4.1 Understanding bulletproof complaint handling
- Kim Pedersen
- Aug 1
- 9 min read
Updated: Aug 3
Author: Kim Christian Botho Pedersen (Memorizeitall / Japan Trade Advisor)
© Kim Christian Botho Pedersen / www.japantradeadvisor.com
Published on April 10, 2017
Photo copyright (c) Kim Christian Botho Pedersen
For many businesspeople, expanding on the market is about researching, applying smart strategies, good marketing, advertising, exhibiting, visiting customers, delivering convincing sales talk, and so on. For most, it is about persuading a customer logically so that they understand your product has more advantages than a competing one. As a principle, this is also true in Japan, but it goes far deeper than that. Business in Japan, is not just black and white.
For most businesspeople, it is also common sense that retaining an existing customer and selling more to them is far more cost-effective than trying to find new customers and try to sell to them. This is equally true in the Japanese market.
However, many companies fail to understand that keeping a Japanese customer requires a deep understanding of #complaint_handling. Handling a complaint poorly can completely undermine the trust between you and your Japanese customer. Since trust is one of the strongest forms of “glue” in Japanese business relationships, complaints are not something you want to take lightly if you want to survive in the Japanese market.
There is a large gap in the definition and understanding of complaints, and how to handle them, between Japanese and non-Japanese companies. Japanese companies can be extreme in their demands and expectations for how your company deals with complaints. Never-ending questions, demands that take weeks, sometimes even months to satisfy, and requests for changes in your products or production methods are just a few examples of what you may encounter.
The first major gap you encounter might be the difference in what is considered an acceptable complaint versus what is not. But this is not where you want to argue with your Japanese customer. Rather than dispute whether the issue is your company’s fault, you should handle the complaint wisely, aiming to resolve it with a satisfied Japanese importer and as little damage as possible to your company.
Believe me, you want to understand this.
So, how do you do that?
Understanding what the relation between your customer and the one complaining is
Usually, Japanese companies only escalate issues if there are a specific complaint from a customer. Matters that can be resolved between you and the importing company usually stay "internal". However, if the complaint comes from a customer (e.g., wholesaler, factory, end user, retailers or for instance food service chains), the situation changes dramatically.
Since the customer in Japan is regarded as “God,” the Japanese importer must meet whatever expectations the customer has. Failing to do so results in an offended customer, which is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to repair. An offended customer is often a “former” customer. That is how many Japanese importers think. That is why they need your wholehearted collaboration, nothing less.
Matters have worsened in recent years due to social media, where a single SNS post can go viral in no time. One of Japan’s largest food service chains suffered a major setback because of a single consumer posting a bad experience on social media. It caused enormous financial losses and sent shockwaves through the industry. Since then, Japanese importers have become extremely cautious, even over the smallest complaints. SNS has made Japanese companies even more vulnerable to bad reviews.
Japanese companies typically expect you to show commitment to the complaint. This is often shown by prompt replies, accepting the complaint (depending on the case), showing understanding of the issue no matter how minor it may seem, and complying with requests for investigation or improvements.
Often, your Japanese customer will remain in constant dialogue with the company or customer, who made the complaint. Prompt replies with as much information as possible can save both time and money. Your reply letter or email should include text like:
We have received the complaint regarding [issue]
We intend to do [planned action]
We expect results within [X days or weeks]
You can't wait with this reply more than a few hours. For each hour, the situation just worsens.
A prompt reply like this, will reassure your customer that you are seriously addressing the matter. Everybody understands that an investigation takes time, so by providing information about how long you expect the investigation to last, you have already bought yourself time to take care of the issue.
A slow or absent prompt response causes anxiety among Japanese customers. This is because your importer may be bombarded with questions from the complaining party. The farther the actual end user is from the source, the worse the problem becomes. The more companies involved in the distribution chain, the worse it becomes. Each one wants the complaint resolved yesterday, and each tries to figure out why the problem happened. They all need you to answer their individual questions.
Imagine this chain: you sell to an importer, who sells to a wholesaler, who sells to another wholesaler, who supplies a factory. The product ends up in a supermarket or restaurant. Eventually, an end user makes a complaint. If you delay your reply, all the companies in that chain will create their own questions. It’s vital to reply as soon as possible to prevent an avalanche of inquiries.
Now imagine how a Japanese company deals with a complaint. The end user complains to the store. Someone receives the complaint and passes it to the person in charge. That person consults with their superior. The complaint is then sent back through the supply chain, accumulating questions along the way.
Everyone who receives the complaint apologizes deeply. Most likely, nobody in Japan dare question the validity of the complaint. A Westerner probably would, as the first thing, but that's one of the big differences between Japanese and Westerners. The customer is king... Japanese businesspeople often fear the customer’s reaction if they ask critical questions. Even implying that the complaint is minor ("minor" is one of those words you don't want to use in such a situation) or not your fault (never ever say that!) could lead to disaster for the supplier.
You should never go directly to the customer and "explain" anything. This is the territory for Japanese businesspeople or in rare cases like myself, a non-Japanese businessman who knows exactly what to say to whom, in what tone, when and why... In this kind of situations, you may realize the importance of #kizukai mentioned earlier. You need to really understand who you are, in connection with the people you sit across. If you cant apologize for things you don't think is your fault, never go to a meeting to discuss complaints with an actual customer. You may do more harm than good is, not only for yourself, but also for your Japanese partner company. They will be blamed for your attitude.
