Complaint Handling: A Process for Online Stores

Complaint handling gives an online store one process for acknowledging a problem, recording it, investigating the facts and carrying out the right remedy. Assign each complaint to a person and track it until the customer receives a written outcome. A refund request sitting unread for two weeks is a failure of ownership before it’s a failure of tone.

Why Customer Complaints Deserve a Process

A written process gives customer complaints the same attention whether they arrive through chat, email, reviews, social comments or a chargeback notice. Without one, a public complaint can get an immediate reply while an identical email waits in a personal inbox.

Resolving a complaint well gives you a chance to keep the customer. It also tells you where the store has failed, from an inaccurate size chart to a refund nobody approved. Treat chargebacks as complaints to record alongside their separate payment-provider deadlines.

Before using the process, choose a complaint owner and a backup. Give them access to order records and authority to arrange remedies. Set up one log that everyone handling complaints can search.

The Complaint Handling Process Step by Step

Handle each complaint through the following numbered steps. These suggested targets suit a small store. They are service commitments you set, not statutory deadlines. Urgent safety concerns need immediate attention.

1. Acknowledge the complaint within one business day. Use the customer’s name and restate the problem briefly. Name the person handling it and say when the next update will arrive. An automatic receipt alone doesn’t explain who will help.
2. Record the complaint when you acknowledge it. Create one record per issue and attach messages from every channel. Add the order number, category, assigned owner and next action, with a due date.
3. Investigate within two business days where the records allow. Compare the order with dispatch records, product information and the customer’s account. Ask only for missing evidence. If an outside response takes longer, explain what you’re waiting for and update the customer every two business days.
4. Offer the appropriate remedy once you understand the problem. Aim to give a decision within five business days for a straightforward case. State the action and expected completion time. Check the customer’s legal rights before applying a discretionary store policy.
5. Confirm the action in writing when it is approved. Explain who will carry it out and how the customer will know it has happened. Separate the decision to refund from confirmation that the payment has been processed.
6. Close the record after checking completion. Follow up within two business days of the expected completion, record the actual outcome and ask whether the problem is resolved. If the customer disagrees, keep that disagreement visible and explain the review path.

A complaint log needs enough detail for the backup owner to continue without asking the customer to repeat everything.

Field	What to record	Hypothetical example
Complaint reference	One identifier shared across channels	C-104
Order number	The purchase involved	8412
Channel	First contact and later messages	Email, then chat
Category	The problem reported	Wrong item
Owner	Person responsible for the next action	Store manager
Due date	Next promised update	Within one business day
Status	Current stage	Investigating dispatch record
Outcome	Action, completion and customer response	Correct item sent; customer confirms receipt

For a public review, reply briefly in public and move order details to a private channel. For example: “Hi Alex, I’m sorry your refund hasn’t reached you. Please email our customer service address so we can trace it.” Use your actual address in the reply. Keep the public review and private conversation in the same record, and never publish the order number or address.

If a complaint stalls, check the assigned owner and last promised update first. Assign a replacement owner when someone is absent. For cases needing a manager’s decision, use the guide to ticket escalation and handover notes.

Writing a Complaint Handling Policy

Publish a complaint handling policy that tells customers how to raise a problem and what response to expect. The staff procedure explains who does each step and records the result. Publish the policy where customers can find it, including your contact and returns pages.

AS 10002:2022 is titled Guidelines for complaint management in organizations (ISO 10002:2018, NEQ). It is guidance for designing and improving complaint management. APRA’s explanation of its standards-based approach describes accessible channels, fair assessment, prompt responses and central records. For a store, that means making complaints easy to raise, reviewing both sides and learning from the outcome.

Use this short outline for your customer complaints policy and procedure template. Replace each role and service target with one your store can meet.

• Explain which contact methods accept complaints and what information helps, such as an order number and a description of the problem.
• Name the role that reviews complaints and the backup for absence. State who can approve remedies and who reviews a disputed decision.
• Publish acknowledgement and update targets. Explain how you’ll tell customers about a delay.
• Describe how you assess the facts and communicate the outcome. State that the policy preserves rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
• Explain the internal review route and where customers can seek help outside the business.
• Tell staff how to log a complaint, restrict access to personal information and record completion. Assign responsibility for reviewing recurring categories.

Keep broader service promises in your guide to customer service policies. A complaint policy needs a usable response process, not a full service charter.

