The faulty goods have been replaced, but there are no sales. Imagine a supplier of work gloves: a regular customer reports that the seams on some of the gloves in a batch are coming apart. The salesperson takes the complaint, helps gather the information and secures a replacement. The customer confirms receipt. The matter is closed.

Suppose that, while the company was arranging the replacement, the customer ordered gloves from another supplier: people needed to work. The new batch was suitable. They sent their next order there too, while the original salesperson keeps waiting for the usual enquiry.

The owner wants to speed up the replacement and teach salespeople to apologise better. Perhaps both are needed. But I would first find out: on what grounds did the sales team decide that, once the delivery problem was fixed, the customer would choose us again?

The customer confirmed receipt. No one asked about their next order

In our example, the salesperson did useful work. They did not abandon the customer or hide the mistake. You can check this against the complaint, the agreed replacement and the delivery confirmation. It would be strange to accuse them of doing nothing.

But these records do not answer another question: what the customer used while waiting, and how they now intend to buy gloves. Delivery confirmation only tells us about delivery. If the CRM system then shows the usual wait for a repeat order, the sales team’s confidence rests on an event that confirms no such thing.

This is where the two jobs differ. You can fix a problem with a delivery without a new order. You can only win the customer back with their involvement: they have to agree to buy again, and then actually place an order. The company has done the first. It has not even discussed the second yet.

The backup supplier has already become the usual choice

The customer does not have to be angry to leave. In this story, they solved their problem while we solved ours: they found suitable gloves. Now they face changing how they buy once again, even though their current approach works. A single message saying that the replacement has been completed may not be enough for that.

That is why I would open the correspondence from the first complaint onwards. Did anyone know when the customer would run out of usable stock? Did the salesperson ask how the customer planned to work until the replacement arrived? When did it become clear that they had already ordered elsewhere? If the sales team only found this out after missing out on the purchase, the opportunity to discuss continuing to work together arose before the salesperson returned to the subject.

That does not mean the customer could definitely have been retained. Perhaps the replacement required time they did not have. But the head of sales could have seen the risk, agreed on a workable option and honestly stated how long it would take. Or acknowledged in time that the company would no longer get the next order. Both decisions reflect the situation more accurately than waiting for an enquiry out of old habit.

Speeding up the replacement helps if that is still what the customer is waiting for. If they have already found a suitable product and changed suppliers, a shorter wait fixes the previous delivery but does not, in itself, create a reason for the next one.

First, find out exactly what is stopping them from buying again

You cannot put every missed order down to faulty goods. Different situations may remain after a complaint is closed, and you need the relevant facts for each one.

  • The replacement arrived, but the customer has not used it yet. There are no grounds for recording that they were satisfied with the quality. The salesperson asks when the product will be tried and agrees to follow up on the outcome of that check.
  • The replacement was used and proved suitable, but the next order has already been placed elsewhere. You need to find out whether this is a one-off purchase or a new way of buying, and whether there is any condition at all under which the customer would be willing to consider us again.
  • The customer fears the same mistake will happen again. Before making a new offer, you need an answer from those responsible for quality: what they found and what they changed. The salesperson’s assurance that everything will be fine now is not proof.
  • The need has ended, or the purchase has been postponed for another reason. If the customer has confirmed this, the salesperson’s job is to record the fact and an acceptable reason to get back in touch. There is no need to invent resentment and then try to overcome it.

Without an answer, the reason remains unknown. A closed complaint does not automatically mean the customer is lost, and the absence of a new complaint does not mean they have been retained.

A discount does not answer the question about the next batch

It is understandable to offer special terms after a delivery that caused problems: the company wants to restore the relationship. But if the customer is worried about once again handing employees gloves with seams that come apart, a lower price does not confirm their quality. The salesperson first needs to understand that concern.

If the cause of the defect is still unknown, say so. If it has been established and product checks have been changed, the salesperson explains only what the person responsible for quality can confirm. The customer decides whether that is enough to discuss a new purchase.

The reverse can also happen: the customer is happy with the product, but the consequences of the first delivery remain unresolved. The head of sales then puts a specific request forward for a decision within the agreed limits of authority. A discount set in advance for everyone hides the difference between a conversation about quality and a conversation about terms.

At the same time, completing an already agreed replacement must not be tied to a promise to buy again. The customer may receive goods in proper condition and end the relationship. That is an unpleasant outcome, but it cannot be put right through pressure.

The head of sales needs the work to continue after a complaint is closed

I would start with complaints where the customer was left without usable goods or explicitly said they were looking for another supplier. Here, what happened already gives a reason for sales to get involved. There is no need to call the entire customer base after every minor correction.

With a complaint like this, the salesperson continues to look after the customer, even if another employee handles the replacement. They find out what this means for the next purchase, agree on the next conversation and pass to the head of sales what they cannot resolve themselves. The warehouse is responsible for its part and confirms when it is done. The head of sales checks what question for the customer still remains after that.

At the next review, the head of sales should have two records side by side: what the company put right and what is known about the customer’s decision on future purchases. For example: received the replacement; will test it in use once the batch bought as a temporary measure has been used up; agreed to a conversation after the test. There is no promised sale here yet. But there is a basis for the next action.

I would not keep the complaint open until a new order. That would make the time it takes to close it depend on the purchasing schedule, and employees would be tempted to make promises too soon. Once the replacement has been completed, close the complaint on that basis. Work with the customer continues separately, with a clear question and a deadline.

If the customer says they are not ready to continue and do not want to return to the conversation, the salesperson records the refusal. The head of sales examines the reason that could be established. Endless tasks to get back in touch will only hide the loss in the list of active customers.

In a week, check what you have learnt after the word “replaced”

Take a few recent complaints that put future purchases at risk. Ask the head of sales to trace the path for each one from the first complaint to the customer’s current decision. Return to the same list at the next weekly review.

For each case, it should be clear:

  • where it is confirmed that the delivery problem was fixed and whether the customer has tested the replacement in use;
  • what is known about their next purchase and where that information came from;
  • what answer the salesperson received after the complaint was closed, or why there is no answer yet;
  • what the head of sales asked to be done when the obstacle became clear;
  • which promise to the customer has actually been kept by the agreed date.

Not a single order may come in during the week: customers have their own schedules. But you can already see whether the sales team has stopped treating receipt of a replacement as readiness to keep buying. If an assumption has been replaced by a confirmed pause, a condition for returning or a refusal, the head of sales has a basis for changing how the team works. If the only change for every customer is a rescheduled call, none of that has happened.

The head of sales should get involved in the next similar complaint before it is closed: set the salesperson the task of finding out how the problem has affected purchases. This is the moment that will show whether the way of working has changed or the team has simply reviewed an old list once.

At RENTROP, this work is part of the “turnkey sales management” product: the head of sales organises the salespeople’s actions and checks that the conversation with the customer continues. The business development director, in turn, checks the work of the head of sales: the facts on which they consider the customer retained and what they did when there was a risk of losing them. Production decisions, the costs of putting things right and commercial terms remain with the owner and the people they have put in charge. The head of sales cannot talk a product defect away.

One closed complaint is enough to start. Open the replacement confirmation, then find the customer’s answer about working together in future. If the second is missing, the sales team only knows half the story.

A customer has returned when they have chosen to buy from you again. Receiving a replacement does not prove they have made that choice.