If a client complains about one of your employees, reacting to please the client without considering your employee’s rights could be a costly mistake.
Understandably, you have a commercial relationship to protect.
Many business owners over-apologize to the client, pull the employee in for a sharp word and hope it all blows over.
The problem is that acting on what a client wants, without a proper process, can expose you to a wrongful termination claim or a retaliation lawsuit, even if the original complaint was completely valid.
As an employer, there’s a right way to handle this.
Here’s what you should and shouldn’t do.
Why your first instinct can get you into trouble
Treating a complaint as fact before you’ve investigated it puts you in a difficult position with your employee.
Your employee has rights regardless of what a client says.
If you discipline or terminate someone without a proper investigation, you’re exposed. We’ve seen business owners face legal claims and significant legal fees because they skipped the process, even when the underlying complaint was legitimate.
What to do first
Acknowledge the complaint to the client promptly. Tell them you’re taking it seriously and will look into it. Do not commit to an outcome and do not tell them what action you’re planning to take.
Then speak to your employee privately. Let them know that a concern has been raised and that you want to hear their side. Keep it factual. This is information-gathering, not a disciplinary meeting.
How to investigate properly
Write down what the client said. Note the date, what was alleged and any relevant context. Do the same after speaking to your employee.
If there were witnesses or a paper trail, gather those too. You’re building a complete picture before you decide anything.
Some things worth considering at this stage are whether anything similar has been raised about this person before, whether there could be context you’re not aware of and whether this is actually a conduct issue or something better addressed through additional training or a process change.
The answers shape what happens next.
What the outcome might look like
If the investigation supports the complaint, you may need to address it through your disciplinary process. That means following the correct steps, documented properly, so that your decision is defensible if it’s ever challenged.
If the complaint turns out to be unfounded, you still need to close it properly. Document what you found and why no further action was taken.
The right outcome might also be additional support for the employee, a conversation about expectations or a change to how a process works. That kind of response can protect the client relationship and keep your employee engaged at the same time.
What you owe the client
You don’t have to share details of what you found or what action you’ve taken internally.
You do need to close the loop.
Let them know that the matter has been looked into and that steps have been taken to address their concerns. Keep it brief. Most clients are satisfied when they feel that they’ve been heard and taken seriously.
Going silent after a complaint causes its own damage and can make a manageable situation much harder to resolve.
We can help
Client complaints about staff are one of those situations where having someone to call makes a real difference.
There’s a commercial relationship to manage and an employment process to follow at the same time and getting either one wrong can be costly.
We help business owners to work through situations like this properly from the start, so the outcome is defensible and the relationships on both sides stay intact.
If you’ve got something on your hands right now, reach out. We’re glad to help you to think it through.
