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Dear MG-Ed-Dvers,
Over the years I've heard anecdotal evidence that there is some
relationship between the number of customers actually voicing a complaint
and the potential number of customers who share the same complaint or one
very similar to the complaint that has been formally registered. The ratio
I've heard consistently is 1:50. I was wondering if you know of any
empirical evidence that confirms such a ratio exists. My particular
interest is in the documentation of such ratios for use in nonprofit human
service organizations, but at this point any ratio that relates complaints
to potential number of total complaints would be useful. In addition, if
you know of any empirical literature that documents the relationship
between the number of customer service complaints (requests for service
improvements) and the total number of service improvements actually made,
that too would be greatly appreciated.
Cordially,
Karun

************************************************************
Karun K. Singh, CSWM, R-CSW, PhD Candidate and Director
Differential Planning Effectiveness Project
Columbia University School of Social Work (212) 854-4387
************************************************************

Some, and I emphasize _some_ Baldrige applicants, or baby Baldrige
applicants, may have that kind of information documented. Good luck
getting the numbers,

Jay
---------
Jay Warner
Principal Scientist
Warner Consulting, Inc.
4444 North Green Bay Road
Racine, WI 53404-1216
USA
Ph: (262) 634-9100
FAX: (262) 681-1133
email: quality@a2q.com
web: http://www.a2q.com

> Over the years I've heard anecdotal evidence that there is some
> relationship between the number of customers actually voicing a complaint
> and the potential number of customers who share the same complaint or one
> very similar to the complaint that has been formally registered. The ratio
> I've heard consistently is 1:50. I was wondering if you know of any
> empirical evidence that confirms such a ratio exists. My particular
> interest is in the documentation of such ratios for use in nonprofit human
> service organizations, but at this point any ratio that relates complaints
> to potential number of total complaints would be useful. In addition, if
> you know of any empirical literature that documents the relationship
> between the number of customer service complaints (requests for service
> improvements) and the total number of service improvements actually made,

Karun Singh writes:

> Over the years I've heard anecdotal evidence that there is some
>relationship between the number of customers actually voicing a complaint
>and the potential number of customers who share the same complaint or one
>very similar to the complaint that has been formally registered. The ratio
>I've heard consistently is 1:50. I was wondering if you know of any
>empirical evidence that confirms such a ratio exists.

Well, I checked with a fellow who should know -- Ron Zemke -- of Training
Magazine and Service America fame -- and here's what he had to say:

>It's more like 20 to 1.. E-satisfy.com has done a lot of that research..
>Varies by $$ involved, and the type of product/service and all that, very
>few silent suffering Lexus buyers, for instance, but on the main, 20 to
one
>is a very safe number...

Hope this helps..

Fred Nickols
The Distance Consulting Company
"Assistance at A Distance"
http://home.att.net/~nickols/distance.htm
nickols@att.net
(609) 490-0095