Handle customer complaints

Administer complaints and negative feedback from customers in order to address concerns and where applicable provide a quick service recovery.

deal with client’s negative feedback
handle customers’ complaints
address guest complaints
handle complaints by customers

skill/competence

cross-sector

Handle customer complaints is an essential skill of the following occupations:

Head chef: Head chefs manage the kitchen to oversee the preparation, cooking and service of food.
Rooms division manager: Rooms division managers are in charge of managing and coordinating a team of employees at front desk, reservations, housekeeping and maintenance departments.

Spa manager: Spa managers coordinate the day-to-day operations of the spa establishment in order to provide guests with the best customer experiences. They oversee the activities and performance of staff, manage the financial aspects of the Spa, deal with suppliers and run advertising campaigns for the spa in order to attract more customers.
Building caretaker: Building caretakers maintain and monitor the condition and security of buildings. They clean, assist with minor repairs and ensure that amenities such as heating and hot water are available to the residents. Building caretakers are responsible for the quality of buildings and also serve as a contact person for residents.
Hotel concierge: Hotel concierges provide information to customers, assist guests with various tasks such as making restaurant reservations, recommending entertainment highlights, booking transportation (limousines, airplanes, boats, etc.) and other services, procurement of tickets to special events, and assisting with various travel arrangements and tours of local attractions.
Bed and breakfast operator: Bed and breakfast operators manage the daily operations of a bed and breakfast establishment. They ensure the guests’ needs are met.
Bookmaker: Bookmakers (also often called ‘bookies’, or ‘turf accountants’) take bets on sports games and other events at agreed upon odds, they calculate odds and pay out winnings. They are responsible for the risk management.
Travel consultant: Travel consultants provide customised information and consultation on travel offers, make reservations and sell travel services together with other related services.
Spa attendant: Spa attendants interact with guests at the reception desk to provide indications and explain the available services in the spa center. They are also in charge of cleaning the spa rooms after use, maintaining storage area cleanliness and restocking clean towels. Spa attendants monitor the security of the facility and are responsible for selling the products and services available such as treatment packages.
Vehicle rental agent:
Vehicle rental agents represent businesses involved in renting out vehicles and determine short periods of usage. They document transactions, insurances and payments.

Chimney sweep supervisor: Chimney sweep supervisors oversee and coordinate the activities of chimney sweeps. They do quality checks and ensure compliance with safety regulations.
Laundry and dry cleaning manager: Laundry and dry cleaning managers oversee the laundry operations in an institutional laundry. They supervise laundry and dry cleaning staff, plan and enforce safety procedures, order supplies and oversee the laundry’s budget. Laundry and dry cleaning managers ensure the quality standards and that customers’ expectations are met.
Hospitality entertainment manager: Hospitality entertainment managers are in charge of managing the team which creates entertainment activities for the guests of a hospitality establishment.
Quick service restaurant team leader: Quick service restaurant team leaders manage operations in a quick service restaurant.
Head waiter/head waitress: Head waiters/waitresses manage the food and beverage service in a hospitality outlet or unit. They are responsible for the customer’s experience. Head waiters/waitresses coordinate all actions involving customers such as welcoming guests, ordering, delivering the food & beverages and supervise financial transactions.
Steward/stewardess: Stewards/stewardesses perform food and beverage service activities on all land, sea and air travel services.
Animal groomer: Animal groomers are in charge of grooming a range of animals, using the correct equipment, materials and methods. It includes use of appropriate and safe handling techniques and the promotion of good hygiene, health and welfare of the animal. 

