or their objection is noted for follow-up.
- 5.8
Implement the resolution
Support AgentThe Support Agent processes the agreed refund, replacement or correction within the timeframe communicated to the customer.
- 5.9
Document root cause
Support AgentThe Support Agent records the root cause of the complaint and the resolution applied in the complaint log.
- 5.10
Close the complaint
Support AgentThe Support Agent closes the complaint record and sends the customer a confirmation that it has been resolved.
- 5.11
Review for recurring themes
Quality AnalystThe Quality Analyst reviews closed complaints weekly, grouping them by root cause to spot recurring or emerging themes.
- 5.12
Report trends for improvement
Quality AnalystThe Quality Analyst reports significant or repeated complaint trends to the Customer Service Manager so the underlying process issue can be fixed.
6.Quality checks
- →All complaints are acknowledged within the target response time.
- →Resolutions above standard authority are approved by a Team Lead before being promised.
- →Root cause is documented for every closed complaint.
- →Weekly trend review is completed and reported.
7.Records
- →Complaint log entry
- →Resolution and approval record
- →Weekly trend review notes
- →Customer confirmation of resolution
8.KPIs
- →Average time to acknowledge a complaint
- →Average time to resolve a complaint
- →Complaint recurrence rate
- →Customer satisfaction after complaint resolution
9.Common mistakes
- →Promising a resolution beyond the agent's authority limit.
- →Closing a complaint without customer confirmation.
- →Not logging complaints received informally, such as on social media.
- →Skipping root cause analysis, so the same issue keeps recurring.
10.Revision history
| Revision | Date | Description | Reviewed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | September 15, 2026 | Initial release | Alexa Uskova |
This is a template. Adapt it to your organization, equipment and local regulations before use.