Fighting a customer (B2B or B2C) could mean humiliation, financial ruin, bad publicity, or worse. No one wants to risk such an outcome. So Japanese businesses usually accept whatever the customer says and try to limit the damage instead. Whether that is clever or not, they rarely challenge the customer.
What happens when you send your final reply? Bulletproof complaint handling...
So now, one user (B2B or B2C) and companies in the supply chain have all passed the complaint backward without asking any critical questions. Each company has its own theory about the what the actual issue could be. Your final reply (explanation letter) will go to the importer, then from one company to the next, back to the end user.
When you send your final explanation, it must be bulletproof. It must be logically explained. Every company involved will need to explain your answer to their own customers. Often, more than one person in each company will join a meeting to review your explanation. They will ask questions, challenge assumptions, and evaluate whether your explanation is solid or not.
If your explanation is unclear, they will send follow-up questions, again and again, until they are sure they can explain all relevant aspects of the case to their customer. This happens within each company in the chain of companies involved. The importer explains to the wholesaler, who explains to their customer (could be retailers, factories or food service), and so on. If the explanation is not easy to understand and logical, they will return with questions. It can become a nightmare if your explanation is not well thought out.
Make your life easier, follow these rules
However, following a few simple rules can ease the process and maintain good relationships with your Japanese customers, even in the case of repeated complaints.
If you want to survive complaints, you must make life easier for your Japanese partner companies.
Fulfilling your Japanese importer's requests reduces their workload
Prompt replies and bulletproof explanations will earn their appreciation and help you remain their preferred supplier
Minimize complaint handling cost and time by setting up a system before any complaints happens
Learn how to write a strong explanation letter
Learn how to communicate with your importer in these kind of situations
Make sure you know how to document important and relevant facts
Think complaint prevention daily... It should be part of the company culture...
Keep a strong communication with your Japanese customers, so you can get their help in case of complaints... They are as much as you interested in a continued business... They are your best allies...
Understanding complaint handling in Japan is one of the most critical keys to retaining Japanese customers, building trust, and growing your business there.
I have worked across many industries in Japan: consumer goods, construction, furniture, interior, design, exhibition equipment, food, meat, seafood, cheese, chocolate, software, gift items, gardens, building materials, technical patents, and others. What they all have in common is this:
Japanese companies take complaint handling very seriously. Correct complaint handling will make you the preferred supplier and grow your business. Do it wrongly, and your attitude will most likely spread in the industry, and you are finished exporting to Japan.
As employee of a Japanese company's European HQ, I (Kim Pedersen) did setup a complaint handling manual for all their European suppliers. Nothing difficult at all but make a huge difference for your success in Japan.
In fact, complaint handling is often used to evaluate both companies and people. To expand your market share in Japan, you must understand what is expected of you and follow those “rules.”
As a side note, many Japanese directors watch how their employees handle complaints. It is considered common sense among management that someone good at complaint handling can be trusted with any task. Someone who handles complaints poorly, however, may not be suitable to manage anything at all.
The same applies to suppliers. Companies with strong complaint handling skills are the ones Japanese companies want to keep as preferred suppliers. If you want to be their preferred business partner, you must be the best complaint handler.
Below some key points:
Poor complaint handling can be a disaster for your business. On the other hand, timely, correct, sincere, and honest complaint handling can make you the preferred partner of a Japanese company, resulting in a long-lasting and stable business relationship.
Time is critical You must reply as soon as possible, investigate quickly, and deliver your results promptly. A small issue can grow if Japanese customers believe you are not taking it seriously. The longer you wait, the more questions will pile up. Always confirm receipt of the complaint, state you are working on it, and provide a schedule for when your intend to answer.
Do not avoid responsibility Most complaints can be resolved through investigation, appropriate preventive actions and a sincere apology. Trying to avoid responsibility is the worst thing you can do if you want to keep your customer. Never downplay the issue or treat it as unimportant. Handle all Japanese complaints with the utmost seriousness.
Be logical in your explanation Japanese people may not always be logical, but an explanation letter, they must explain the content to supervisors and customers. Your explanation must be logical, easy to understand, and as simple as possible so the Japanese will be able to pass it on.
Countermeasures should also be logical Many explanation letters include countermeasures that have nothing to do with the findings of the investigation. A proper investigation usually reveals the cause. Based on the findings, your countermeasures must logically address the issue(s).
Be specific. Investigate thoroughly. Document everything Mention dates, products, findings, and details. Measure what you can measure. Test what can be tested. Mention specific dates and facts, and document everything possible.
Always apologize in your letter Even if everything else is done correctly, if the apology is missing or insincere, everything else becomes meaningless. Always apologize... Even if it is not your fault. Use someone who knows how to write such a letter to write it. A translator has no clue. They just translate. Right there, that's another serious mistake.
Use proper English or Japanese Spelling errors, bad grammar, and poor layout show a lack of attention (kizukai) and seriousness. An explanation letter should be clear and allow for only one interpretation. Kizukai plays such a role, in all situations in Japan.
For complaint handling, we will be working on specific services to set your company up to deal with all types of complaints from Japan. Check out the following pages: https://www.minimizingcomplaintsfromjapan.com/
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