Taxi controller: Taxi controllers take bookings, dispatch vehicles, and are responsible for coordinating drivers while maintaining customer liaison.
Ship steward/ship stewardess: Ship stewards and ship stewardesses work on board the vessel to provide services to passengers such as serving meals, housekeeping, welcoming passengers and explaining safety procedures.
Camping ground manager: Camping ground managers plan, direct, or coordinate all campsite facilities and manages employees.
Night auditor: Night auditors oversee night customer care in hospitality establishment and perform a wide variety of activities from front desk to bookkeeping.
Room attendant: Room attendants clean, tidy and restock guest rooms as well as other public areas as directed.
Travel agent: Travel agents design and market travel programme itineraries for potential travellers or visitors.
Director of compliance and information security in gambling: Directors of compliance and information security in gambling follow the regulatory compliance for gambling and oversee Information Security to ensure secure and safe use of all information technology associated in gambling.
Hospitality establishment receptionist: Hospitality establishment receptionists provide first point of contact and assistance to the guests of a hospitality establishment. They are also responsible for taking bookings, processing payments and giving information.
Sport facility manager: Sport facility managers lead and manage a sport facility or venue, including its operations, programming, sales, promotion, health and safety, development, and staffing. They ensure it provides excellent customer service whilst achieving business, financial and operational targets.
Camping ground operative: Camping ground operatives perform customer care in a campsite facility and other operational work.
Travel agency manager: Travel agency managers are in charge of managing employees and activities of a travel agency. They organise, advertise and sell tourist offers and travel deals for specific regions.
Casino cashier: Casino cashiers exchange tokens, coins or chips for money. They arrange pay-outs and obtain customers’ signatures and identification. They audit and count money in a cash register, enforcing money laundering regulations.
Customer experience manager: Customer experience managers monitor customer experiences by creating, evaluating and improving the customer’s interaction organisations in the hospitality, recreation or entertainment industry. They develop plans of action to optimise all aspects of the customer’s experience. Customer experience managers strive to ensure customer satisfaction and boost company profits.
Restaurant host/restaurant hostess: Restaurant hosts/hostesses welcome customers to a hospitality service unit and provide initial services.
Head pastry chef: Head pastry chefs manage pastry staff and ensure the preparation, cooking and presentation of desserts, sweet products and pastry products. 
Railway station manager: Railway station managers are in charge of organising tasks linked to the operation of train stations. Their tasks cover the organisation of the maintenance and repairment works for buildings and interior equipment. They care for the comfort, service, safety and security of passengers, other clients and the commercial use of buildings. Depending on the size of the station, the number of staff that railway station managers are directly responsible for can be high.
Facilities manager: Facilities managers perform strategic planning as well as routine operational planning related to buildings’ administration and maintenance. They control and manage health and safety procedures, supervise the work of contractors, plan and handle buildings maintenance operations, fire safety and security issues, oversee buildings’ cleaning activities, utilities infrastructure and are in charge of space management.
Tour operator representative: Tour operator representatives act on behalf of the tour operator to give practical information, provide assistance, handle services and sell excursions to tourists while at their destinations.
Venue director: Venue directors plan and manage conference, banqueting and venue operations in a hospitality establishment to reflect clients’ needs. They are responsible for promotional events, conferences, seminars, exhibitions, business events, social events and venues.
Barista: Baristas prepare specialised types of coffee using professional equipment in a hospitality/coffee shop/bar unit.

Club host/club hostess: Club host/hostess welcome customers to the club. They ensure that clients are well looked after and satisfied.
Beauty salon attendant: Beauty salon attendants schedule clients’ appointments, greet clients on the premises, give detailed information on the salon’s services and treatments and gather clients’ complaints. They clean the salon regularly and ensure all products are in stock and well deposited. Beauty salon attendants take payments from clients and may sell various beauty products.
Restaurant manager: Restaurant managers are in charge of managing food and beverage operations in the kitchen and other food and beverage outlets or units in a hospitality establishment.
Rental manager: Rental managers supervise the activities of a rental office or station and its staff.
Laundry workers supervisor: Laundry workers supervisors monitor and coordinate the activities of the laundry and dry-cleaning staff of laundry shops and industrial laundry companies. They plan and implement production schedules, hire and train workers and monitor the production quality levels.
Hotel butler: Hotel butlers provide personalised services to guests in high level hospitality establishment. They manage the housekeeping staff to ensure clean interiors and excellent customer service. Hotel butlers are responsible for the general welfare and satisfaction of the guests.
Veterinary receptionist: Veterinary receptionists provide reception and office/administrative support in a veterinary practice, scheduling appointments and receiving clients, sale and advice on animal related products, in accordance with national legislation. 
Flight attendant: Flight attendants perform a variety of personal services conducive to the safety and comfort of airline passengers during flight. They greet passengers, verify tickets, and directs passengers to assigned seats. They prepare reports after landing describing how the flight went in terms of operations, procedures, and anomalities.
Housekeeping supervisor: Housekeeping supervisors are in charge of supervising and coordinating the daily running of cleaning and housekeeping activities hospitality establishments.

Handle customer complaints is optional for these occupations. This means knowing this skill may be an asset for career advancement if you are in one of these occupations.

