Customer complaint not closed - Can we continue to supply the customer?

[Howard Atkins]

I had a discussion recently about this:

Must you have a closure from the customer on his complaint before you continue to supply?
Anyone

[RCBeyette]

Bear in mind that I'm not TS...but my take is no. If the complaint is on Widget A, and remains unresolved, why shouldn't you be able to supply the customer with Widget B? That being said if the issue is with a particular issue on Widget A, where is the guarantee that the issue will repeat?

If we supply a customer with 1"x1"x1/2" angle and there is a quality defect, our investigation usually reveals that it was something to do with the way it was rolled during that shift. Subsequent 1"x1"x1/2" angle does not necessarily have the same issues.

But like I said, I'm not TS...

Added a bit later...I also think that the magnitude/severity of the complaint should weigh into the decision as to whether or not the supplying can continue.

Howard : Out of curiousity, is someone saying that the supplying must stop? If so, is it the supplier or the Customer? Just curious.

[Bill Ryan]

Customer closure? We get customer complaints "every once in a while" but that normally means going on containment of some type. We don't wait for the customer to give us an "officail" OK for our containment activities or we would miss shipments. As far as filling out the customer's corrective action form, other than the ones that have web sites for their forms, I have yet to receive a "closure" document of any kind. After submitting a final response, if the issue has been rectified and validated internally, we tell the customer we are off containment. To expect an answer from most of our customers is asking a bit much, I'm afraid.

[Ajit Basrur]

I wont wait for the closure unless it is a serious / major complaint getting repeated over and over again.

In one of my previous employment, we used to receive repeated customer complaints on short counts of blister strips which were placed in a carton. For this we had a corrective action as a short term measure and a preventive action, which required about 2 months for introduction of new equipment. These actions steps were approved by the customer.

Unless for the above mentioned, the action steps for minor incidents were not referred for customer approval.

[Jim Wynne]

Originally Posted by Howard Atkins

I had a discussion recently about this:

Must you have a closure from the customer on his complaint before you continue to supply?
Anyone

Does the definition of "closure" extend to the customer telling you to keep shipping while the issue is being resolved?

[Denis]

I say it depends on the severity of the complaint.

If the complaint comprimises product quality, then the decision to continue to supply might lead to a repeat of the original complaint category - that wouldn't be good for customer relationships.

If however, the issue was relatively minor , then I'd consider it to be a reasonable step to take.

If you can identify interim measures to take to prevent the recurrence, then I might be persuaded to continue shipment.

[Bill Pflanz]

If the customer tells you to stop shipping the product until the complaint is closed out then you have no choice. On the other hand, if you know that continued shipments will result in shipping defective product than closure of the complaint is not relevant since you should not be shipping it anyway. Another possibility is that the complaint has not met the process requirements for closure, will not result in sending defective product and you are voluntarily stopping shipments merely because of an internal decision or process. In this last situation, you may not be considering what is in the best interest of the customer. I would think a conversation with the customer to obtain understanding and consensus on the continued shipping of product would be needed.

Bill Pflanz

[Jim Wynne]

Originally Posted by Bill Pflanz

If the customer tells you to stop shipping the product until the complaint is closed out then you have no choice.

It depends on the nature of the contract. If the supplier has met the specified requirements, the customer can't unilaterally suspend shipments because of some double-secret requirement that the supplier knows nothing about. In fact, in such a case, the supplier's acquiescence might be later construed as acknowledgement and acceptance.

Originally Posted by Bill Pflanz

I would think a conversation with the customer to obtain understanding and consensus on the continued shipping of product would be needed.

Yes.