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Customer complaints, an opportunity for businesses
Maxime Santilli (Sqwad) : “Can you tell us a bit more about the challenges of customer complaints for businesses today?”
Marie-Louis Julien (AMARC) : “What we have been able to see in the context of the association through numerous works is that the complaint is above all and really an opportunity. ”
The challenges associated with customer complaints are now much more strategic than they seem. Long perceived as a necessary evil, or even as a crisis to be managed, complaints should now be considered by many companies as a real opportunity. As Marie-Louis Julien explains: “Many still approach the claim from a defensive posture” when in reality, it is a real chance to progress by better understanding dysfunctions.
Complaints therefore allow businesses to identify their points of friction, to better understand the expectations of their customers and, in some cases, to go as far as innovation. It is also a lever for internal transformation by shaking up routines and spreading the voice of the customer within teams.
It is also a major economic issue. Customer loyalty and recommendations have become central to growth strategies. “What we want is not just a satisfied customer, but above all a loyal customer (...) what we want is a customer who recommends”, call our expert back.
Finally, it is important to note that the French demand little compared to other Western countries. Which is actually not a good thing. This means that when a customer takes the time to make a complaint, they express valuable dissatisfaction, which should not be overlooked. Hence the importance of implementing resources and aiming for continuous improvement to guarantee customer satisfaction.
Maxime Santilli (Sqwad): “And so, in your opinion, are the companies you work with taking a proactive approach or is it a subject that, as you mentioned, is a little bit put aside?”
The maturity of businesses in the face of customer complaints varies widely. Some are still in the discovery phase and are looking for landmarks, tools, and even a culture of complaint to build. Others, on the contrary, are already very advanced and want to refine their practices or derive more value from them.
As Marie-Louis Julien points out: “Some come because there is everything to be put in place, and others already have a strong maturity and are looking to adjust and refine.” This heterogeneity is also reflected in a typology identified by the association during a study, where a quarter of the companies studied were qualified as “alchemists”: they have in common a very proactive approach to complaints and a culture shared internally around this subject.
According to him, “the point of convergence between these most advanced companies is simply to have a clear definition of what a claim is”. This may seem basic, but it reflects real cultural maturity. These companies are looking for complaints, not to defend themselves, but to progress, build loyalty, and spread the voice of the customer in all departments: marketing, finance, HR, general management...
While complaints are not always a priority, for the organizations most committed to this level, it becomes a transversal strategic lever.
Customer complaint best practices
Maxime Santilli (Sqwad) : “What could you share with us about the best practices to put in place?”
Marie-Louis Julien (AMARC) : “Defining precisely is an extremely strong signal that is sent to the entire company that, in the end, a complaint is normal.”
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One of the first best practices to adopt in business is surprisingly simple, but fundamental: defining what a complaint is. This may seem trivial, and yet, according to Marie-Louis Julien, it's all the rage. This means accepting that we are not perfect, and normalizing the existence of customer dissatisfaction, which largely defuses the fear around the subject.
By establishing a clear definition, shared between the various departments, the subject is pacified. The customer complaint ceases to be perceived as an attack or a sanction, and becomes useful information for progress. “This makes it easier to report complaints, and allows you to be less stressed about this dissatisfied customer.”, he explains.
It is also an excellent opportunity to bring teams together around a common vision. Marketing, product, customer service, management: all can contribute to this definition, which will then reflect the company's own culture. And as Marie-Louis reminds us, intervening early in the treatment of dissatisfaction is like putting out a match rather than a fire: the faster you act, the simpler and more effective it is.
Finally, this approach also allows real exploitation of customer behavior. It offers concrete and human feedback, far from simple statistics. A gold mine to improve the customer experience and develop the offer.
How do you define a customer complaint?
Maxime Santilli (Sqwad) : “Could you quite simply define what a claim is or at least how you would introduce it to a company trying to define this word?”
Marie-Louis Julien (AMARC) : “It is the expression of dissatisfaction that a customer attributes to a company: dissatisfaction with the expectation of being taken into account and the non-recurrence”.
Defining what a claim is may seem obvious, but it's actually a foundational step. At AMARC, this definition was established more than 15 years ago. Simple and concrete, it makes it possible to anchor the subject in the daily life of teams.
But beyond words, the challenge is to build a shared definition. To do this, Marie-Louis Julien recommends engaging in internal dialogue: “Just organizing, formally or not, round tables to ask yourself the question: 'For you, what is a complaint? ' makes it possible to reveal the differences in perception between services, trades or sectors.” These exchanges enrich collective thinking and prepare the ground for a coherent approach.
Finally, it is essential that the definition be brought to the highest level of the company. When a manager is personally involved in the subject — by calling back a customer or by supporting teams in the field — this gives weight to the approach and embodies the importance given to listening to customers. As Marie-Louis says: “When a CEO wants, usually God wants.”
Customer complaint: a profitable investment, not a cost center
Maxime Santilli (Sqwad) :”How do you think, whether directly through call operators or even a business strategy, how can we respond to this complaint and transform it into a value generator and perhaps increase loyalty?”
Responding to a complaint is more than “dealing with a problem.” It is a key moment in the customer relationship, a tipping point where you can either permanently lose a customer or turn them into an ambassador. As Marie-Louis Julien points out:
“The complaint is really the moment of truth, where the customer will physically test whether, yes or no, (...) the sales promise will be fulfilled.”
In these moments, the customer is not only waiting for a quick solution: they are looking for tangible signs that the company respects and takes them seriously. It is therefore necessary to respond in a human, transparent and structured way. A good practice consists in giving the customer maximum visibility on the processing of their complaint:
“It is not necessarily a question of responding quickly, but of showing the customer that their request has been read, understood, and that it is being processed, with a clear deadline and an identified person”, explains Marie-Louis.
