Complaints

1. Problem Statement

For CSO Manager:

Lack of comprehensive complaint analytics and visibility across different complaint categories and priorities
Inability to track complaint resolution performance against service level agreements (SLA)
Limited visibility into top complaint categories and resolution trends affecting customer satisfaction
Difficulty in identifying patterns and recurring issues that impact customer experience
Challenges in managing complaint workload distribution and priority-based routing

For Customer Executive:

Complex and unintuitive complaint registration process requiring multiple steps
Inconsistent complaint categorization leading to misrouted complaints and delays
Lack of automated receipt generation for customer records and follow-up
Limited ability to track complaint progress and communicate updates to customers
Difficulty in capturing complete evidence and supporting documentation during initial registration

For Call Center Representative:

Time-consuming complaint entry process affecting call handling efficiency
Inconsistent data capture leading to incomplete complaint records
Limited integration with customer account information requiring multiple system lookups
Difficulty in providing accurate resolution timeframes to customers during calls
Lack of standardized complaint acknowledgment and communication templates

Core Problem:

The current complaint management system lacks an intuitive, comprehensive interface that provides poor user experience for both staff and customers. The system fails to address various complaint scenarios effectively, lacks proper receipt generation, and provides insufficient reporting capabilities for management oversight and SLA compliance tracking.

2. Who Are the Users Facing the Problem?

CSO Manager:

Oversees all customer touchpoints and complaint resolution processes
Monitors service level agreements and customer satisfaction metrics
Analyzes complaint trends to identify service improvement opportunities
Manages performance metrics across customer service teams

Customer Executive:

Handles walk-in customers and in-person complaint registration
Processes complex complaints requiring detailed documentation
Manages escalated issues and sensitive customer interactions
Provides face-to-face customer service and complaint resolution updates

Call Center Representative:

Manages incoming complaint calls and creates complaint records
Provides initial complaint acknowledgment and expected resolution timeframes
Documents complaint details and customer interactions
Coordinates with other departments for complaint resolution

3. Jobs To Be Done

For CSO Manager:

When I need to monitor complaint performance and SLA compliance across my teams, But I lack real-time dashboards showing complaint volumes, resolution times, and category breakdowns, Help me access comprehensive complaint analytics with trend analysis and performance metrics, So that I can proactively manage service levels and identify improvement opportunities.

For Customer Executive:

When I need to register a customer complaint during a face-to-face interaction, But I struggle with a complex multi-step process that doesn't capture all necessary information efficiently, Help me use an intuitive step-by-step complaint registration wizard with smart defaults and validation, So that I can quickly and accurately document complaints while maintaining positive customer interactions.

For Call Center Representative:

When I need to create a complaint record during a customer call, But I have to navigate multiple screens and manually enter information that should be automatically populated, Help me access a streamlined complaint entry interface with customer account integration and auto-populated fields, So that I can reduce call handling time while ensuring complete and accurate complaint documentation.

For All Users:

When I need to provide customers with complaint acknowledgment and tracking information, But I lack automated receipt generation and clear communication templates, Help me generate professional complaint receipts with reference numbers and clear next steps, So that customers have confidence in our process and can easily track their complaint status.

4. Solution

The enhanced Complaint Management system provides a comprehensive solution for efficient complaint handling, tracking, and resolution:

Key Capability Areas:

Complaint Dashboard & Analytics
- Real-time complaint overview with trend analysis and category breakdown
- SLA compliance tracking with performance indicators
- Complaint volume metrics by status (Pending, Resolved, Rejected, SLA Breached)
- Top issue categories visualization with percentage distribution
Intelligent Complaint Registration
- Step-by-step complaint creation wizard with progress indicators
- Smart customer search with auto-population of account details
- Dynamic category and subcategory selection with conditional fields
- Integrated evidence and attachment management
Customer Information Management
- Unified customer search across account number, name, phone, and address
- Auto-population of customer details from existing records
- Manual customer entry for non-account holders
- Customer type classification and service address management
Complaint Details & Categorization
- Hierarchical category and subcategory structure
- Priority assignment with business rule automation
- Incident date tracking and expected resolution management
- Rich text description with formatting capabilities
Evidence & Documentation
- Multi-format file upload support (PDF, JPG, PNG)
- File size validation and format restrictions
- Additional notes and context capture
- Attachment organization and management
Complaint Lifecycle Management
- Automated complaint assignment and routing
- Status tracking with timeline visualization
- Service order integration for field resolution
- Communication logging and customer interaction history
Receipt & Acknowledgment System
- Automated complaint receipt generation with reference numbers
- Professional formatting with company branding
- Customer contact information and next steps
- Print and digital delivery options
Reporting & Performance Tracking
- Complaint history and trend analysis
- Resolution time tracking by category and priority
- SLA breach identification and alerting
- Export capabilities for detailed reporting