Hospitality revenue manager: Hospitality revenue managers maximise revenue generated from facilities such as hotels,  holiday resorts and camping grounds by analysing trends and competition. They assist establishment managers in strategic decisions. Hospitality revenue managers analyse and optimise the financial potential of facilities and manage the corresponding staff.
Insurance claims handler: Insurance claims handlers ensure that all insurance claims are handled accurately and that payment for valid claims is made to the policyholders. They use statistical data and reporting to calculate and adjust claims as needed, communicate with and guide policyholders and monitor the progress of a claim.
Membership administrator: Membership administrators ensure an effective membership administration, documentation and communication. They support the membership sales process, the current membership enquiries and the renewal processes.
Laundry worker: Laundry workers operate and monitor machines that use chemicals to wash or dry-clean articles such as cloth and leather garments, linens, drapes or carpets, ensuring the color and texture of these articles is being maintained. They work in laundry shops and industrial laundry companies and sort the articles received from clients by fabric type. They also determine the cleaning technique to be applied.
Gambling manager: Gambling managers organise and coordinate the activities of a gambling facility. They oversee daily operations and facilitate communications between staff and customers. They manage and train staff and strive to improve the profitability of their business. They take responsibility for all gambling activities and ensure that relevant gambling rules and regulations are followed.
Linen room attendant: Linen room attendants retrieve linen or uniforms for cleaning. They maintain service availability of the linen and keep inventory records.
Locker room attendant: Locker room attendants assist customers in handling personal items and articles in changing rooms, usually in sports or theatre areas. They also maintain the overall cleanliness of the designated areas and help with lost and found issues.
Veterinary nurse: Veterinary nurses support animals undergoing veterinary treatment and give advice to veterinary clients in the promotion of animal health and disease prevention in accordance with national legislation.
Cloak room attendant: Cloak room attendants ensure that clients’ coats and bags are safely deposited within the cloak room. They interact with clients to receive their articles, exchange tickets for their corresponding items, and return them to their owners. They might assist with requests and complaints.
Park guide: Park guides assist visitors, interpret cultural and natural heritage and provide information and guidance to tourists in parks such as wildlife, amusement and nature parks.
Meter reader: Meter readers visit residential and business or industrial buildings and facilities in order to note down the readings of the meters which measure gas, water, electricity and other utility uses. They forward the results to the client and to the supplier.
Financial manager: Financial managers handle all the matters in reference to the finance and investments of a company. They manage financial operations of companies such as the assets, liabilities, equity and cash flow aiming to maintain the financial health of the company and operative viability. Financial managers evaluate the strategic plans of the company in financial terms, maintain transparent financial operations for taxation and auditing bodies, and create the financial statements of the company at the end of the fiscal year.
Beauty salon manager: Beauty salon managers oversee the daily operations and staff management in a beauty salon. They ensure customer satisfaction, budget control and inventory management. Beauty salon managers set up and enforce salon rules and cleanliness guidelines. They are also in charge of promoting the salon to attract new clients.
Butcher: Butchers order, inspect and buy meat to prepare it and sell it as consumable meat products. They perform activities such as cutting, trimming, boning, tying, and grinding beef, pork, and poultry meat. They prepare those mentioned sorts of meat for consumption.

