ISO 10002: Recording Complaints, Resolving Cases and Preventing Recurrence
Contact channels and the customer's response to a remedy reveal how complaint handling works. This guide focuses on multichannel sales and outsourced services.
Questions for your situation
Can social media comments or verbal reports count as complaints?
Do not exclude dissatisfaction about a product or service with an expectation of response merely because no form was used. Define monitored channels and recording methods. Not every comment needs identical processing, but contact routes should be clear. Subject, date, transaction details and ownership help the case progress.
Can the file be closed immediately after a refund?
Completing a refund may not address every aspect of the complaint. Record continuing delays, incorrect information or recurring product issues too. Track the proposed remedy and the customer's response. Explain closure reasons and never record an unaccepted resolution as accepted.
Can a delivery complaint simply be redirected to the external courier?
Review your customer relationship alongside the carrier contract. Information may be needed from the courier, but define your responsibilities for updates and follow-up. Referral should not cause the internal record to disappear. Feed recurring delivery problems into supplier performance evaluation as well.
Does receiving no complaints demonstrate high satisfaction?
It may, but difficult forms, unfamiliar channels or an expectation of no response can also suppress complaints. Assess feedback methods, abandoned submissions and other relevant information, such as repeat purchases. A target based only on low complaint counts must not encourage incomplete recording.
Is ISO 10002 a legal instrument for resolving consumer or employment disputes?
No. It provides guidance for handling product and service complaints within an organisation, not an adjudication mechanism for external disputes or employment disagreements. Legal routes and deadlines require separate consideration. Clarify the basis and scope of any assessment or certificate service; the standard's name does not confer public authority.
How should complaint handling change when a sales channel is added?
Define response expectations, data flows, hours and ownership. Link reports from the same customer across channels to avoid counting one case repeatedly. Establish appropriate access and personal information sharing arrangements. Review whether any external assessment scope or follow-up agreement covers the new channel.
Share the subject, organisation or product, target market, current evidence and target date. The team can then separate consultancy, official fees, independent evaluation and realistic timing.