Even if you strive to provide the best service possible to your customers, there will be times when they have a complaint and you need to know how to deal with this in the best way. If dealt with effectively, most people will see this as excellent service and will become loyal to the pharmacy. Those who are dissatisfied however, are unlikely to use the service again and will relay their bad experience to friends and family.

There is a strong likelihood that if you are the only person a customer encounters from the pharmacy, they will raise any complaint with you. You can address all complaints by applying the LEARN approach.

Listen - Listen carefully to the customer and their complaint without interrupting as most people just want to be heard and this will allow them to calm down. Write down as much information as possible from the customer so that you have a record.

Empathise - Express empathy and concern towards the customer telling them you understand how they feel; do not come out of the conversation fighting or trying to justify something at this point.

Apologise - Apologise even if you feel you have no part in the problem. This isn’t accepting blame; it is simply saying ‘I am sorry you have been inconvenienced’ and most people want an apology or the problem rectified.

React - Decide what course of action would be best and tell the customer, even if you cannot solve the problem yourself be clear on who you will refer their complaint to.

Now - Always take immediate action; this demonstrates exceptional customer service, even if this means phoning through to the pharmacy straight away to speak to a member of the team. Remember to follow a complaint up personally; perhaps if you deliver regularly to this customer you could check any agreed action has happened.
If the complaint is regarding an error with medication, ensure that you apologise and speak to the pharmacist immediately to reach a solution to ensure the customer receives the correct medication.

Some customer complaints may relate to an aspect of the delivery process which has to be followed and out of your control, for example, you have not put the delivery through the letterbox because the customer was not in. You may resent someone complaining about this type of situation but remember customers may not understand the legislative processes that a pharmacy needs to follow. Still follow the LEARN process to show you understand their frustrations and provide them with a clear ‘reason why’ something has happened to aid their understanding.

If you cannot solve the complaint yourself you will need to pass it on to the relevant member of the pharmacy team to deal with ensuring you let this person know what you have promised the customer will happen.

Remember to share any complaints you handle with the wider pharmacy team as it provides the pharmacy with the opportunity to do things differently. Recording these and actively managing them will be useful evidence as part of a pharmacy inspection.