Remedies and Your Obligations Under the ACL

Remedies for faulty goods under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) are legal rights, and a goodwill gesture cannot replace them. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) states: “A consumer has the right to a remedy if goods do not meet a consumer guarantee.” See its business guide to consumer guarantees.

A refund, repair or replacement addresses the consumer guarantee failure. A discount code is a discretionary goodwill offer. Record these separately, and use the consumer guarantees guide to decide the remedy owed for the fault.

Customers who cannot resolve a complaint with you can contact their state or territory consumer protection agency. The ACCC’s consumer help directory explains these options. Agencies can give advice and may help negotiate a resolution. The ACCC does not resolve individual complaints.

State or territory	Consumer protection body
Australian Capital Territory	Access Canberra
New South Wales	NSW Fair Trading
Northern Territory	Northern Territory Consumer Affairs
Queensland	Office of Fair Trading
South Australia	Consumer and Business Services
Tasmania	Consumer, Building and Occupational Services
Victoria	Consumer Affairs Victoria
Western Australia	Consumer Protection

Your final reply needs the decision, its reasons and a record of what you’ve done. Include the internal review contact and the relevant external agency if the customer remains dissatisfied. A closed ticket does not remove the customer’s right to take the dispute further.

When a Complaint Starts in Chat

A chat agent needs to recognise a complaint and move from shopping assistance to problem handling. Phrases such as “damaged”, “never arrived”, “wrong item” and “I want my money back” are signals to stop product recommendations.

Configure the agent to acknowledge the problem, ask for the order number privately and hand the conversation to a person. Attach the full transcript so the person can see what the customer said and what the agent already promised. Add the complaint category and any missing evidence to the handover.

The agent must never promise a refund without authority, argue about store policy or offer compensation the store has not authorised. Use this acknowledgement: “I’m sorry the wrong item arrived. What’s your order number? I’ll pass this conversation to our customer service team.”

Check the receiving inbox after a test complaint. The person needs the transcript, a named owner and an update deadline. If the message arrives without an owner, fix the routing before using the chat process with customers.

Complaint Handling Software and Systems

A small store’s customer complaint handling system needs tags, assigned owners, due dates and a searchable history. Keep messages in a shared inbox or helpdesk so an absent staff member cannot leave a complaint inaccessible.

Choose the system by the work the team must coordinate, not the software label.

System	Team fit	What you must manage
Spreadsheet log with shared inbox	One owner and a backup, with few open complaints	Manually update status and due dates; link messages to each row
General helpdesk	Several staff sharing daily customer contacts	Set complaint tags, assignment rules and overdue reminders
Dedicated complaint handling software	Larger teams with repeated reviews or formal reporting needs	Configure review records, permissions and reporting without duplicating the helpdesk

A spreadsheet can work while one person keeps it current. Move to a helpdesk when handovers or missed updates become regular problems. Dedicated complaint handling software fits when the complaint review itself needs controls beyond normal support tickets.

Customer Complaint Handling Best Practices

Reply in the channel the customer used where privacy allows, use their name and confirm the fix in writing. Read the existing record before asking another question. Give each promised action an owner, and send an update before a promised response time passes.

These hypothetical customer complaint examples pair the response with the action behind it. Adjust the wording to the facts of the order.

Complaint	Action	Sample reply
Late parcel	Check dispatch and tracking; give a next update while investigating	“Hi Alex, I’m sorry your parcel is late. I’m checking the dispatch record and will update you within one business day.”
Wrong size chosen by the customer	Explain the applicable change-of-mind policy; distinguish this from a size supplied incorrectly or described inaccurately	“Hi Sam, I understand the size doesn’t suit you. I’ll explain the exchange options under our change-of-mind policy.”
Faulty item	Record the fault and assess the remedy owed under the ACL	“Hi Lee, I’m sorry the item isn’t working. Please send your order number and describe the fault so we can arrange the appropriate remedy.”
Refund approved but not received	Check processing records and confirm the payment status	“Hi Jo, I’ll trace the approved refund and send you the processing details within one business day.”

Review complaint categories each month. Compare them with order volume so a busy sales period does not make every category look worse. Repeated complaints about colour can point to a misleading product photo. A rise in late deliveries can justify reviewing the courier service.

Assign the underlying fix to someone and check whether that category falls after the change. The voice of customer guide explains how to turn repeated feedback into store changes.

Before adopting the process, send one fictional complaint through your shared inbox and another through chat. Both must reach the log with an owner and due date. Confirm that the backup can find the complete history and that the written outcome records what actually happened.