How to Do a Root Cause Analysis for Customer Complaints

A single customer complaint is more than just a problem with one person. It’s often a sign of a larger, hidden issue within a business. When a complaint comes in, it’s easy to just fix the immediate problem and move on. However, if you don’t find out why the problem happened in the first place, it will likely happen again. This is where a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) comes in.

A root cause analysis is a step-by-step way to find the main reason for a problem. Instead of just fixing the symptom, you find the real cause and develop a lasting solution. The goal is to make sure the same complaint doesn’t happen again. According to a review by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a good RCA process is crucial for any business that wants to truly improve.

This blog will show you how to perform a strong root cause analysis, using a simple but powerful techniques. 

5 Whys

The 5 Whys technique is a simple, iterative question-asking method used to explore the cause-and-effect relationships underlying a particular problem. The main goal is to determine the root cause of a defect or problem by repeatedly asking the question “Why?” A great example is a car that won’t start.

• Problem: The car won’t start.
• Why? The battery is dead.
• Why? The alternator isn’t working.
• Why? The alternator belt broke.
• Why? The belt was old and worn out.
• Why? The car wasn’t maintained according to the service schedule.

This simple chain of questions reveals that the root cause isn’t the dead battery, but a lack of maintenance.

Fishbone Diagram

Also known as a cause-and-effect diagram, the Fishbone Diagram is a visual tool used to categorize potential causes of a problem to identify its root causes.

It resembles the skeleton of a fish, with the “head” representing the problem (the effect) and the “bones” representing different categories of causes. The common categories are typically the “4 Ms” for manufacturing: Manpower, Machines, Materials, and Methods, but these can be adapted to any industry.

Pareto Chart

The Pareto Chart is a combination of a bar chart and a line graph. The bars show the frequency or impact of different causes, while the line graph shows the cumulative percentage of the total.

It is based on the Pareto principle, or the 80/20 rule, which states that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. This chart helps teams focus their efforts on the “vital few” problems that have the biggest impact.

Scatter Diagram

A Scatter Diagram is a graphical tool used to visualize the relationship between two variables. It plots data points on a horizontal and a vertical axis to show how much one variable is affected by another. This tool helps to determine if there is a correlation between the variables, which can then be used to identify potential root causes. For example, a scatter diagram might show a positive correlation between machine temperature and the number of defects, suggesting that overheating is a cause of the problem.

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

FMEA is a systematic, proactive method for identifying and prioritizing potential failure modes in a system, process, or product. For each potential failure, it assesses the severity (impact of the failure), occurrence (likelihood of the failure happening), and detection (likelihood of the failure being detected before it reaches the customer). By multiplying these three scores, a Risk Priority Number (RPN) is calculated, which helps to prioritize risks and determine which ones need to be addressed first.

Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)

FTA is a top-down, deductive failure analysis method in which an undesired state of a system is analyzed using Boolean logic to combine a series of lower-level events.

The analysis begins with a “top event,” which is the main failure or problem, and then breaks it down into all the possible causes or combinations of causes that could lead to that top event. This creates a logic-based map, or “fault tree,” from the problem to its root causes. FTA is commonly used in safety and reliability engineering.

The Core Method: The ‘5 Whys’ Technique

The ‘5 Whys’ is a straightforward but very effective tool for finding the root cause of an issue. It works by asking “why” five times to dig deeper and deeper until you get to the true origin of the problem.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Identify the Problem. Start with a clear statement of the customer’s complaint.
   • Example: A customer complains that their recent online order was delivered a week late.
2. Ask “Why” the problem occurred.
   • Why was the order delivered a week late?
   • Answer: Because the package sat in the warehouse for five days before being shipped.
3. Ask “Why” again about your new answer.
   • Why did the package sit in the warehouse for five days?
   • Answer: Because the packing team ran out of shipping boxes for that product size.
4. Continue asking “Why” until you find the root cause.
   • Why did the packing team run out of boxes?
   • Answer: Because the system for ordering new boxes didn’t work properly.
   • Why didn’t the ordering system work?
   • Answer: The system only sends an alert when a box is completely out of stock, not when it’s low.
   • Why does the system work this way?
   • Answer: The system was set up incorrectly when it was first installed.
5. Develop a solution. The root cause isn’t that the order was late—it’s that the ordering system was set up wrong. The solution is to fix the system so it sends alerts when box inventory is low, preventing the problem from ever happening again.

This simple method helps you move past the obvious and get to the core of an issue.

A Complete Guide to a Good RCA Process

To make sure your root cause analysis is effective, follow these steps.

Step 1: Define the Problem and Gather Data

Start by clearly defining the customer’s complaint. Don’t just rely on the customer’s email or phone call. Collect all the relevant information you can. This includes internal records, team member notes, and anything else related to the issue. It’s important to get the full story from all sides.

Step 2: Assemble a Team

Bring a small team together to work on the problem. This team should include people from different departments, like customer service, operations, and quality control. Getting different perspectives will help you uncover a cause that a single person might miss.

Step 3: Apply the ‘5 Whys’

Once you have all the information, use the ‘5 Whys’ method with your team. Discuss each answer and ask “why” until you all agree on the deepest reason for the complaint. Be fair and focus on the issue, not on blaming a person.

Step 4: Identify the Root Causes

The end of your ‘5 Whys’ chain will point to the root cause. This cause often falls into one of three categories:

• System or Process Issues: The problem happened because a certain rule or system was flawed or didn’t work correctly.
• People Issues: This could be a lack of training, a mistake, or unclear communication.
• Cultural Issues: The problem is a result of a common attitude or habit within the company that needs to change.

Step 5: Create an Action Plan

Once you know the root cause, create a clear plan to fix it. This plan should include specific, measurable goals. For example, instead of “fix the system,” the goal might be “update the inventory system to alert us when box count drops below 200.”

Step 6: Implement and Follow Up

Put your action plan into motion. Then, track it to make sure the solution is working. Regularly check to see if the same type of complaint is still happening. If it is, you might need to go through the analysis process again to find a deeper cause.

Key Tips for Success

To make your RCA process as effective as possible, keep these tips in mind:

• Involve Customers: If possible, talk to the customer to better understand their concerns. Their feedback can be very helpful in finding the real cause of the problem.
• Use Data: If you have many similar complaints, use data to find patterns. Seeing which complaints happen most often can help you decide which ones to focus on first.
• Foster a Culture of Transparency: Make sure employees feel comfortable reporting problems without fear of getting in trouble. When employees are open, you can find issues before they become major complaints.
• Keep Improving: The RCA process itself should be reviewed and refined over time. A good process gets better with practice.

By using a detailed, step-by-step approach to root cause analysis, your business can turn customer complaints from frustrating events into valuable lessons. This will help you not only solve problems but also improve your overall service and build lasting trust.

Conclusion

In today’s fast-paced world, simply managing customer calls isn’t enough. The businesses that will thrive are those that can turn every conversation into a valuable piece of data. Conversation intelligence is the key to this transformation. By using AI to analyze customer interactions at scale, you can move beyond manual, subjective checks and unlock insights that were once impossible to find. This isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about proactively improving customer loyalty, empowering your team, and building a stronger, more competitive business. Conversation intelligence makes every word count, turning raw data into a clear path for growth.

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