When Grumbles Lead To Tumbles

FINANCIAL PLANNERS – Client complaints are good.  

No, I haven’t lost my marbles. 

First, let’s define ‘complaint’.  

Because when you read that word, your mind probably thought of an ADVICE complaint – that’s what we’re hardwired to think about.  

Which I bet you’ve never had. 

But I also bet if you’ve been practicing long enough, you’ve had customer complaints of some kind that you’ve had to deal with. 

Even if it wasn’t your fault, as the Financial Planner handling face-to-face interactions with the client, you’re the one responsible for sorting it out. 

And I’ll bet two further things…  

1. Any complaints you have had to deal with have been because of customer service issues. 
2. They probably caught you by surprise. 

 That leads us to the real problem. 

You see, we have a whole industry built around ADVICE complaints.

• The Regulator. 

• The FOS / FSCS. 

• Compliance Teams. 

 Yet, most client complaints have nothing to do with advice, or technical reports, or recommendations. 

It’s more likely just because the client feels slighted in some way.

• Maybe they weren’t called back when they were promised. 

• Maybe they didn’t get their withdrawal when they expected. 

• Maybe their mortgage offer was delayed, and they didn’t get a call to explain why or to reassure them about when it would be ready. 

 In any event, it was because someone didn’t do what they said they were going to do. 

And as for it coming by surprise – it shouldn’t have. 

Client servicing complaints very rarely come completely out of the blue. 

There’s normally a warning sign first.️  

It often starts small with what I call a ‘grumble’. 

The client tells someone in your firm that they are unhappy because something they were promised didn’t happen.  

That grumble wasn’t a fully-fledged complaint – it was a hand to dance.  

If the issue had been resolved quickly and effectively, it could have turned into a positive experience.  

The client would have remembered how promptly you addressed their concern by following through on your promises. 

That’s why, if you address a complaint while it’s still just a grumble, you can strengthen your relationship with your client. 

But if you brush off a small concern, it can quickly turn into a full-blown complaint that didn’t need to happen. 

Think about it. 

In compliance, formal complaints are handled swiftly and thoroughly.  

However, client grievances often go unnoticed, accumulating over time until they become formal complaints that could have been avoided. 

How do we prevent this?  

By training the people who have everyday interactions with clients to recognise when a client is starting to grumble, and by addressing it properly, you can impress the client.  

In fact, they might even forget what they were grumbling about in the first place. 

What they’ll remember is how responsive and attentive you were to their needs. 

So, grumbles are actually great opportunities. 

 You just need to spot them, handle them well, and turn them into a positive. 

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