When a regular complains, let them finish, say sorry for what happened, ask what would put it right, and fix it there and then if you can. Know the customer's rights under the Australian Consumer Law, because no shop policy can take them away. Then mention it on their next visit, so they know it stuck. A regular who complains is telling you they want to keep coming. The ones you lose are the ones who stop coming without a word.
Why a regular's complaint is different
Regulars complain rarely, and often apologetically. By the time one of them says something, it has usually happened more than once and they have weighed whether to mention it at all. That makes the complaint more serious than it sounds, not less.
It also makes it cheap to fix compared with the alternative. A regular at a bakery or a cafe can be worth a thousand dollars or more a year. A replacement loaf or a refunded coffee costs a few dollars. Losing the regular costs the year, and regulars talk to each other at the counter.
Five steps at the counter
Let them finish. Do not explain, correct or defend while they are still talking. Most people relax noticeably once they have said the whole thing and been heard.
Say sorry for what happened. "I'm sorry the loaf was like that" is not an admission that you did something wrong on purpose; it is an acknowledgement that their morning was worse because of your shop.
Ask what would put it right. People often ask for less than you would have offered: a fresh one, a word to the baker, a promise it will not happen again.
Fix it now, within limits staff can act on. Decide in advance how far any staff member can go without fetching the owner, for example replacing or refunding any item up to $25. A customer who has to wait while a manager is found feels the complaint is being processed rather than heard.
Note it and follow up. Keep a short book by the till: the date, the customer's first name, the problem, what was done. On their next visit, whoever serves them mentions it. That closes the loop and tells them it mattered.
What the law expects
The Australian Consumer Law gives customers guarantees that apply whatever your shop's own policy says. Goods must be of acceptable quality, match their description and be fit for their purpose. Services must be provided with due care and skill. When something fails those guarantees, the customer can be entitled to a remedy: a repair, a replacement or a refund, depending on how serious the problem is. For a major problem, the customer chooses between a refund and a replacement.
A shop cannot sign those rights away. A sign that says "no refunds" is not allowed, because it suggests a customer has no remedy even when a product is faulty. A sign saying you do not give refunds when someone simply changes their mind is fine, and you have no obligation to refund a change of mind.
For food, the guarantees are straightforward in practice: an underbaked loaf, a sour carton of milk or a stale pastry is a quality problem, and a replacement or refund is the usual answer. For anything less clear, check with the ACCC or your state's consumer affairs or fair trading office.
Complaints about the loyalty card
Some complaints are about the card itself, and most are easy.
"I wasn't stamped last time." Believe a regular for a stamp or two and press it now. It costs cents, and arguing about it costs the regular.
"The reward used to be better." If you changed the reward, anything earned before the change should be honoured as it was. In Counter Club, a reward code keeps the reward that applied when the card filled, as reward codes explains, so the member's row already shows what they are owed. Tell regulars before you change the deal, not after.
"I have lost my code." They should not need it. If the card keeps earned rewards against the member's number, the record is on your side of the counter; hand the reward over from that.
"You send too many messages." Thank them, show them the link at the bottom of any message, and mention that one press stops everything from your shop while keeping their stamps. Then send fewer messages.
"I stopped the messages and now I want them back." A member who opted out cannot undo it by joining again. In Counter Club you email us with their first name or mobile and we clear it, as how opt-outs work describes.
Complaints online
Some regulars complain in a review rather than at the counter. Reply once, briefly and calmly, thank them for telling you, say what you have done or will do, and give a way to talk directly, such as the shop's phone number. Do not argue the details in public. Never offer a reward or a discount in exchange for removing or changing a review; check the ACCC's guidance on online reviews if you are unsure what is allowed.
A worked example: Wickerby Bakery
Wickerby Bakery is a fictional bakery. One of its regulars has come in twice a week for four years and spends about $14 a visit, which over 48 weeks is $1,344 a year. On a Saturday she tells the young staff member at the counter that her sourdough was gummy in the middle, the second time this month, and that her visit last Wednesday was not stamped.
The staff member lets her finish, says sorry, and asks whether she would like a fresh loaf now or her money back. She takes a fresh loaf. The staff member adds the stamp for the missed visit and writes it all in the book.
The cost: the loaf sells for $9.50 and costs about $2.40 to bake. The card is six stamps for a free loaf, so one stamp is worth a sixth of $2.40, or 40 cents. The whole fix cost the bakery about $2.80, against $1,344 a year of sales from a customer who had come close to giving up.
The owner reads the book that afternoon. Two gummy loaves in a month from the same oven points to a cause, and a thermometer shows the back left corner running cool. From the next bake, trays are rotated halfway through. The following Wednesday, the owner serves her personally and tells her what they found. She mentions it to two other regulars in the queue, and the story they hear is about a bakery that listened.
Mistakes to avoid
Arguing the facts. You were not at her breakfast table. Her loaf was gummy.
Making them prove it. Asking for the loaf back or a receipt from a regular you have served for years tells them what you think of them.
"It's our policy." A policy is a reason for staff, not for customers.
Staff without authority. If only the owner can fix anything, every complaint on the owner's day off becomes two complaints.
Offering a discount next time instead of a fix now. The customer came in with a problem today.
Fixing the customer and not the cause. If the same complaint comes twice, something in the shop needs to change.
What to do this week
- Set the amount any staff member can replace or refund without asking, and tell everyone.
- Put a small complaints book by the till.
- Check your signs and take down anything that says "no refunds".
- Brief staff on the five steps and the common card questions.
- Think of the last three complaints you remember, and check whether the cause was fixed.