UKOperations

Customer Complaints Procedure

Procedure for handling, recording, and resolving customer complaints.

What this document covers

A structured complaints procedure helps you handle issues consistently, learn from them, and protect your business from escalation. It covers in-person complaints, written complaints, social media complaints, and food safety-related complaints that may need regulatory reporting.

Key sections included

  • Complaint handling principles
  • In-person complaints
  • Written complaints
  • Online/social media complaints
  • Food safety complaints
  • Escalation
  • Record-keeping
  • Learning and improvement

Frequently asked questions

Should I offer refunds for every complaint?

Not automatically. Listen to the complaint, assess it fairly, and offer a proportionate remedy. For food quality issues, a replacement or discount is often appropriate. For potential safety issues, prioritise documentation over compensation.

Document details

Legal basis
Best practice; Consumer Rights Act 2015
Enforced by
Trading Standards (if escalated)
Penalty for absence
No regulatory penalty, but poor complaint handling damages reputation and can lead to Trading Standards involvement or civil claims.
Category
Operations

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