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Rewarding customer complaints: how to turn a complaint into a morale booster.(Selected Topic)
A past-due customer informs his sales representative that someone in the credit department was rude and argumentative and the complaint has landed on the credit manager's desk! The customer is threatening to take his business elsewhere and the sates department wants the credit department to take responsibility. What Should the credit manager do? Apologize to the customer and discipline the employee? Ignore the complaint and hope the matter goes away? What if senior management instructs the credit manager to apologize to the customer, and discipline the employee, regardless of what really happened?
These are just some of the real-life scenarios that have happened to credit professionals. Are complaints against collectors valid? Rarely! Should they be investigated? Always! No complaint Should be dismissed or acted upon before being thoroughly reviewed and investigated.
Customer complaints will occur from time-to-time in a collection environment. Some companies have zero tolerance for complaints--as they Should. But complaints about services or product differ greatly from those made by past-due customers who receive a telephone call or collection letter.
To handle a complaint made against a credit department employee, the credit manager must first determine the status of the customer's account, the collection history and reputation of the customer. If nothing negative is revealed, then it's time to interview the employee the complaint was made against. Once all the facts are in, then--and only then--can any conclusions be made about what happened.
If the investigation reveals the employee was indeed out of line, then appropriate action must be taken as defined by company policy. However, in over 10 years of credit management, I have never had an employee get out of line with a customer.
If it is determined there was a misunderstanding, then the factors leading to the misunderstanding can be realigned to reduce or prevent them from occurring again. This is often the case when dealing with English speaking Employees of foreign companies. Though people outside of the United States may understand enough English to interact with us, the subtle nuances and even "slang" can have ...
- Ferguson's credit department: The credit manager or controller at each Ferguson...
- Magazine article from: Plumbing & Mechanical Lenius, Pat April 1, 2003 700+ words
...wholesalers, Ferguson has made the investment to place a credit manager and/or controller in every main branch. "I like the...critical times in their business cycles." Ferguson's credit department is totally decentralized. The 130 credit managers in Ferguson...
- Ferguson's credit department: the credit manager or controller at each Ferguson...
- Magazine article from: Plumbing & Mechanical Lenius, Pat April 1, 2003 700+ words
...wholesalers, Ferguson has made the investment to place a credit manager and/or controller in every main branch. "I like the...critical times in their business cycles." Ferguson's credit department is totally decentralized. The 130 credit managers in Ferguson...
- Ferguson's credit department: the credit manager or controller at each Ferguson...
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...wholesalers, Ferguson has made the investment to place a credit manager and/or controller in every main branch. "I like the...critical times in their business cycles." Ferguson's credit department is totally decentralized. The 130 credit managers in Ferguson...
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- Motivating a credit department.
- Magazine article from: Business Credit Edgar, William C. February 1, 1997 700+ words
...was hired to replace a credit manager who was retiring after...globe. Apart from the credit manager, three other people made up the credit department, which was responsible...to my arrival, the credit manager, who had done an excellent...
- Determining whether outsourcing is the right move for your credit department.
- Magazine article from: Business Credit Gray, Becky September 1, 1999 700+ words
...profitability. But what about outsourcing your credit department? As a credit manager of a large organization you may face a number...outsourcing can address three major areas in a credit department: systems management, project implementation...
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- Smelkinson SYSCO's credit department breeds success.
- Magazine article from: Business Credit Owings, Julie A. March 1, 1992 700+ words
...other institutions. Credit Department Has Grown Too Miller...SYSCO after being a credit manager for Westinghouse...didn't even have a credit department, just a manual ledger...realized they needed a credit manager, and I was hired...