5. Major Steps Involved

For CSO Manager using Complaint Dashboard:

Access Complaint Dashboard
- Navigate to Complaint Management module in SMART360
- View complaints overview chart showing monthly trends
- Review key performance indicators (Pending: 32, Resolved Today: 18, Rejected: 7, SLA Breached: 5)
- Analyze top issue categories (Billing Issues: 38%, Water Quality: 24%, Service Delay: 18%)
Monitor Performance Metrics
- Review Average Resolution Time (3.2 days) with trend indicator
- Check SLA Compliance percentage (92%) with improvement tracking
- Identify patterns in complaint volumes and resolution effectiveness
- Export performance reports for stakeholder communication
Manage Complaint Queue
- Filter complaints by status, priority, or category using Show Filters
- Use Bulk Actions for mass complaint operations
- Access Saved Views for frequently used complaint filters
- Review complaint assignments and workload distribution

For Customer Executive/Call Center Representative creating complaints:

Initiate Complaint Creation
- Click "Create Complaint" button from dashboard
- View 4-step process wizard (Customer Information → Complaint Details → Evidence & Attachments → Review & Submit)
- See clear progress indicators and step descriptions
Capture Customer Information (Step 1)
- Use Search Customer function to find existing account holders
- Enter search criteria (account number, name, phone, or address)
- Select customer from search results to auto-populate details
- Alternatively, use "Enter Customer Details Manually" for non-account holders
- Complete required fields: Customer Name, Customer Type, Phone Number, Email, Service Address
Specify Complaint Details (Step 2)
- Select appropriate Category from dropdown (Billing, Service Quality, Technical Issue, Staff Behavior)
- Choose relevant Subcategory based on selected category
- Set Incident Date using date picker
- Assign Priority level (High, Medium, Low) with visual indicators
- Provide detailed Description of the complaint
- Enter Expected Resolution based on customer expectations
Upload Evidence & Attachments (Step 3)
- Use drag-and-drop or "Choose Files" to upload supporting documents
- Validate file formats (PDF, JPG, PNG) and size limits (10MB maximum)
- Add Additional Notes providing context or special instructions
- Review uploaded files and notes before proceeding
Review & Submit Complaint (Step 4)
- Review complete complaint information in organized sections
- Verify customer information accuracy
- Confirm complaint details and priority assignment
- Check evidence and attachment completeness
- Toggle "Send acknowledgment to customer" option
- Click "Submit Complaint" to finalize registration
Generate and Provide Receipt
- System automatically generates complaint reference number (format: CMP-XXXXXXXX)
- Display complaint submission success confirmation
- Access complaint registration receipt with complete details
- Print receipt for customer or send via email
- Provide customer with reference number and contact information

For ongoing complaint management:

Track Complaint Progress
- Access individual complaint details using complaint ID
- View complaint timeline with status updates and actions
- Monitor SLA status and due dates
- Review communication history and internal notes
Manage Service Orders
- Create service orders directly from complaint interface
- Link field investigations or repairs to complaint resolution
- Track service order completion and impact on complaint status
Document Communications
- Log all customer interactions (phone calls, emails, in-person meetings)
- Categorize communications as Customer Visible or Internal Only
- Maintain complete audit trail of complaint handling activities

6. Flow Diagram

7. Business Rules

General Complaint Rules:

All complaints must be assigned a unique reference number following the format CMP-XXXXXXXX where X represents an 8-digit sequential number
Complaint reference numbers are auto-generated by the system and cannot be manually modified
Every complaint must have a valid customer association (either existing account holder or manual entry)
Complaint creation date and time are automatically captured and cannot be modified after submission
All complaints must be assigned to a category and subcategory before submission
The system must maintain a complete audit trail of all complaint actions and status changes
Complaint data must be retained according to regulatory requirements and company policy

Adding a complaint

Search Customer

1. Search Functionality

Users must enter at least 3 characters to trigger the search.
Search is performed on customer account number, name, phone number, or address.
If a match is found, system auto-fills customer details below (Name, Type, Phone, Email, Address).
If no match is found, user is prompted to "Enter Customer Details Manually."
display the selected consumer info below - name, account no, contact info, service address, customer since, customer type is catogory so display category.

2. Complaints details

Category

Mandatory field.
Dropdown values are fetched from complaint category master.
Selecting a category dynamically loads its subcategories.

