Complaints Handling Process - TV Magic

AT TV MAGIC WE ARE ALL ABOUT SOLUTIONS

At TV Magic - we do not have a complaints department. In over a decade of trading we have not experienced the frequency or severity of complaints to warrant needing one. Our complaints handling procedure is simple and extremely effective. Our technicians and independent business owners, contractors and franchisees are empowered to handle their own customer complaints until resolved. In most territories, these technicians are the only person available to erectify complaints and we place a great deal of emphasis on the following;

1. Supporting our operators to achieve a quick, practical and financially viable resolution with the customer;
2. Supporting our customers to have realistic expectatons / work with the operator;
3. Avoiding the manifestation of complaints by learning about psychology and reasoning behind why complaints fruition;
4. Educating and training ourselves to prevent such circumstances from materialising;
5. Executing the most effective ways to deal with complaints to achieve a win/win result.

A brief introduction into TV Magic complaints and our history

With an average of 0.08 % of our total customers making serious complaints, we have many reasons to believe that we are doing many things right.

We have only achieved this result over the years by way of listening to our customers and coming up with solutions to the most common complaints made in our industry or about tradespeople. In the past, we have, at times, very seldomly been a culprit of these complaints (as has any of our competition) however, we have always strived to always remedy any complaint in fear that it would cost us our business entirely. We would spent hours upon hours trying to help someone who cannot be helped, effecting our ability to service other customers; potentially causing a spill off effect whereby we are compromising the customer service that other customers would receive as a result. 

Since then we have improved somewhat and have experienced even better results; even better win/wins for us and our loyal customers. Over the years we have evolved into a more mature business geared up with more practical and innovative ways to deal with complaints and resolve them. This is one reason why you will find that TV Magic does not have a call centre. We do not believe in double handing of information from receptionist to - head office - to complaints department - back to technician /receptionist - back to customer. You will deal with only 1 person! Your well-trained, & experienced local technician!

Technicians and upper level management are open to all feedback/suggestions and further ways to improve. It is our high teachability that enables us to remain modest and deliver what the competition often cannot deliver. In fact, if you were to ask us "Are we perfect?" We would say "That is ridiculous". We openly admit that not all our customers are 'raving fans'. We will openly admit that we have our fair share of raving fans and our fair share of 'special needs customers'. We will even admit that at times, we tell these stories to our preferred customers; like the time "A customer asked me to break in to his house and start work, because he needed the job done and was running late. I told him, I refuse to do that - and he made a serious complaint to the office of fair trading!"

This may sound comical to you however as a mobile service that predominantly services the general public; at times, we meet - the weird and the wonderful. 

A note on customer service - Goals of any business

Any good business will;

• Strive to look after their loyal customers;
• Strive to have only loyal customers;
• Strive to convert less loyal customers into loyal ones or even become 'raving fans';
• Rate their customers from A-D ('A' customers, 'D' customers etc)
• Understand that you cannot "please everybody".

TV Magic is no exception.

Over the years we have achieved and maintained a very low complaint : loyal customer ratio. Most complaints don't ever make it to head office or go past a single phone call to the technician to come back and erectify/remedy. Most remedies are a comprised of but not limited to;

• Teaching the customer what button they pressed but shouldn't have;
• Replugging a cord in that has been knocked out by the customer;
• An unforseen, failing piece of equipment/electronics covered/not covered under warranty;
• Any numerous reasons caused by the technician that did not meet the requirements to prevent a call back.

Our low complaint ratio has only been achieved over the years by listening to every single person that we meet. We resolve many complaints quickly by either a simple explanation/further instruction over the phone or a returning visit to the job site at a mutally agreed upon time. As for the more serious complaints; we have been able to categorise and identify one common trait. this 1 common trait is what we call - "Customer vs expectations". 

Examples of 'customer vs expectations' include:

• The customer feels that something should have worked differently (not understanding technology); 
• Customer feels that something should have been cheaper (not understanding that commercially - NOT all companies have the same pricing structure and/or quality of work and/or materials used)
• Customer feels that they didn't get what they wanted/expected/paid for (communication/listening break down between customer & technician - customer misunderstood /didn't listen or technician misunderstood /didn't listen)

If you have not already done so - Please contact the technician who did the job MON-FRI 8am to 5pm.

