• remain calm and positive-do not take complaints personally

• ask the customer to explain the problem in detail

• acknowledge the customer's feelings

• be pleasant and ask the customer if they have a solution

• act on the solution with their agreement and reassure the customer by following-up to make sure that they are satisfied

• deal with the complaint immediately-it will only get worse if delayed

• be gracious if it is discovered that the customer is in fact at fault allow them to 'save face'

• if the company is at fault, apologise and assure the client that you will have the situation rectified

• if the situation becomes difficult or you can't follow-up the complaint, inform your supervisor or manager