DHL Express accelerates complaint management process
Customers pleased with flexible and fast refunding of shipping costs when delivery delayed
The true test of any customer relationship is when something has gone wrong and a complaint is lodged. The less bureaucratic the company's response, the greater the customer's satisfaction. Even Deutsche Post's experts in fast and reliable service can make a mistake and that is why complaint management is top priority at DHL Express.
DHL offers a special service for particularly time-sensitive items that allows customers to determine the exact time of delivery. If DHL Express is unable to deliver on time the customer is refunded the shipping costs. All the customer has to do it call the service hotline. If the addressee was not available at the time of delivery or if the delay was caused by an incorrect address, the refund is reviewed. No matter what the situation, DHL Express will have a decision for the customer the very next day.
During a customer survey, however, customers complained that it still took too long to process refund requests. A First Choice initiative was launched in response. The heart of the problem was quickly revealed - the service staff working the hotline was not authorized to decide independently whether the refund was justifiable, even when the customer was clearly in the right.
More responsibility means greater customer satisfaction
As a result, hotline personnel was trained in assessing claims and is now able to decide over refunds for regular customers of the company. New customers or those who do not use DHL services on a regular basis are still required to submit their bills of delivery or receipts of payment before a decision can be made. The newly introduced procedure brought about immediate results, with the number of refund requests processed within five days jumping from 74 percent to nearly 85 percent. The customer survey that followed showed far fewer complaints about processing delays.
