Complaints are a second chance to make things right for healthcare customers. And the fact is, every employee is the first point of contact for one complaint or another. Ideally, every person in your organization should be adept at handling complaints, so they can nip complaints in the bud. This booklet is a straightforward guide to handling complaints effective. Designed for the frontline employee, it explores the basics of identifying the problem, listening, exploring options, following and getting the right people involved. This is a great tool for managers and educators to use with staff to develop positive skills and attitudes regarding customer complaints.

• The Fine Art of Service Recovery
• What’s Your Organization’s Complaint System?

• Hester Marmalade: A Hospital Fable
• Mac Handy: A Health plan Fable
• Are There Complaint Horror Stories in Your Organization?
• Examining your Attitudes

• Summary of Customer Needs
• Are You Typical?
• Three Types of Dissatisfied Customers
• Pitfalls to Avoid in Resolving Complaints

• How Well Do You listen?
• Do You Show Defensiveness Signs?
• “Sad but Glad” Practice
• Empathetic Responses
• Pinpointing with Questions
• Finding Options
• What Can You Do? What Can’t You Do?
• Discussing the Alternatives
• Taking Action
• Follow-Up
• Using Effective Language
• When to Refer Complaints to Someone Else
• Sample Format for Documenting a Complaint
• Handling Telephone Complaints
• Ask Your Supervisor the Ground-Rules