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Customer complaint tracking with Outlook and Teams

Complaint tracking automation logs each formal complaint as it arrives and works out the dates your complaints procedure promises. It reminds the person handling the case before each date, escalates anything at risk of running late and keeps a full record of letters and outcomes.

An example of how the studio would build it. No live services are connected.

From a complaint received to a final response on time.

  1. Step 01

    Complaint received

    A complaint arrives through the website form or the complaints mailbox in Outlook, and is given a reference.

  2. Step 02

    Dates set

    Work out the acknowledgement, investigation and final response dates from the date received and your written procedure.

  3. Step 03

    Case logged

    Add the case to a Microsoft List with the customer, property or service, handler, status and dates.

  4. Step 04

    Handler reminded

    Post reminders to the handler in Microsoft Teams ahead of each date, and alert a manager if one is missed.

  5. Step 05

    Record kept

    Store the letters sent and the outcome, so the full history is ready if the customer takes it to your redress scheme or regulator.

The result

No complaint drifts past its deadline, and you can show how each one was handled.

Nothing is sent to the customer automatically: acknowledgements and final responses are written and sent by the handler. A case only closes when a person records the outcome and confirms the final response has gone.

Before we connect it.

Where this is useful

Useful for estate and letting agents, clinics, financial advisers and other businesses that must follow a written complaints procedure or belong to a redress scheme or regulator. A sensible first version logs complaints and sends reminders, and leaves the wording of every response to the handler.

What we need to connect

  1. 01A complaints mailbox in Outlook, or a website form, with permission to read new messages and create entries in Microsoft Lists or SharePoint.
  2. 02Your written complaints procedure, including each stage, its timescale and whether it counts calendar days or working days.
  3. 03Who handles complaints, who they escalate to and the Teams channel or chat where reminders should go.

What needs careful handling

Not every unhappy email is a formal complaint, so a person confirms each new case quickly, and the dates are counted from when it was received rather than when it was confirmed. Bank holidays and office closures change working-day deadlines, so the calendar used to set dates is kept up to date. Complaints can include personal and sensitive details, so access to the log is limited to the people who need it and retention follows your data policy.

Questions people ask.

Does this tell us what the deadlines should be?

No. The dates come from your own procedure and the rules of your redress scheme or regulator, which you or your compliance adviser confirm. The automation applies them consistently and reminds people in time.

Can complaints made by phone be included?

Yes. Staff log them through the same form, with a note of what was said, and they follow the same dates and reminders. Keeping every complaint in one log, however it arrived, makes it easier to show how each one was handled.

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