COMPLAINTS MANAGEMENT IN TERMS OF BUSINESS
PRACTICE IN SLOVAKIA
Research Results
Jana Urdziková and Martina Jakábová
Institute of Industrial Engineering, Management and Quality, Faculty of Materials Science and Technology
Slovak University of Technology, Paulínska 16, 917 24, Trnava, Slovak Republic
Keywords: Complaint/claim, Complaints management, Business practice, Research results.
Abstract: The paper deals with complaint management and its meaning in quality management. On one hand we can
create a group of entrepreneurial subjects carrying out only the most necessary activities resulting from the
current legislation of the Slovak Republic which are directly related to the complaint. On the other hand we
can create a group of entrepreneurial subjects which management complaint use as an instrument of
customer orientation, and even when negative experience of customers is evident they try to seek the
satisfaction or even loyalty. This fact was the basis for carrying out research and mapping of complaint
management and the closely related areas in terms of business activities in Slovakia. The paper presents the
results and conclusions of investigations carried out.
1 INTRODUCTION
Main goal of quality management is to meet the
customers’ requirements in such a way that it leads
to their satisfaction and loyalty (Šalgovičová and
Prajová, 2008). The easiest way how to reach this
goal would be producing the products and providing
the services without defects or failures. However,
the reality is completely different. Despite doing
anything what can lead to the customers’
satisfaction, i.e. meeting their requirements
effectively, there is always a risk of failures that can
arise during the production process or services
providing. All failures should be detected by the
organization. If that does not happen, the customer,
who has bought the particular product or service,
will later reveal the failure himself. In that case,
everything depends on the customer, because, the
customer does not consider the quality neutrally, for
him the product is either of high quality or not, there
is no other possibility. This means that if the failure
occurs, the customer considers it as a poor quality of
the product. Complaints management presents the
key role in the organization, then. It can be defined
as „coordination of the activities focused on the
organization regulation and management regarding
the customers’ dissatisfaction that is usually
expressed by the complaints and claims“
(Urdziková, 2010).
Following the aforesaid, the research was carried
out in 2009 and 2010. Its subject matter presented
the mapping of the system security current state
concerning the complaints management in terms of
business practice in Slovakia.
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
Micro
Small
Medium
Concern
Micro
Small
Medium
Concern
Production character Providing services
The certified QMS Don´t build the QMS
Figure 1: Visualisation of the business subjects from the
quality management system point of view.
The research hypotheses were set up, which were
verified with using a wide range of scientific
methods of acquiring and processing data -
observation, questionnaire, interview, qualitative
302
Urdziková J. and Jakábová M..
COMPLAINTS MANAGEMENT IN TERMS OF BUSINESS PRACTICE IN SLOVAKIA - Research Results.
DOI: 10.5220/0003628503020305
In Proceedings of the International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing (KMIS-2011), pages 302-305
ISBN: 978-989-8425-81-2
Copyright
c
 2011 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

methods (for example analysis, synthesis, induction,
deduction, comparison, abstraction, etc.);
quantitative methods (for example descriptive
statistics such as frequency analysis, statistical
analysis, such as hypothesis testing, confidence
intervals), graphical methods for example bar charts,
pie charts, tables, diagrams, flow charts etc.), the
principle stratification and a number of other
creative methods and techniques.
Approximately 400 business subjects on the
Slovak market were addressed within the research.
Concerning the subject of business, the sample
consisted of 45% business subjects of production
character and 55% of those providing services. One
of the important steps was to find out if the business
subjects joining the research built the quality
management system (QMS) according to the
international standard ISO 9001 (Figure 1).
Research results were obtained with the help of
different scientific methods, SPSS software and
using the comparative analysis they were compared
with the results arising from previous researches that
had formed a part of the research projects realized at
the Institute of Industrial Engineering, Management
and Quality; Faculty of Materials Science and
Technology in Trnava; Slovak University of
Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia (FMST SUT; the
scientific grant project VEGA No. 1/0103/03
“Monitoring costumer satisfaction in quality
management and marketing” - 2003 – 2005 and No.