Technicians

Toowoomba - Neil 0487 86 86 87

South Brisbane - Nick 0449 947 247 or Chris 0474 736 666

North Brisbane -  Darrel 0476 71 76 71 or Matt 0488 870 873 

Sunshine Coast - Brent 0476 781 111

Melbourne - Craig 0487 805 555

Perth - Sam 0488 808 801

Adelaide - Shannon 0488 870 877

Gold Coast - Daniel 0488 899 849 or Paul 0474 726 666

Please note that;

• Our best contact times are Mon - Fri 9am to 5pm - Non local/government public holidays.
• As hard working technicians, at times, we too take holidays which may result in delayed response/contact. 
• For our mental well being and in our best interest, we need to make time for family/personal agendas. This may result in delayed response/contact.
• At times, we may be busy/occupied with other work/customers. This may result in delayed response/contact. 
• At times, we travel to areas with no phone coverage. At times, this can result in sms messages or voice mail messages not making their way to our inbox
• We do not guarnatee any timely response/contact outside of business hours. 
• We do not guarantee any response/contact during weekends, public holidays or personal holidays
• By Australian Law a business can have anywhere from 30-90 days to make contact. 

in most instances; 

• We achieve a response/make contact within 15minutes - during business hours;
• We respond/make contact during weekends or public holidays or personal holidays; (at our discretion).  Please allow more than 15 minutues!

 

For your consideration: (THE COMPLAINING CUSTOMER)

The following may/may not apply to your situation however we find it to be very valuable to remind our customers that positive results can be achieved much faster if the customer helps the technician to help you. You can help your technician by; 

• Being patient - understanding that technicians too have personal lives, family & agendas;
• Understanding that technicians are also human - have bad days , off days & make mistakes;
• Being pleasant/friendly - always brings about a more favourable response from a technician - allows a technician to more openly admit to mistakes/poor workmanship (if that is what has happened) and definitely entices them to come out much quicker
• Accusatory language from a customer always brings about less favourable response from a technician - whether it is customer's fault or technicians fault. Example: "Would you mind coming back please? I think there might be something wrong" vs . "You have to come back, everything is stuffed up - YOU didn't do it right"
• Hostile or aggressive language from a customer brings about even less favourable responses from us and will delay any solutions and/or prevent us from actually helping you.
• We will not tolerate threatening language / extortion or defamation. This kind of activity is illegal! This includes online reviews, unsolicited online socia media postings that are deemed 'demoralising' or 'hateful in nature.' This is not how we do business. We pride ourselves on our moral conduct and aim to always do the right thing. We expect the same from our customers. Such behaviour may delay or even prevent us from providing the necessary solutions that you seek/deserve.
• Please consider that often electronics and technology fails! We may be on the receiving end of the abuse and often our customers apologise once they learn that it was not 'the human' that was the culprit but some little micro chip. 
• Please consider that all houses / walls/ structures and geographic locations are different! On the surface level - your house may appear just like any other, your combination of electrical equipment is not unsusual for us at all.... chances are we have worked on a house just like yours or worked on the same equipment - a thousand times. We have learnt that such assumptions are our biggest enemy! We rely on our years of experience to deal with the unforseen. Most of the time, we conquer and we keep such a result on a need to know basis. We may not make a big deal of it at all. We would typically absorb the cost and may not even tell the customer at all about our triumph. Then there are those times; despite our years of experience -  even the best of us can get caught out or surprised by something we didn't expect. Something in the wall cavity, somthing in the roof or something technical of nature that has us puzzled. This may or may not effect the time it takes us to complete a job. Unforseen circumstances may effect associated charges and/or the quality of the job. 
• Please understand that charges on an invoice does not = profit! As a small business owner we have Costs of running a business which may exceed $1500 / week. We have marketing expenses, GST and taxes to pay. We have vehicle maintenance and business insurance. We may pay upwards of $50 to obtain you as a customer and then a further $10-$30 to look after you or process the transaction. On top of that we have C.O.G's and then a wage to pay. The wage that is to pay ourselves; feed our families and remain in business. 

All complaints received automatically trigger a set of procedures sent to the technician responsible; to remind them of their obligations, responsibilities and the TV Magic customer service guarantee. Some of this information includes: 

The following may/may not apply to this situation however we find it to be very valuable to remind our technicians when dealing with complaints. We have found that 100% of complaints are customer vs. expectations..

Perception is reality - Perception of the Complaining Customer

• Understand perception is reality - The customer may be quote "wrong", however from their point of view they are right. Remind yourself that customer's don't understand technology or building structures like we do. They do not necessarily know how long something can take and/or technical difficulties that can arise. It is your job to gauge, address and communicate these expectations from initial phone call right through to the after service - to the best of your ability. 

Use the rule of three - If it is misunderstood 3 times there is a listening problem somewhere. 

• Use the rule of 3 with all correspondence with customers/clients when addressing customer expectations. Every opportunity to communicate is the opportunity to mis-communicate. When you explain something whether it be a commercial exchange/ technical advice or appointment criteria - the rule of 3 can be your friend. Example: Customer complains about technician being late by 5 minutes and the job was going to take 2 hours anyway - technician failed to call for whatever reason. Customer took the day off especially off work to be home. Customer Is very angry that appointment was not kept for the exact time as'promised'. Rule of 3 may be used like this

"Hi Mary I will be there at 2pm" <<ONCE>> "By the way, do you have school pick up at 3? "

Mary replies: "No"

"Ok, great because if I get there at 2pm <<TWICE) the job may take 2 hours meaning ill be finishing at 4ish. There's no guarantee, but that's how long I estimate this job should take. Is that ok with you mary?"

