Are these numbers perfectly accurate? Probably not, even though you could find them quoted on the internet. (Lean Six Sigma advocates know that 83% of all statistics are made-up on the spot.) But although you can quibble with the exact numbers, the fundamental lesson is true – customers willing to take the time to help drive improvement are an invaluable resource.

This is a good time to note that the specific words “customer complaint” have special meaning in some industries. For example, in certain FDA regulated fields a customer complaint triggers a documented response process. But the majority of businesses have no such requirement on how complaints are investigated and resolved.

Even so, most organizations are progressive enough to treat complaints professionally and politely. But not as many really use negative comments as an early warning system. It is too easy to dismiss a first complaint as being a one-off situation. The attitude is that it represents a unique set of circumstances and is unlikely to happen again.

Unfortunately, this rationalization ignores the first statistic mentioned above. If only one out of twenty people ever bothers to complain about a problem, the odds are that they are not the first to experience it – just that they were the first to speak up.

At one time I worked for a company that made large industrial equipment that shipped on flatbed trailers. The product was protected by a special, self-sticking, plastic wrap. Soon after we started producing and shipping this new product we received a telephone call from an over-the-road trucker who had followed one of our products down the highway and watched the plastic slowly peel off.

In many ways, this person was even better than a gem. Here was someone who was not even a customer but still willing to go the extra mile to identify a problem for us. The fact the caller had absolutely nothing to gain should have alerted us that this was a legitimate problem that was likely to reoccur.

Unfortunately, it was a less enlightened time and we (myself included) rationalized lots of reasons why this was a unique situation and not worth an investigation. Only after receiving several more complaints did we take it seriously and find a solution. By then, dozens of customers had probably received bug splattered or weathered units.

How many of these customers quietly bought their next unit from one of our competitors? How many told their professional contacts in the industry about their disappointing experience? We will never know the answer for certain but chances are good that our slow response generated some sales for competitors.

How does your company handle customer complaints? Is each one considered a gem and investigated thoroughly? Or, are they dismissed with the attitude of “Oh well, you can’t please everybody all the time”. Your answer probably says quite a bit about the level of success in your Operational Excellence efforts.

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