Managing Customer Complaints in the Laboratory

A new version of software for handling customer complaints (CCMS) has been launched by Autoscribe. Designed to track and trace the status of a complaint from notification through to resolution the software also assists in identifying spurious claims from serial complainers. It has the potential to cut fraud, identify acts of extortion and deliberate product contamination, and to highlight production faults that are leading to repeated complaints.

The system deals with every aspect of complaint management. For example, it can be linked to word processing packages to facilitate the production of standard acknowledgement letters, and to other packages, such as image capturing software, which will allow a photograph of the faulty product to be linked to the relevant complaint. Where complaints might lead to court action, the system assists in maintaining the full traceability of evidence, a factor which may prove vital in establishing and fighting a defence.

The CCMS can also allocate a laboratory testing regime to the sample or product that has resulted in a complaint where relevant. The testing regime can be assigned automatically or on an ad hoc basis. Test results are easily compared against expected values and product specifications. Once completed, the test findings can be easily incorporated into reports for the customer and the complainer.

Statistical analysis can also be applied to the results of several tests to identify trends in complaints, or steps that may need to be taken to prevent the recurrence of a specific problem.