Mary: "Yeah sure"

"Great, I've got it all in the system for 2pm. You're the third job for the day. Sometimes I can get held up at other jobs. Now, I am looking at my other 2 jobs in the morning before 2pm <<THIRD TIME) and they look to be very small jobs; therefore I have no reason to believe I will be late. In fact I may be earlier than 2pm <<4th TIME) but If I do get help up, is that going to effect you in any way?

Mary: "No, I'm home all day. I'm a retired stay at grand-mother now, the kids have moved out already" 

The rule of 3 used in this way leaves no confusion about when the appointment is set for which is - - - - Attentively 2PM.

In this example Mary has not expressed that it must be this day, it must be this time, or any other unusual requirements for the exchange. Please be reminded that the rule of 3 needs to be applied to every aspect of communication; including job specifics/particulars. As an example:

• Where exactly are TV points being installed on the wall- use rule of 3.
• How high the TV is to be wall mounted - use rule of 3
• Customer has indicated they will accept our recommendation. Will they really? What if they change their mind? Do they understand what that means if they change their mind? Do they know that there will be holes in the wall ie.   SOLUTION : Use the rule of 3

By using the rule of 3 (essentially paraphrasing the same thing in 3 different ways), the extra effort in communication presents an opportunity for the customer to express their expectations. Which naturally creates an opportunity for us to address them accordingly. Whereby normally they may have withheld such information. Informatation that, for whatever reason may be deemed by the customer to be completely irrelevant. We have all experienced customers who are overly concerned about the finest details and try to micro-manage the job - slowing us down and we have all experienced customers who say nothing; neglecting to mention the most important details that help us do our job properly.

As tradespeople, it is not our jobs to be expert psychologists or mind readers, however we feel that by using a simple tool such as "the rule of 3" you may be able to do a better job. Therefore as an experienced professional, strive to draw out these expectations from each and every single customer, understanding full well:- that every person and every job scenario is different. We have found the rule of 3 to be an invaluable tool to drawing out these expectations, in order for us to deem them as 'reasonable' or 'unreasonable'.

Whether expectations are reasonable or not, if we are able to identify their expectations as soon as possible- this can radically improve the relationship and the transaction. After identifying the expectations we should then aim to communicate a response that gives the customer an indication as to whether they can continue to expect it or otherwise. Some responses may include but are not limited to; 

• a) 'That request seems ok to me, I've done that many times before with success'
  b) 'If I understand correctly, your preference would be a job that would be impossible for anybody to do or at least without extremely difficult. I don't know if it is achieveable' 
  c) 'I can categorically say that what you want is un-realistic or at least I am unable to do it. I am able to help you with X _______but for X______ you will have to find someone else" 
  d) 'I should be able to do that but there are no guarantees',
  e) 'I can do my best, however your request is fairly unique - I have never done that before and cannot ultimately guarantee X ______ results. I can however offer a liklihood of X _________being achieved. Do you understand the risks?"

By not addressing a customer's expectation/s you risk compromisation of the TV Magic brand + good will of your business. Even if it is deemed to be outside your normal scope of works, we have found that not all customers understand exactly what it is that we do or don't do. They equally don't understand the liklihood of failing electronics or consequences associated with 'touching things they weren't meant to touch'. Therefore, by addressing expectations, (even if these expectations cannot be fulfilled) we may leave a customer feeling disappointed. However that disappointment is often redirected somewhere else; away from us. The feeling that an 'uneven exchange/transaction' took place is often mitigated as a result. It is now less likely that a customer will feel that they didn't receive something that they expected or we promised or even - didn't promise. 

Some customers will always be disappointed, not because they are not nice people, but usually because they don't understand all the elements of a job - in the exact same way we do. A customer/prospect may have unrealistic expectations in two ways:

• a) Expecting a result that is highly improbably for anyone to achieve;
• b) Expecting a result that is highly improbable for US TO ACHIEVE because it is outside our normal experience/scope of works ie. dig a trench in a garden to run a cable is not our usual expertise 

By addressing these expectations; sooner rather than later. Any customer will typically redirect their disappointment elsewhere, rather than at us.

TECHNICIAN ADVICE CONTINUED..