Subcategory

Mandatory field.
Enabled only after a category is selected.
Values are filtered based on the selected category.

Incident Date

Mandatory field.
Cannot be a future date.
Cannot be empty.

Priority

will come from the selected catgory and will be non editable and autopopulated.

Description

Mandatory field.
Minimum 10 characters required.
Maximum 500 characters allowed.

Expected Resolution

Mandatory field.
Minimum 5 characters required.
Cannot be same as Description field.

“Next” button is enabled only if all fields are filled and valid.
“Save Draft” can be used at any stage regardless of validation.
“Previous” navigates to the Customer Information step without clearing data.

3. Evidence and attachment

1. File Upload Section

Upload Method:
Users can drag & drop or click “Choose Files” to browse.
Allowed File Types:
- PDF
- JPG
- PNG
File Limit:
- Maximum of 5 files (if not specified in UI, advisable to limit for performance and usability).
File Validation:
- If file format or size is not supported, display a validation error.
- Duplicate file names should be flagged with a warning or overwritten only with user confirmation.
Optional Field:
- Uploading a file is optional; user can proceed without attachments.
File Preview or Remove (if applicable):
- Uploaded files can be previewed or removed before submission (assumed behavior based on standard UX practices, unless otherwise specified).

2. Additional Notes

Optional Field:
Not mandatory to fill.
Character Limit:
- Minimum: 0
- Maximum: 500 characters.
Purpose:
To provide any context or explanation related to the uploaded evidence.

Next Button:
Always enabled, as no field is mandatory on this screen.

Save Draft:
Saves uploaded files and additional notes entered so far.
Previous Button:
Navigates back to the Complaint Details step with no data loss.

4. Review and submit - all fields will be auto populated from the add form

Customer Information

Customer Name:
Account Number:
Contact Information:
Email
Service Address:

Complaint Details

Evidence & Attachments

Evidence Notes:
File Attachments:

System Controls

Send Acknowledgment to Customer: Optional checkbox selection
Save Draft: Available at any stage to preserve incomplete form data
Submit Complaint

5. Receipt generation

Complaint Reference Number

Reference Number: System must auto-generate unique number in the set format
Reference Number: Must be sequential or algorithmically generated to ensure uniqueness

Receipt Header

Date: System must auto-populate with current system date
Time: System must auto-populate with current system time
Receipt Title: System must display fixed text "COMPLAINT REGISTRATION RECEIPT"

Customer Information Auto-Population

Customer Name: System must retrieve from submitted form data
Account Number: System must retrieve from submitted form data
Phone Number: System must retrieve from submitted form data
Email Address: System must retrieve from submitted form data
Service Address: System must retrieve from submitted form data
Customer Type: System must auto-determine based on account data

Complaint Details Auto-Population

Category: System must retrieve from submitted form selection
Subcategory: System must retrieve from submitted form selection
Priority Level: System must retrieve from submitted form selection
Incident Date: System must retrieve from submitted form data
Description: System must retrieve from submitted form text
Expected Resolution: System must retrieve from submitted form text

Next Steps Auto-Population

Reference Number: System must auto-insert generated complaint number
Timeline Information: System must display standard processing timelines
Contact Methods: System must display standard contact options

Contact Information Auto-Population

Customer Service Details: System must display current contact information
Emergency Services: System must display current emergency contact details
Business Hours: System must display current operating hours

Complaint detail view

Main page

Complaint ID must be system generated
complaint category, sub category and created date should be displayed
Acknowledgement button - when it is clicked then the status of the compliant should be change to in-progress. the button becomes "put on hold", if its click then the status of the comaplint is "on hold" and the button becomes "resume", on clicking on resume the status of the comaplint is again "In- progress".
consumer name should be displayed with a vip bage if vip.
consumer account no should be displayed below name
coamplint priority and status should be displayed below account no.
Sla status - its "on track" if all sla metrices fall in the sla rules and "breached' if not.
SLA due date - calculate from the date of creation adding the resolution time define.
time remaining - calculated from the current time - resolution time

Complaints details card

Request ID - auto generated
Created on
creted by
last updated on
last updated by

Consumer information

phone
email
cosnsumer category
consuer sub category
service address
billing address

Quick actions

send response to consumer - redirect to indidual messaging in communication module
Create service order - redirct in the below service order tab.
Add internal note - redirect in the below communication tab
resolve request - mark the complaint resolve
Reject complaint - dialoge box is open and rejection reason is asked and then complaint is rejected

Details tab - below data is auto poulated from the complaint add form

complaint type
complaint type code
acknowledgement time
category
sub category
response ime
date submitted - created on
due date
resoluton time
incident date
Discription
expected resolution
attachments
additional information
closure requiremnets - need to be checked if mandatory from setting
- customer confirmation
- quality assurance done