1/7162/00 “The quality of the communication
system as a factor affecting competitiveness of
SMEs” - 2000- 2002), as well as researches
conducted at other universities in Slovakia.
2 APPLICATION OF ONE OF
THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT
PRINCIPLES – FOCUS ON THE
CUSTOMER
Customer presents the essential part of the market
mechanism functioning. Moreover, he also presents
the determining factor of forming the competitive
environment for business subjects operating on the
market. (Chovanová, 2008); (Saniuk and Saniuk,
2009) According to the complaints management
problem, it was interesting to find out the condition
of business subjects operating on the Slovak market,
because the complaints management has to be
closely connected to the application of the customer
focus principle. If it be to the contrary, it is not
possible to speak about the complaints management.
Then, it is only considered to be the obligatory
meeting of the legislative requirements of the Slovak
Republic and the European Union (EU) concerning
the complaints handling.
The analysis results on the subject of the
customer focus principle application are presented in
the table No. 1, where the significance of differences
(*** Very high significance, ** High significance, *
Significance, - Don´t significance) in the distribution
of business subjects’ answers in individual features
of examined categories is formulized. In time of the
analysis, the strengths of the business subjects were
proved (for example Greater part of the business
subjects is customer focused; This is also proved by
the fact that they perform activities to support the
customer focus) and the improvement opportunities
were revealed (for example Revealing the significant
differences in application of the customer focus
between the business subjects with the certified
QMS and those that have not built the QMS. These
differences result from the incorrect understanding
of the principle mentioned above and they also
reflect in the absence of the steps heading to the
customers retention; Different approaches in the
application of the customer focus principle among
the business subjects depending of the size).
Table 1: Formulation concerning the significance of
differences between various categories of sorting features
in applying the “customer focus” principle (Urdziková,
2010, p. 96).
Requirement
Subject of
business
Size by
number of
employees
QMS
Priority management –
focus on the customer
*
Definition and
identification of external
customers
***
Customer care program *** **
Responsibility of a
customer care
The top management is
important information
about customer feedback
* *
In the current competitive environment patterned
with the contest for customers, each business subject
should try to attract the attention, establish itself in
trade, and keep the existing and the potential
customers.
COMPLAINTS MANAGEMENT IN TERMS OF BUSINESS PRACTICE IN SLOVAKIA - Research Results
303

3 MONITORING AND
EVALUATION OF THE DATA
CONCERNING THE
CUSTOMERS’ SATISFACTION
Field of monitoring and evaluating of the data
concerning the customers’ satisfaction basically
refers to and is complementary to the application of
the customer focus principle in the business practice.
Each customer focused business subject should carry
out the monitoring and evaluation of the data
concerning the customer’s consideration in the
matter of meeting his requirements.
Table 2: Formulation of the significance concerning the
differences between various categories of the features in
the field of monitoring and evaluation of the data on the
customers’ satisfaction (Urdziková, 2010, p. 106).
Requirement
Subject of
business
Size by number
of employees
QMS
Monitoring customer
satisfaction
*** ***
Monitoring timeline * *** **
Implementation process * ***
Analysis and evaluation
of monitoring information
* *** ***
Transmission of feedback
information from
customers in the
production stages
** ***
Detection of a renewed
interest in products
***
Steps to keep existing
customers
***
Process approach * ** ***
PDCA cycle *** ***
Table No. 2 presents the results from the field of
monitoring and evaluation of the data on the
customers’ satisfaction. These results proved the
strengths of the business subjects (for example
Proved efficiency of implementing the ISO 9000
family of standards into the business practice;
Utilizing the information arising from the
customers’ satisfaction monitoring by reason of
improving the processes in nearly 80% of the
business subjects) and the improvement
opportunities were revealed (for example Business
subjects do not sufficiently realize all the activities
related to the monitoring and evaluating of the data
on the customers’ satisfaction; Weak application of
the process approach to the systematization of the
customers’ satisfaction measurement and
evaluation). Positive, but also the negative
expression of how the customer considers the quality
of the products or related services belong to the data
concerning the monitoring and evaluation of his
satisfaction. One of the customer’s negative
expressions is the complaint, or claim that presents
the main subject of the complaints management.
