Complaint questions that help you win back trust after a mistake
Ask customers how you handled their complaint, from how seriously it was taken to the outcome and the trust it cost. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What complaint handling survey questions tell you
Complaint handling survey questions ask customers what went wrong, how seriously you took it, how many times they had to explain it, how long it took to settle and whether the outcome was fair. A complaint handled well can keep a customer who was ready to leave, and these answers show which parts of your process do that and which make things worse.
Ask once the complaint is closed, by email or with a link in your final reply, and keep the survey short: the outcome, how seriously it was taken and one open question. The questions that help a customer file a new complaint, such as what happened and the upload, belong on your contact page.
Each written answer gets a category, a type such as complaint and a sentiment, and each response gets an urgency, so a customer who is still angry reaches the right person first. The inbox gives each response an owner and a status, and workflows can post responses to Slack or Microsoft Teams.
- Questions
- 12
- Best asked
- Once the complaint is closed
- Industry
- Any business
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 12 complaints and escalation questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
What went wrong
Learn whether the complaint is a repeat and what it was about, in a category and in the customer's own words.
- 01Yes / No
Have you had to complain to us before?
Whether the customer has complained before. Select Yes in Results to read repeat complaints apart, since a second complaint about the same thing is the one to escalate.
- 02Multiple choice
What was the complaint about?
What the complaint was about, from a broken product to a promise not kept. Results shows each share in a donut, and selecting one shows how those complaints were handled.
- 10Text
Tell us what happened in your own words.
What happened, in the customer's own words. Each answer gets a theme, and each response an urgency, so the most serious cases rise to the top of the inbox.
- 12File upload
Upload anything that supports your complaint
Lets the customer attach a photo, a receipt or an email that supports the complaint. Results shows the files in a gallery, and picture location data is removed on upload. File upload is on every plan, 1 per survey on Free.
How you handled it
Measure how seriously the complaint was taken, how often the customer had to explain it, how long it took and whether the outcome was fair.
- 03Stars
How seriously did we take your complaint?
Rates how seriously your team took the complaint, in five stars. Read it next to the outcome, since customers can accept a small fix when they felt heard.
- 05Number
How many times did you have to explain the problem?
How many times the customer had to explain the problem. A median above one points to handovers that lose the story, so fix how cases move between people.
- 04Ruler
How many days until it was settled?
How many days it took to settle the complaint, up to 30. Results shows the median and the middle half, which you can hold against the time you promise.
- 06Multiple choice
How was the outcome?
How the outcome felt, from better than hoped to nothing changed. Select Nothing changed in Results and give each of those responses an owner the same day.
What it cost and what to change
These show the trust a complaint cost and what customers expect when a company gets it wrong.
- 08Big scale
How much trust did this cost us?
How much trust the complaint cost you, on a 1 to 10 scale. Results shows the average and a column per step, and selecting the top scores shows which complaints did the most damage.
- 09Emoji
How did dealing with us make you feel?
Five faces for how dealing with your team felt. Results shows the share of each face, which tells you whether the process itself added to the frustration.
- 07Multiple choice
What matters most when a company gets it wrong?
Customers pick what matters most when a company gets it wrong, from a fast reply to proof it won't happen again. Results shows bars with each share, which helps you shape your complaint process.
- 11Text
What do you wish we had done differently?
What the customer wishes you had done differently. The themes add up to a list of fixes for your complaint process, ready for your next team meeting.
Tips for asking about complaints and escalation
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Ask once it is closed
Send the survey after the complaint is settled, so customers judge the outcome as well as the process.
- 02
Keep the survey short
Ask the outcome, how seriously it was taken and one open question. A customer who just complained won't fill in a long form.
- 03
Reach out where nothing changed
Give every response where nothing changed an owner in the inbox, and contact the customer again before they take the complaint elsewhere.
- 04
Count the explanations
Watch how many times customers had to explain the problem, and fix the handovers that make them repeat it.
Add these questions to a survey
From the library to the first answers.
- 1
Open the library
In the Usertick survey editor, choose From library, filter by industry and topic, and add several questions at once.
- 2
Or paste your own list
Paste questions reads up to 10 questions from any text on Free, 100 on Starter and 200 on Pro and above, keeps your wording and picks an answer type for each.
- 3
Choose where it runs
Show the survey on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.
- 4
Read the answers
Results counts every score and choice, and Usertick reads each written answer and files it by topic, on every plan.
Templates and more questions about complaints and escalation
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
Once the complaint is closed, by email or with a link in your final reply. Usertick doesn't send automatically when a case closes in another system, so send to recent cases in daily or weekly batches.
Three or four. Ask the outcome, how seriously the complaint was taken, how many times the customer had to explain it and one open question.
Yes, on every plan. Add the file upload question (1 per survey on Free) to your complaint form, and photos, receipts or emails arrive with the answer, with picture location data removed.
Each response gets an urgency, and the inbox gives it an owner and a status. On every plan, workflows can post responses to Slack or Microsoft Teams, and they send them to Zendesk or Intercom.
Yes. The question library comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.
Yes. Once a question is in your survey, reword it, change its options or its answer type, and add logic to skip it for some answers.
Yes. The library is translated into Usertick's built-in languages, and in any other language it shows in English for you to translate.
Listen better, act faster, and build what truly matters.
Start free, see what your customers mean, and get each answer to the person who can act on it.
- 150 responses a month on Free
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