SOP-006  ·  Rev 1.0
[CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS HANDLING SOP]

A complaint is information about where the business is falling short, and it is only useful if it is recorded and acted on. This template gives you a consistent path from the first contact to a closed case, with an owner for every step and a record that survives the person who handled it. It is written for small teams without a dedicated support function. The worked example follows a complaint about a late delivery from receipt to resolution. The rule that matters: never promise a resolution you cannot make, and always say when the customer will hear next.

1.  PURPOSE
    > Note — One sentence on why this procedure exists.
    [PURPOSE]

2.  SCOPE
    > Note — What counts as a complaint here.
    [SCOPE]

3.  RECEIVING
    > Note — How a complaint is captured, whatever the channel.
    [RECEIVE]

4.  RECORDING
    > Note — The record that makes the complaint resolvable and reviewable.
    [RECORD]

5.  RESOLUTION
    > Note — The steps to resolve, and who approves what.
    [RESOLVE_1]
    [RESOLVE_2]
    [RESOLVE_3]

6.  ESCALATION
    > Note — When a complaint goes up, and to whom.
    [ESCALATE]

7.  REVIEW
    > Note — How complaints are reviewed for patterns.
    [REVIEW]

Free to use in your own documents, including commercially.

Worked example

1

Purpose

Note — One sentence on why this procedure exists.

Change bar — replace this

To resolve every complaint to a clear, recorded outcome within a stated time, so no issue is lost and the same standard applies each time.

2

Scope

Note — What counts as a complaint here.

Change bar — replace this

Complaints received by email, phone or in person about products or service. Pricing disputes go to the owner directly.

3

Receiving

Note — How a complaint is captured, whatever the channel.

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The person who takes the complaint records the date, the channel, and the customer's words, and confirms they have heard the issue.

4

Recording

Note — The record that makes the complaint resolvable and reviewable.

Change bar — replace this

The complaint goes on the shared tracker with the date, the issue, the customer's contact, and who owns it.

5

Resolution

Note — The steps to resolve, and who approves what.

Change bar — replace this

The owner investigates within one working day and confirms the facts with the customer if anything is unclear.

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The owner decides the resolution within its limits — replacement, refund or a straight answer — and tells the customer what will happen and when.

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The case is closed on the tracker with the outcome and the date, and the customer is told it is closed.

6

Escalation

Note — When a complaint goes up, and to whom.

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If a complaint is not resolved in five working days or concerns a safety issue, it goes to the owner personally, who answers it directly.

7

Review

Note — How complaints are reviewed for patterns.

Change bar — replace this

The owner reviews closed complaints monthly for patterns and fixes the cause rather than only the case.

A

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Every template on this site is free and stays free. The kit is what turns a folder of documents into a system you can actually run: a register with numbers, owners and review dates; who reviews what and how often; a numbering scheme that still works at fifty documents; and the thirty-day sequence for getting a team to use any of it, which is where most of these projects die.

What the kit holds

Register Column headings — number, title, owner, revision, approval date, review-due date

Review cadence Who reviews what, how often, and what triggers an off-cycle revision

Rollout plan The thirty-day sequence for getting a team to actually use the documents

Numbering scheme How to number documents so the system survives its first fifty

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