4 COMPLAINTS MANAGEMENT
Considering the significance of the complaints
management in terms of business practice, it was
very important to find out what the current state of
the complaints management is like in the addressed
business subjects on the Slovak market. Following
this, it was possible to pick up on the results of the
previous examined fields.
One of the hypotheses H
0
was verified on based
on the results arising from the analysis of the
complaints management current state (see table 3):
H
0
: Businesses with the certified SMQ and
underdeveloped SMQ on the Slovak market show
the same level of complaints management.
In time of the analysis, the strengths of the
business subjects were proved (for example Proved
efficiency of implementing the ISO 9000 family of
standards into the business practice that was
expressed on a higher level of the complaints
management; Realizing the significance of the
complaints management and carrying out not just the
necessary activities related to it, in some business
subjects above the frame of the legislative standards
ect.) and the improvement opportunities were
revealed (for example Quite low level of the
complaints management in the business subjects that
have not built the QMS; PDCA cycle in the process
of complaints/claims handling is not utilized etc.).
Examination of the complaints management in
terms of business practice formed the last, but the
supporting part of the current state analysis carried
out. By looking globally at the field of the
complaints management and leaving the individual
categories of the examined features out of
consideration, there can be a specific conclusion
reached. This conclusion shows that the differences
are caused by different approaches of the individual
business subjects to the complaints management. It
means that on one hand, there is a possibility to form
a group that will consist of the business subjects
realizing only those most necessary activities arising
from the present legislative of the Slovak Republic.
These activities will be just those directly connected
to the complaints handling. On the other hand, a
different group can be formed consisting of the
business subjects that will use the complaints
management as one of the tools of the customer
KMIS 2011 - International Conference on Knowledge Management and Information Sharing
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focus. Moreover, despite of the customer’s negative
experience they will try to reach his satisfaction or
loyalty.
Table 3: Summary of the results concerning the
significance of differences between various categories of
the features in the field of the complaints management
(Urdziková, 2010, p. 121).
Area Requirement
Subject of
Business
Size by
number of
employees
QMS
Complaints Handling Process
Defined policy ** *** ***
Implementation
process
** *** ***
Documentation ** *** ***
Use of statistical
methods
*** * ***
Process
performance
** *** ***
Analysis and
evaluation of
complaints/claims
*** *** ***
Monitoring
customer
satisfaction
** *** ***
Functional
verification
** *** ***
Improvement *** *** ***
Dispute-
resolution
Defined policy ** *** ***
Implementation
process
*** ***
Documentation *** ***
Methods
Human Resources
Selection and
training of staff in
the process
*** ***
Defined
requirements for
the capability
* *** ***
Defined
competence
*** ***
Education staff
process
*** ***
Evaluating the
effectiveness of
education
* *** ***
Tools
ISO 10001 * *** ***
ISO 10002 *** ***
ISO 10003 * **
5 CONCLUSIONS
As it may be seen from the individual research
conclusions (expressed on confidence interval 95
%), the business subjects on the Slovak market are
still supposed to improve. In the first place, they
should become aware of the fact that the complaints
management necessarily forms the part of the
organization management and is well founded. The
positive effect also has implementation of the
existing ISO 9000 series of standards into business
practice, which was reflected in a higher level of
complaints management. Comparison of the
researches results showed 10 % decrease in the
progress and development of the businesses as a
result of the global economic crisis (started in
September 2008). Businesses are gradually getting
into a recession. It caused that many of them had to
fight with the existential problems.
The paper presents the partial outputs from the
Ph.D. thesis in field of study "Production Quality
Engineering". The Ph.D. thesis was awarded the
"Prize for the Best Student´s Work in the Field of
Quality Management 2010" Slovak Society for
Quality and as well as FMST SUT, too.
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