Hotel porter: Hotel porters welcome guests to accommodation facilities, help them carry their luggage and provide services such as occasional cleaning.
Bathroom fitter: Bathroom fitters install bathroom elements. They take the necessary measurements, prepare the room, removing old elements if necessary, and install the new bathroom equipment, including the connection of water, gas and sewage pipes and electricity lines.
Doorman/doorwoman: Doormen/doorwomen welcome guests to a hospitality establishment and provide additional services related to assistance with luggage, guests’ safety whilst ensuring security.
Halal butcher: Halal butchers order, inspect and buy meat to prepare it and sell it as consumable meat products in accordance with Islamic practices. They perform activities such as cutting, trimming, boning, tying, and grinding beef and poultry meat. They prepare halal meat for consumption.
Lottery manager: Lottery managers organise and coordinate the activities of a lottery organisation. They oversee daily operations and facilitate communications between staff and customers. They review lottery procedures, arrange prices train staff and strive to improve the profitability of their business. They take responsibility for all lottery activities and ensure that relevant lottery rules and regulations are followed.
Airline transport pilot: Airline transport pilots fly large aircrafts with a maximum take-off weight of more than 5700 kilograms, to transport passengers, mail, or freight on long or short-haul flights for leisure, business or commercial purposes. They have the overall responsibility for the safe and efficient operation of aircrafts and the safety of crew and passengers.
Accommodation manager: Accommodation managers are in charge of managing the operations and overseeing the strategy for a hospitality establishment. They manage human resources, finances, marketing and operations through activities such as supervising the staff, keeping financial records and organising activities.
Ground steward/ground stewardess: Ground stewards and ground stewardesses assist rail passengers before they board. They check in passengers and also perform customer service duties such as booking train tickets and helping passengers to apply for refunds after a delay or cancellation.
Client relations manager:
Client relations managers act as the middle person between a company and its customers. They ensure that the customers are satisfied by providing them with guidance and explanation on their accounts and services received by the company. They also have possible other tasks such as developing plans or delivering proposals.
Specialised goods distribution manager: Specialised goods distribution managers plan, coordinate and manage the distribution of specialised goods to various points of sales. They oversee employees and ensure that operations run efficiently such as the storage, transportation and delivery of specialised goods.
Contract engineer: Contract engineers combine technical knowledge of contracts and legal matters with understanding of engineering specifications and principles. They ensure that both parts are aligned in the development of a project and foresee the compliance of all the engineering specifications and matters as defined in contracts.
Mountain guide: Mountain guides assist visitors, interpret natural heritage and provide information and guidance to tourists on mountain expeditions. They support visitors with activities such as hiking, climbing and skiing in addition to ensuring their safety through monitoring both weather and health conditions.
Betting manager: Betting managers organise and coordinate the activities of a betting shop. They oversee daily operations and facilitate communication between staff and customers. They carry out cashier duties, train staff and strive to improve the profitability of their business. They take responsibility for all betting activities and ensure that relevant betting rules and regulations are followed.
Tourist animator: Tourist animators develop and organise entertainment activities for guests of a hospitality establishment. They set up and coordinate activities to entertain customers.
Insurance claims manager: Insurance claims managers lead the team of insurance claims officers to ensure they handle insurance claims properly and efficiently. They deal with more complex customer complains and assist with fraudulent cases. Insurance claims managers work with insurance brokers, agents, loss adjusters and customers.
Aircraft pilot: Aircraft pilots control and navigate aircraft. They operate the mechanical and electrical systems of the aircraft and transport people, mail and freight.
Contact centre supervisor: Contact centre supervisors oversee and coordinate the activities of contact centre employees. They ensure that daily operations run smoothly through resolving issues, instructing and training employees and supervising tasks.
Guide:
Guides assist individuals or groups on any art facility, travel or sightseeing tours or through places of touristic interest, such as museums, monuments and public places. They help people to interpret the cultural heritage of an object, place or area and provide information and guidance.
Kitchen unit installer: Kitchen unit installers install kitchen elements in homes. They take the necessary measurements, prepare the room, removing old elements if necessary, and install the new kitchen equipment, including the connection of water, gas and sewage pipes and electricity lines.
Service manager: Service managers are responsible for the supervision and coordination of the provision of different professional and technical services to customers. They ensure a smooth interaction with clients and high levels of satisfaction post-service. This occupation includes the provision of policing, correctional, library, legal and fire services.
Tanning consultant: Tanning consultants assist clients with their tanning needs. They offer advice on purchases and treatments in solariums and tanning salons.
Warehouse worker: Warehouse workers execute the accurate handling, packing and storage of materials in a warehouse. They receive goods, label them, check quality, store the goods and document any damage. Warehouse workers also monitor stock levels of items, keep inventory and ship goods.
Operations manager: Operations managers plan, oversee and coordinate the daily operations of production of goods and provision of services. They also formulate and implement company policies and plan the use of human resources and materials.
Kosher butcher: Kosher butchers order, inspect and buy meat to prepare it and sell it as consumable meat products in accordance with Jewish practices. They perform activities such as cutting, trimming, boning, tying, and grinding  meats from kosher animals such as cows, sheep and goats. They prepare kosher meat for consumption.
Weights and measures inspector: Weights and measures inspectors ensure adherance to regulations and agreements pertaining to the weights and measures of packaged goods. They investigate and document compliance issues and violations to promote best practice. Weights and measures inspectors confirm that packaged goods are in accordance to agreements such as quantity, content and packaging.
Front of house manager: Front of house managers are responsible for those areas of a live event venue that are accessible to the public. They make sure interaction with the customers or visitors goes smoothly and professionally. Front of house managers are responsible for ticket sales, any refreshments, and make sure spaces accessible to the public are set out properly. They interact with the venue manager and the stage manager.
Hospitality establishment security officer: Hospitality establishment security officers are in charge of managing the overall process and implementation of hospitality facility security in terms of both safety of belongings, personal safety and building security.
Contact centre manager: Contact centre managers coordinate and plan the daily operations of contact centres. They ensure that customer inquiries are satisfied efficiently and according to policies. They manage employees, resources and procedures to improve best practices and achieve high levels of customer satisfaction.
Receptionist: Receptionists are responsible for the reception area of a business. They answer the phone, greet guests, pass information, respond to inquiries and instruct visitors. They are the first point of contact for clients and customers.
Train attendant: Train attendants work on trains to provide services to passengers such as welcoming passengers, answering their questions and serving meals.
Application engineer: Application engineers deal with the technical requirements, management, and design for the development of various engineering applications, such as systems, new product designs, or the improvements of processes. They are responsible for the implementation of a design or process improvement, they offer technical support for products, answer questions about the technical functionality and assist the sales team.

References

1. Handle customer complaints – ESCO