Situation
Everything was “a complaint”. Nobody had the full picture, and two identical cases could end completely differently. Complaint costs sat in no budget, yet the company paid them every day.
Why it's different
This wasn't about a higher NPS. It was about how much money was leaking through processes that didn't help customers — and how to bring it back into the business.
of claims weren't legitimate, yet each went through the full back-office process
annual cost of handling and compensation, outside any budget
the process meant to repair the customer relationship often damaged it further
Clear terms
Feedback, complaint and claim, each with its own process.
One owner
A Complaints Officer role, so someone finally owned complaints.
Value in one number
Who to compensate, how much, and who is worth investing in.
Solve it on the front line
Resolved on first contact, based on customer value and complaint history.
Some customers cost more than they bring.
Instead of handling their next complaint, these customers received a fair offer to leave early. The back office got its capacity back, and compensation spend on this group stopped.
Pay the customer, not the process.
Instant compensation for a valued customer costs less than half of back-office processing. Where possible we compensated in kind, so it cost the company less cash.
Illustrative ratio, no absolute values.
fewer calls after fixing prepaid card registration
CES from instant call pick-up
is a result too. An extra minute per call didn't raise satisfaction, and FCR was already above benchmark, so we didn't invest in either.
Where is cash leaking in your business?
9 questions, 2 minutes.