Service order tab

service order type - display only the templates which are associated with consumer
Scheduled date - date picker
remarks - txt box
add service order button - create the service order
Existing service order
- SO no
- so name
- SO status
- Schedule date
- Created on
- Created by
- assigned to, assigned on
- remark
- view details - redirect to so detail view
- download report - download if the service order is comepleted

communication tab

All the communication send to consumer or internal notes are displayed here
user can add a note by selecting internal or consumer

Timeline tab

All the compalint related activities are tracked and log

Complaint managemnt landing page

KPI cards

Pending complaints - total pnding status count
Resolved today - resolved complaints count today
rejected complaints - number of comaplints with rejected status
SLA breached - number of complaints with sla status breached

8. Sample Data

Dashboard Metrics:

Total Complaints (Current Month): 125
Pending Complaints: 32 (+12 from last week)
Resolved Today: 18 (+5 from yesterday)
Rejected Complaints: 7 (+2 from last week)
SLA Breached: 5 (+1 from last week)
Average Resolution Time: 3.2 days (↓ 0.5 days improvement)
SLA Compliance: 92% (↑ 3% improvement)

Top Issue Categories:

Billing Issues: 38% (48 complaints)
Water Quality: 24% (30 complaints)
Service Delay: 18% (23 complaints)
Technical Issues: 15% (19 complaints)
Staff Behavior: 5% (5 complaints)

Sample Complaint Records:

CMP-1001
- Customer: John Smith (ACC-10058624)
- Category: Billing → Incorrect Charges
- Priority: High
- Status: In Progress
- Created: 2025-05-15 09:15 AM by Maria Rodriguez
- Due Date: 2025-05-22
- SLA Status: Within SLA
CMP-1002
- Customer: Jane Doe (ACC-10072135)
- Category: Service Quality → Water Quality
- Priority: Medium
- Status: New
- Created: 2025-05-16 10:45 AM by Michael Chen
- Due Date: 2025-05-23
- SLA Status: Within SLA
CMP-1003
- Customer: Robert Johnson (ACC-10045872)
- Category: Technical Issue → Leakage
- Priority: High
- Status: Awaiting Customer
- Created: 2025-05-14 02:30 PM by Lisa Wong
- Due Date: 2025-05-21
- SLA Status: At Risk

Sample Receipt Data:

Complaint Reference Number: CMP-40918161 Date: May 26th, 2025 Time: 11:58 AM Customer Name: John Smith Account Number: ACC-10058624 Category: Staff Behavior → Inadequate Communication Priority Level: Medium Expected Resolution Timeframe: 5-7 business days

9. Acceptance Criteria

The system must display a complaint dashboard with real-time metrics showing pending, resolved, rejected, and SLA breached complaints
The system must calculate and display average resolution time with trend indicators showing improvement or decline
The system must show top issue categories with accurate percentage distribution based on total complaints
The system must provide SLA compliance percentage with visual indicators for performance tracking
The system must support complaint creation through a 4-step wizard with clear progress indicators
The system must allow customer search by account number, name, phone number, or address with minimum 3 character requirement
The system must auto-populate customer details when existing account is selected from search results
The system must support manual customer entry for non-account holders with mandatory field validation
The system must provide hierarchical category and subcategory selection with dynamic filtering
The system must auto-assign priority levels based on category and subcategory combinations
The system must validate incident date to prevent entries more than 90 days in the past or future dates
The system must support file uploads with format restrictions (PDF, JPG, PNG) and size limits (10MB per file, 50MB total)
The system must provide drag-and-drop file upload functionality with progress indicators
The system must generate unique complaint reference numbers following CMP-XXXXXXXX format automatically
The system must create professional complaint receipts with complete details and company branding
The system must provide print and email options for complaint receipts
The system must track complaint timeline with status updates and user attribution
The system must support service order creation directly from complaint interface
The system must maintain communication logs with internal and customer-visible categorization
The system must send automatic acknowledgment emails to customers within 30 minutes of complaint submission
The system must provide filtering and search capabilities for complaint management
The system must support bulk operations for complaint management efficiency
The system must calculate SLA breach risk and provide alerts 24 hours before due dates
The system must maintain complete audit trail of all complaint actions and modifications
The system must prevent complaint deletion and support archival after retention period

