Introduction
The development of consumer protection owes its roots in the principal of caveat emptor let the buyer beware. In an ideal society where buyers and sellers are all scrupulously honest, it would be the responsibility of both parties to ensure that the contract of sale/purchase and the product/service meets the requirements. Society is, however, by no means perfect, and there exist less than honest parties both in terms of sellers and buyers. It is for this reason that mechanisms, laws and regulations have developed in order to provide a channel through which grievance can be resolved, and an orderly market place maintained.
In addition to the mechanisms through which complaints can be made and resolved, there is also other self-defense, or common sense mechanism for both buyers and sellers:
Self defense for traders:
The best in the context of consumer complaints is understanding what your liability may be and taking preventative action to avoid complaints in the place. However, it is almost inevitable that some complaints will arise; in many cases these may be quite genuine. In others you may have to deal with a customer who is having a change of mind, or is trying to pull a fast one.
We should first understand the basic characteristics that products should meet in order that they should not give rise to a case for rejection by a customer:
there are a number of principles, which underline consumers rights:
Quality: apart from the requirement that goods must meet any specific standards established for that category of product of service, goods must in any event be suitable for the purpose for which they are being sold. Quality covers the appearance and finish of the product, their safety, fitness for purpose, durability and that are free from defects, unless when minor defects have been brought to the customers attention, for example shop sold items.
Description: the goods should match the description given to them. This would include descriptions given on the item, the packaging or simply the description or information which you give verbally to the customer.
Fit for purpose: the goods must meet the requirements which the customer has asked for. If for example the customer asks for a product for the purpose of mixing dough, you cannot offer a washing machine claiming that it will fit customers requirements. Your description of the goods being offered must be true, a false description, either given verbally or in writing, can provide the buyer with an effective rejection mechanism.
Guarantees/Warranties: if the manufacturer of a product offers a guarantee, then that guarantee must be provided to the customer. Remember that it is your responsibility to deal with the consumers complaint, not the manufacturer.
Normally manufacturer provides a guarantee which enables you to either have the item replaced or repaired, and for which you would be indemnified by the manufacturer. Or in some cases the manufacturer may provide you with up-front additional discounts to compensate you for having to deal with manufacturing defects etc.
As part of your defense mechanism please read the section on Self Defense for Consumers.
Service
The service which you provide should also conform to the basic value propositions of goods:
The service provided should match the description of the service which was contracted.
Work must be completed with reasonable skill and care, and the materials used should be fit purpose and of satisfactory quality.
The delivery of the service should be completed within a reasonable time, even if no delivery time was specified.
The price charged should be as agreed. If you have given an estimate only, make sure that the customer understands that this is only a rough guide. If you have given a quotation, then you can be held to this as the final cost.
what to do if you receive a complaint
You will be on much firmer ground if you know your rights, so check with the Directorate of Consumer Protection, or check with your lawyer.
Whatever promises are made at the time of sale, such as bring it back if the color is wrong, or it doesnt fit, should be honored, or the consumer may have grounds for rejection.
If a buyer subsequently rejects a purchase for any of the conciliations mentioned above, and asks for a refunds. If, on the other hand, you do not agree that the goods are faulty, or believe any fault until you have had the item inspected by the manufacturer. However this should be done as expeditiously as possible. If there is no question that the item is faulty, then you should make a refund, although he may be persuaded to accept a replacement or repair.
If a customer does not reject his purchase in a reasonable time, then you may consider the item to have been accepted. In such cases when a faulty item is returned subsequently, you may not be required to make a full refund, but instead may consider a partial refund, repair or replacement.
You may also encounter customer who have purchased an item, and have subsequently changed their mind. There is no obligation on you to take any action in such cases, though many traders will oblige the customer for the sake of goodwill, maybe allowing a customer to trade-up where the product has obviously not been used.
It is important also to emphasize that a customer cannot reject a purchase on the grounds of a defect which was pointed out to him at the time of sale. It is also up to you to ensure that the complainant did actually purchase the goods from you, by requiring his proof of purchase.
You should ensure that all of your salesmen know your customer policy and how to deal with complaints; be reasonable and be prepared to offer a reasonable compromise.
Attitude and body language play an important part in getting with complaints. You should always be polite, but at same time make your position clear.
Its important to keep a record of complaints, and any action that has been taken to resolve them.
Follow up any complaint in writing, either to cement your customer relationship when an issue has been satisfactorily resolved, or to have a record in cases when the customer is making inappropriate demands.
Depending on the size of your business it may be good idea to designate particular staff to handle customer complaints, and bring home the massage that complaints are a valuable source of efficiency improvement, not that these are merely trouble makers. By doing this the staff responsible quickly develop a complaint handling culture, and you may get a much better settlement rate than would be the case if different people handle the issue. If a complaints point is visible to the customer, this tends to take a lot of sting out of his tail.
Dealing with complaints in a supportive and efficient manner will add to you market reputation and ensure customer loyalty.
Try, as much as possible, to avoid the customer going to Court.