Be quick to attend call backs

• Be quick to attend call backs. Call backs need to be attended to twice as quick as a paying job. Often, you will have a very good idea as to whether the nature of the call back is something you have caused, something that has failed on a technical level or is 'customer expectation' related. Other times, you will not know until you reattend the job site.    ..   ***Further info on these 3 areas are in operating manuals** 

Be quick to admit mistakes

• Be quick to admit mistakes. Admitting mistakes will keep you in the position to remain commercially honourable and maintain an 'even exchange transaction'. Remind yourself that the best of us; at times make mistakes - even as professionals. Give yourself a break. We know that 99% of the time you do your best and 99/100 customers are satisfied/pleased with your work and the services provided. Understand that no-one has the right to pass judgement on you as a person no matter what mistakes you may/may not have made. However, whilst any judgement made upon your personal characteristics is not valid and should not be tolerated; anyone can assess your performance and all assessments (good or bad) should be considered very carefully. Your performance on any particular job may be deemed to be unsatisfactory or even atrocious. Such assessment is not a reflection of you as a person, it is only a reflection of your performance in one particular unit of time. We promise to support you to correct your mistakes if you remain honourable and admit them quickly. We will encourage customers to behave accordingly.
  Be realistic with your customers. Avoid 'over promising' results. Remember that technology at its finest can fail and let anyone down. The circuitry system of electronics can be unpredictable and the soldering of a $30,000 speaker circuit board can fail - resulting in unnecessary blame directed your way by customers because you 'promised something'.

Remain honourable - Remember our ethos

Remain honourable. Remember our ethos - honesty . integrity . professionalism . uncompromising personalised service. Our company has no room for technicians who conduct themselves immorally or engage in uneven exchange behaviour with our customers. The industry and electronics in nature will support you to thrive in business. There is no need to cheat anybody. We pride ourselves as being a premium brand with premium customers. 

Remind our customers that they get what they pay for

The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten. 

 

 

THE COMPLAINTS HANDLING PROCEDURE - INSTRUCTIONS FOR FURTHER ACTION

INSTRUCTIONS: 

1. Please re-read this article - particularly the section -"For your consideration - The complaining customer" . This is just to ensure that you have some tolerance and patience - so that we can feel good about fixing any mistakes. Your 'being nice' helps us - to help you! (We have built a strong reputation of moral conduct and ethical trading. We always strive to do the right thing and aim to please! We expect the same from our customers to acheive a win/win)

2. Please contact your technician (who did the job) for resolution. We would like to invite you to remind them of this article if need be. All technicians have been reminded of this article several times - in training and another reminder is always welcomed!

3. If the technician is unable to resolve 100% - They will be get in touch with senior representation for execution of more complex options/resolution. Please be aware that refunds are not a common/typical resolution outcomes for us. Outside of genuine warranty/Australian law we are not obliged to do so - unless we think it is genuinely in our best interest. We also do not honour any restitution claims and refuse to be held responsible for loss of income or other as an indirect affect to us not turning up or arriving late (as an example). We too, experience last minute cancellations ourselves from customers for all sorts of reasons. We have found that, whilst last-minute cancellations are incredibly inconvenient/annoying and "cost us time which = money" we ride the high road and in the end - win the customers over. You should strive to do the same with your tradespeople - all tradespeople. As a customer, yes, you are entitled to the same "time = money" when you take a day off work. Please understand that most tradies (particularly outside of TV Magic) are very good at their job but may not be the most sophisticated business operator. At TV Magic we aim to be experts in both areas. We have the attitude that if we are late - we are stealing from the customer! This standard sees that 90% of our customers experience exceptional results. However, we too experience - rainy weather, delayed jobs, customers who turn up late, jobs that take longer than expected, traffic delays , mobile phone/network failure and unforseen cicrumstances. 

We will not tolerate threatening language / extortion or defamation. This kind of activity is illegal! Extortion and defamation should not be used to try to achieve a refund or any particular result. You may find that it works against you! Please be aware that we do not promise to please everybody and this may include you. We will definitely try but we cannot guarantee any positive result. We will deem the end result to the best of our ability and we care about our customers and reputation very much. However, we have learnt that not all customers are equal. If you feel that this still has not addressed your expectations. Please address your complaint/concerns/feedback to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. You will be directed to this article (if not done so already) and these 3x instructions. We don't have any further instructions! If you are somewhat reasonable we will not ask twice! We successfully turn the majority of complaints into a win/win result with a very good explanation /apology 98 times out of 100. Please consider all of this information. It is in your best interest to do so. We get enormous satisfaction in being able to correct things that are not right or were not done right the first time (for whatever reason that may be). We know that if we convert a complaining customer into a raving fan you will refer more work to us! 

Technicians

Toowoomba - Neil 0487 86 86 87

South Brisbane - Nick 0449 947 247 or Chris 0474 736 666

North Brisbane -  Darrel 0476 71 76 71 or Matt 0488 870 873 

Sunshine Coast - Brent 0476 781 111

Melbourne - Craig 0487 805 555

Perth - Sam 0488 808 801

Adelaide - Shannon 0488 870 877

Gold Coast - Daniel 0488 899 849 or Paul 0474 726 666