Businesses live or die by their reputations. So, while it’s not always possible to prevent poor customer or patient experiences, by handling complaints quickly and effectively, it is possible to salvage negative situations. 

Patient complaints have a variety of causes, including some that are outside the control of the pharmacy team, such as manufacturers’ stock shortages. 

Responding to complaints effectively helps maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. If you ignore or dismiss them, you tell your customers that you don’t value their opinion. 

Complaints management can be seen as both time consuming and frustrating, but badly handled complaints can have far-reaching consequences. If one person is complaining, others may be dissatisfied, but rather than complain, they may simply go elsewhere. 

Actually, complaints can be helpful, because they can identify areas for improvement. They can be a sign of underperformance, and fixing that is one of the processes of clinical governance. 

Working out where potential complaints might come from will help you to prevent them. They may come from the overall patient experience in the pharmacy, the product purchased, how a prescription is processed or how a service is provided. Patients will consider a number of factors before making a complaint. 

Complaints are inevitable; how you deal with them isn’t