Customer Complaint Definition - Food Distributor

  • Thread starter patriot19472001
  • Start date
P

patriot19472001

Hi Covians,

I'm working in a trading company where we take food products from 37 countries and sell in middle-east. The flow is as under

Manufacturers > Transportation > Our Distributors Warehouses > Transporattion > Markets > Consumers/Shoppers

My new boss has thoughts about our current Customer Complaint Definition that it is wrong. I'm listing down current definition below for Covians to comment/share thoughts

>>> Complaint means any written, electronic, or oral communication that alleges deficiencies related to the identity, quality, durability, reliability, safety, effectiveness, or performance of a product after it is released for Distribution


1. My boss wanted to include damages in warehouse (regardless of reason storage, manufacturing) in customer complaints


2. He wanted to include damages during transportation in customer complaints.


My point of view was that as these complaints are not from customers so no dissatisfaction happened, no market share/equity affected therefore these will not be counted as customer complaints.


However, these will be recorded and solved on case to case basis.


Any quick Thoughts?
 

NikkiQSM

Quite Involved in Discussions
Our definition of a customer complaint is simply: "Any dissatisfaction with the company."

It doesn't mean that we are at fault necessarily, but it does trigger us to start an investigation.
 

Ninja

Looking for Reality
Trusted Information Resource
Color me creative, but I would think one of the basic requirements of "customer complaint" is that it comes from the customer...

Damage in the warehouse that never leaves the door because of that damage would be a bit odd to find under 'customer complaint'.
The resulting partial shipment or late delivery would...

If a shipment is damaged in transport, but the customer doesn't care...how could that be a customer complaint?

If the customer does complain about it...is that not already covered in "written, electronic, or oral communication that alleges deficiencies related to the identity, quality, durability, reliability, safety, effectiveness, or performance of a product after it is released for Distribution" ?

Is your boss asking you to include additional items in the "complaint" bucket, or is he really just asking you to segregate out into different subcategories so that root cause and frequency can be more easily identified?
 
K

karha096

What your boss really needs is probably a list of root cause categories to be included in your complaints form. A customer complaint can be caused by many different things, such as damages in transport.
 

Ron Rompen

Trusted Information Resource
There seems (IMHO) to be a disconnect in the definition of 'customer'. Everyone is focusing on the end user as the customer - the way that it should be considered is that the customer is the NEXT PERSON or OPERATION. Damage in the warehouse may not get to the end consumer, but it still affects others, and is a loss of product.
 

Ninja

Looking for Reality
Trusted Information Resource
affects others...absolutely.
loss of product...absolutely.
Waste...absolutely.

Must be handled as a customer complaint in whatever customer complaint system exists...no way.

Handle it, yes.
Thou shalt handle it as a customer complaint...nope.
:2cents:
 
Top Bottom