10. Process Changes

Current Process	New Process	Impact
Manual complaint entry through basic forms requiring multiple system lookups	Step-by-step wizard with customer search integration and auto-population	60% reduction in complaint registration time; elimination of data entry errors from manual lookups
Limited complaint categorization with inconsistent routing	Hierarchical category/subcategory system with automated priority assignment	75% improvement in complaint routing accuracy; 45% reduction in resolution time through proper categorization
No systematic receipt generation for customer acknowledgment	Automated professional receipt generation with reference numbers and tracking information	100% improvement in customer confidence; elimination of manual receipt creation workload
Basic complaint status tracking without SLA monitoring	Comprehensive SLA tracking with automated alerts and performance dashboards	85% improvement in SLA compliance; proactive issue identification reducing customer escalations
Limited file attachment capabilities with manual document management	Integrated evidence management with multi-format support and security scanning	90% reduction in document management overhead; improved complaint resolution accuracy
Fragmented communication logging across multiple systems	Centralized communication hub with customer visibility controls and automated notifications	70% improvement in communication efficiency; complete audit trail for regulatory compliance
Static reporting requiring manual data compilation	Real-time dashboard analytics with trend analysis and export capabilities	80% reduction in report generation time; data-driven decision making capabilities
No integration between complaint and service management	Direct service order creation from complaints with linked tracking	65% faster field response initiation; improved coordination between customer service and operations

11. Impact from Solving This Problem

Metric	Improvement Impact
Complaint Registration Time	Reduced from 8-12 minutes to 3-5 minutes (65% reduction)
First Contact Resolution Rate	Increased from 45% to 70% through better information capture
Customer Satisfaction Score	Improved by 35% through professional receipt system and clear communication
SLA Compliance Rate	Increased from 75% to 92% through automated tracking and alerts
Complaint Resolution Time	Reduced by 40% through proper categorization and priority assignment
Data Accuracy	Improved by 85% through validation rules and auto-population
Staff Productivity	Increased by 50% through streamlined workflow and automation
Customer Complaint Volume	Reduced by 25% through proactive issue identification and resolution
Regulatory Compliance	Achieved 100% audit trail compliance with automated documentation
Management Visibility	Improved by 90% through real-time dashboards and analytics

12. User Behavior Tracking

Event	Properties	Metrics	Insights
Dashboard_View	user_role, view_duration, filters_applied	Dashboard engagement, Filter usage patterns	How frequently do managers monitor complaint performance? Which metrics get the most attention?
Complaint_Create_Start	user_id, customer_type, entry_method	Creation initiation rate, Abandonment rate by step	What percentage of complaint creation attempts are completed? At which step do users abandon the process?
Customer_Search	search_term, search_type, results_found, selection_made	Search effectiveness, Search patterns	How effectively can users find existing customers? What search methods are most successful?
Step_Navigation	current_step, next_step, time_spent, validation_errors	Step completion time, Error patterns	Which steps take longest to complete? Where do users encounter the most validation errors?
File_Upload	file_count, file_types, upload_success, file_size	Upload success rate, File type preferences	What types of evidence do customers provide most frequently? Are there technical issues with uploads?
Complaint_Submit	category, priority, evidence_count, submission_time	Submission patterns, Category distribution	What types of complaints are most common? How thorough is evidence collection?
Receipt_Generate	generation_method, delivery_option, user_role	Receipt utilization, Delivery preferences	How often are receipts provided to customers? Which delivery method is preferred?
Status_Update	complaint_id, old_status, new_status, user_role, update_reason	Status progression patterns, Resolution paths	How do complaints typically progress through the system? Which statuses have the longest duration?
Communication_Log	communication_type, visibility_level, customer_notification	Communication frequency, Customer engagement	How frequently do staff communicate with customers? What communication types are most effective?
SLA_Breach	complaint_id, category, days_overdue, resolution_method	Breach patterns, Recovery success	Which complaint types are most likely to breach SLA? How quickly are breached complaints resolved?
Filter_Apply	filter_type, filter_values, results_count	Filter usage patterns, Search refinement	Which filters are most commonly used? How do filters affect complaint visibility?
Export_Report	report_type, date_range, user_role, export_format	Reporting patterns, Data usage	What reporting needs do different roles have? Which data points are most frequently exported?

Questions answered by tracking:

What is the average time from complaint creation to first customer contact?
Which complaint categories have the highest resolution success rates?
How does evidence quality correlate with complaint resolution time?
What communication patterns lead to the highest customer satisfaction?
Which user roles are most efficient at complaint resolution?
How do seasonal patterns affect complaint volume and types?
What is the correlation between complaint priority and actual resolution time?
Which features of the new system drive the most user adoption?

13. Wireframe

https://preview--utility-compass-flow-13.lovable.app/complaints