Overview

Guidance on handling complaints about products and services inside an organization — from receipt and acknowledgement through investigation, resolution and follow-up, to using complaint data for improvement.

ISO 10002:2018, Quality management — Customer satisfaction — Guidelines for complaints handling in organizations, is the most widely used document in the customer satisfaction series. It is the third edition and replaces ISO 10002:2014. It addresses the internal handling of complaints about an organization's products and services — what happens between a customer raising an issue and the organization closing it.

The standard sets out guiding principles for a complaints-handling process, including visibility (customers know how and where to complain), accessibility, responsiveness, objectivity, no charge to the complainant, confidentiality, a customer-focused approach, accountability and continual improvement. These principles are what distinguish a genuine complaints process from a queue that absorbs correspondence.

The operational guidance follows the life of a complaint: receipt, tracking, acknowledgement, initial assessment, investigation, response, communication of the decision, and closing. Each step carries recommendations about records, timescales set by the organization, and what the complainant should be told — including what to do if they are not satisfied with the outcome, which is where ISO 10003 takes over.

Beyond individual cases, the standard treats complaints as data. It recommends collecting and classifying complaints, analysing them for recurring causes, feeding that analysis into corrective action and process improvement, and reviewing complaints-handling performance in management review. Confidentiality and personal data handling are addressed, as is the need for adequate resourcing and competent, trained staff.

ISO 10002 is applicable to any organization of any size, including in electronic commerce, and it can be used on its own or alongside ISO 9001 — where it helps satisfy ISO 9001's requirements on customer satisfaction, monitoring and nonconformity. It complements ISO 10001 (prevent complaints through clear promises), ISO 10003 (resolve those that remain) and ISO 10004 (measure satisfaction more broadly).

ISO 10002 is a guidance document, not a requirements standard. It contains recommendations rather than auditable shall-statements, and there is no accredited certification scheme for it. Some bodies market attestations against it; these are not accredited management system certification. The realistic ways to demonstrate conformance are internal audit, self-declaration, or including the complaints process within the scope of an existing ISO 9001 certification.

Purpose

To give guidance on the process of handling complaints related to products and services within an organization, including planning, design, operation, maintenance and improvement, so that complaints are resolved fairly and consistently and used as a source of improvement.

Key Benefits

• Gives customers a visible, accessible route to raise problems and be heard
• Produces consistent, objective handling of complaints across teams and channels
• Turns complaints into structured data for root cause analysis and process improvement
• Reduces escalation to external dispute resolution, regulators and litigation
• Supports the customer satisfaction and improvement requirements of ISO 9001
• Clarifies responsibilities, timescales and record-keeping for customer-facing staff
• Applicable to organizations of any size, including e-commerce and public services
• Helps demonstrate fair treatment of customers to regulators and interested parties

Key Requirements

• Guidance only — ISO 10002 contains recommendations, not auditable requirements
• Apply the guiding principles: visibility, accessibility, responsiveness, objectivity, no charge, confidentiality, customer focus, accountability and continual improvement
• Obtain top management commitment and define roles, responsibilities and authority for complaints handling
• Publish clear information on how, where and to whom a customer can complain
• Receive, record and track each complaint from receipt to closure
• Acknowledge complaints promptly and assess them for severity, urgency and impact
• Investigate complaints objectively and communicate the decision and reasons to the complainant
• Tell complainants what alternatives exist if they are dissatisfied with the outcome
• Protect personal information and maintain confidentiality
• Analyse and classify complaint data to identify recurring and systemic causes
• Feed analysis into corrective action, process improvement and management review
• Monitor and audit the complaints-handling process and improve it continually

Who Needs This Standard?

Any organization that deals directly with customers or consumers — retail and e-commerce, financial services, insurance, telecoms, utilities, transport, hospitality, healthcare, education and public sector service providers. Within an organization it is used by customer service and contact centre managers, quality managers, complaints and ombudsman liaison functions, and regulatory or compliance teams that must evidence fair treatment of customers.

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