Concretely, this can be translated into:
- A personalized acknowledgement of receipt, which reformulates the customer's situation.
- A commitment to respond within a specific time frame, for example within two weeks.
- The allocation of a single interlocutor with his direct contact details (telephone or email), to establish a real relationship of trust.
This type of approach calms the customer, reinforces their perception of the company and prevents them from having to relaunch again and again. It is also a way of embodying the brand, by showing listening, proximity and responsibility. This positioning, sometimes referred to as a “guardian angel brand”, is based on a simple idea: to protect the customer in their relationship with the brand, even (and especially) when they encounter a problem.
Maxime Santilli (Sqwad): “How can we contact customer relationship managers? Highlight the fact that yes, customer service and complaint services have a cost, but does it also potentially generate revenue?”
Marie-Louis Julien (AMARC): “What is needed is to do this demonstration on the subject of customer complaints. And good news, it exists!”
It is essential to demonstrate to management that the complaint service should not be seen as a simple cost center, but as a powerful economic driver. This demonstration exists, and it is based on concrete work, conducted in particular by researchers William Sabatier and Daniel Rey, who have developed a model to measure the impact of complaint management on customer behavior: loyalty, recommendation, average basket, etc.
Our specialist summarizes the challenge as follows: “You just need to take care of your customers' complaints, and you have significant leverage.”
What is an example of a customer complaint?
Marie-Louis Julien takes the example of Compagnie des Alpes: by analyzing the experiences of dissatisfied customers, we observe that those who formulated a complaint, received a response, and above all were satisfied with this response, have an NPS 20 points higher than that of customers who did not encounter any dissatisfaction. “It's stupid as hell,” comments Marie-Louis, “but the results are there: a well-handled complaint has more positive impact than one without a track record.” snag.
The same observation was true at Décathlon, where customers who experienced dissatisfaction, made a complaint and received a satisfactory response had an average basket that was several dozen percent higher than the average.
In short, a company that responds accurately and transparently transforms a moment of friction into an act of reinsurance. The customer comes out strengthened in their trust, they are more likely to consume again and to recommend the brand. This is where the complaint service becomes not only a tool for customer loyalty, but also a direct vector of economic performance.
Humans and AI: an essential duo for complaint management
Maxime Santilli (Sqwad):”Can you share with us some good trends (...) that you could highlight and take into account in order to always be in a customer-friendly approach?”
Marie-Louis Julien (AMARC) : “I think the real issue is cultural, it's how not to lose sight of the customer.”
More than a one-off trend, what really matters is cultural anchoring: how to maintain a customer-oriented posture on a daily basis, over time. It is not a transformation that has to be done once and for all, but a constant effort. Marie-Louis Julien quotes Nicolas Courgeau (MAIF) who told her: “There is not a day when you don't have to fight so as not to lose sight of the member in the company.”
This constant vigilance is essential to avoid what it calls an insidious distance: the higher up in the hierarchy an employee is, the more often he is removed from the field, and therefore from the customer.
“In a lot of clubs, reaching out to the customer is seen as a sign of failure. If you have the live customer on your phone, you didn't succeed.”
Faced with this, some companies set up simple but powerful rituals. For example, at MAIF, monthly breakfasts open to all employees interested in the voice of the customer have been set up. Over coffee, they can share cases, testimonies and put the customer back at the center of discussions. This type of device contributes to maintaining a living and embodied customer culture.
Finally, the best trend to follow is to never take customer centricity for granted. This involves:
- regular spaces for dialogue around customer satisfaction;
- a managerial example in active listening and customer proximity;
- and a continuous questioning of its practices.
It is this posture of vigilance that makes it possible, over time, to really make a difference.
Maxime Santilli (Sqwad): “You've been supporting brands and businesses on these topics for years. AI is used by BPOs such as Sqwad or even by advertisers. Of course, there is a human part in customer relationships and complaints. What do you think of this mix? Do you take a stand on certain trends?”
AI is increasingly being used in customer relationships. However, as Marie-Louis Julien points out, “What is important is not to forget that the other person's hand is of real use, a necessity for the customer”. In other words, even if AI is a powerful tool that irrigates many activities today, the human dimension remains essential, especially in the management of customer complaints.
Marie-Louis also recalls a simple but strong truth: “We know that more than 80% of customers want, in a complaint situation, a human, and ideally the same person from start to finish”. This desire for personalized and authentic contact cannot be completely replaced by artificial intelligence.
The real challenge, according to him, is to use AI as an aid for employees, by supporting them through training and skills development, so that they provide greater satisfaction than what a robot can offer. He explains:”If our teams are not in a position to deliver higher levels of satisfaction than artificial intelligence, this is a strong signal that we need to review our support.”
Thus, the ideal mix is a balance where AI supports and optimizes human work, without ever completely replacing it, especially where empathy and a relationship of trust are essential.
Maxime Santilli (Sqwad): “Can you share with us an advice that you would give to some companies that are cautious about this subject of claims?”
Marie-Louis Julien (AMARC) : “If your quest is to develop your business towards more, to achieve more economic performance and more transformation, complaint is probably a lever.”
Too often perceived as an irritant or a constraint, complaints are in fact a valuable source of proximity and authenticity with the customer.
The expert insists: “By definition, complaints are authentic and close.”
And that's exactly what consumers are looking for today: brands that can listen, recognize their mistakes, and turn an irritant into a relationship opportunity.
For Marie-Louis, it is therefore time to change her perspective: complaints are not a problem to manage, they are an underexploited source for creating value and strengthening customer trust.
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