A Complaint Is a Gift: Recovering Customer Loyalty When Things Go Wrong, Second Edition

• Second edition of a classic book that sold over 130,000 copies
• Thoroughly revised and updated with new material on handling Internet complaints, dealing with complaints directed at you, complaining effectively yourself, as well as new examples covering a wide range of industries
• More relevant than ever in today’s constantly connected world, when customers can complain instantly and broadcast their dissatisfaction around the world

The first edition of A Complaint Is a Gift introduced the revolutionary notion that customer complaints are not annoyances to be dodged, denied, or buried but are instead valuable pieces of feedback – in fact, they’re your best bargain in market research. Customer complaints can give businesses a wake-up call when they’re not achieving their fundamental purpose: meeting customer needs. Complaints provide a feedback mechanism that can help organizations rapidly and inexpensively strengthen products, service style, and market focus. Most importantly, complaints create a moment of truth when a customer who is deciding whether to return can be made even more loyal.

Using numerous real-life examples, A Complaint Is a Gift shows precisely how to handle complaints in a way that brings benefit to your organization and satisfaction to your customers – even when you have to say no. The second edition features two brand-new chapters on receiving and responding to complaints of the Internet; a new section on how to deal with and take advantage of complaints that are directed at your personally; and, turning the tables, a section on how you can complain constructively and effectively. And throughout, the text has been heavily revised, with a wealth of new examples, tools, and strategies.

About the Authors

JANELLE BARLOW, PhD, knows a lot about feedback, having spent more than thirty years receiving critiques about her speeches and seminars to management groups, her writing, and even her management style. And that’s not counting all the feedback she gets from her family. Her keen sense for diverse ideas and approaches to management was shaped in part by living in Asia for three years. Even today she spends a great deal of her time traveling the world, speaking to audiences on the topics of complaint handling and branded service. She works with clients to help them handle complaints, brand their service cultures, and create genuine organizational change. Janelle became president of TMI US in 1996. A member of the National Speakers Association, she has earned the designation of Certified Speaking Professional. She currently sits on the Council of the International Federation for Professional Speakers.

She is the author or coauthor of several books, including Emotional Value, Smart Videoconferencing, and Branded Customer Service, all published by Berrett-Koehler. She also wrote The Stress Manager and Unbind Your Mind: The Freedom to Be Creative. She sits on the faculty of the University of Philosophical Research. Her doctorate is from the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied both political science and education. She also has a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s in psychology from Sonoma State University.

CLAUS MØLLER is a leading management consultant and keynote speaker. Prior to sett ing up Claus Møller Consulting, he was the founder of Time Manager International. He sold TMI in 2003 and continues his pioneering work in the areas of leadership, time management, quality management, service management, and emotional intelligence. During a consultancy career spanning more than three decades, Claus has coined the following concepts: Putting People First, A Complaint Is a Gift , The Human Side of Quality, and Employeeship. He is the author of several best-selling management books and has won numerous awards for innovative thinking and project delivery. He also developed the world-famous Time Manager planning and results tool and has worked extensively for a wide range of blue-chip clients, from IBM to American Express. Today, Claus Møller Consulting off ers its clients executive coaching, leadership education, tailored seminars, keynote addresses, books, and diagnostic tools. The Sunday Times of London called Claus “the Victor Borge of Management,” and he remains one of the world’s most inspiring business and management speakers. Claus holds a master of science in marketing from Copenhagen Business School and is an Honorary Fellow of the All India Management Association.