6 Ways to Prevent Avoidable Complaints Before They Cost You

Let’s face it: complaints happen.

In banking (and any customer-facing industry), complaints are just a part of the job. People get frustrated. Systems fail. Expectations aren’t always met. But here’s the thing: not all complaints are created equal.

Some complaints are unavoidable—unexpected issues, one-off misunderstandings, or things genuinely out of your control.

And some complaints? Well, let’s just say they don’t really need to happen…

What Are Avoidable Complaints?

An avoidable complaint is exactly what it sounds like: a complaint that could have been prevented with clearer communication, better processes, or more thoughtful service.

These complaints aren’t the result of bad luck. They come from problems that your institution has the power to fix.

Here are some common causes of avoidable complaints:

Confusing policies or unexpected fees
Poor website UX or outdated branch info
Failure to follow up or meet expectations
Missed or misrouted communication
Lack of employee training
Manual data entry errors
Uncoordinated scheduling or recordkeeping

And here are some examples of avoidable complaints:

“I didn’t know your branch closed early today”
“I couldn’t find what I needed on your website”
“I keep getting marketing emails after I unsubscribed”
“The teller was rude to me”
“I didn’t know there was a fee”
“I’ve been on hold for 25 minutes”
“I submitted my documents last week and haven’t heard anything”
“I was charged a late fee even though I submitted payment on time”

Each of these complaints might seem minor on its own. But over time, they reveal cracks in the customer experience that can affect trust, retention, and even compliance.

Why You Should Care About Avoidable Complaints

At this point, you might be wondering why you should care about finding and preventing avoidable complaints. They’re just regular complaints, right?

Nope. The truth is, avoidable complaints are actually worse than regular complaints, because they waste time, frustrate consumers, and damage trust—all while draining your team’s energy and resources.

Avoidable complaints:

Waste time and money
Damage consumer trust
Raise red flags for regulators
Drain employee morale
Impact customer/member retention

Yes, all complaints can have consequences. But avoidable complaints didn’t need to happen in the first place. They point to breakdowns in communication, training, or processes. And unlike unavoidable issues, these are problems you can fix (and should).

When you take time to find and prevent avoidable complaints before they become a big problem, both customers and employees win. You free up your team to focus on meaningful service and tackle real issues—not the ones that could’ve been prevented with a clearer form, a faster response, or a better process.

6 Tips to Prevent Avoidable Complaints

So how can you prevent avoidable complaints? Here are some tips for doing just that:

1. Check in with Consumers Regularly

A surefire way to receive an avoidable complaint is by not checking in with customers/members throughout their banking journey.

Whether they’re speaking to an employee, applying for a loan, or completing a transaction online, consumers should always know how to get help and what to expect next. A simple “How was your experience today” popup can go a long way to making consumers feel heard and valued before frustration sets in.

Train your frontline staff to ask:

“Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
“Do you have any questions about what we just went over?”
“Was everything clear with that process?”

This gives consumers the chance to clarify confusion, catch errors, or raise concerns before they become full-blown complaints. Instead of walking away confused or annoyed, they’ll know your institution cares about their experience. And that’s one of the best ways to turn a potentially upset customer into an advocate for your institution.

And if a customer is already feeling frustrated, these check-ins offer a chance to turn things around.

2. Add Q&A Sections to Webpages and Other Resources

Many avoidable complaints come from questions that were not properly addressed during the banking process. Complaints like, “I didn’t know there was a fee” or “I wasn’t given a proper timeline” can be easily avoided if you make the answers to basic questions clear on your website, forms, and application paths.

Q&A sections can be helpful here. Maybe each page on your website has Q&A dropdowns answering questions that might otherwise lead to a disgruntled consumer. Maybe your loan documents and other application forms include a “Commonly Asked Questions” page. By getting ahead of these questions and making answers easy to find before someone reaches out with a complaint, you can drastically reduce the number of simple questions your team needs to answer and prevent some avoidable complaints from making it through.

3. Audit Your Most Frequent Touchpoints

A great way to prevent avoidable complaints is by conducting an audit of your consumers’ most frequent touchpoints. Go through the loan application process. Complete a transaction online. Talk to a teller in the branch. Focus on the channels customers interact with the most—website, mobile app, call center, drive-thru, lobby, etc.

As you audit each channel, ask yourself these questions:

Where might someone get confused?
Where are we slow? What could we do to improve speed?
What’s missing from this experience?
What questions might someone have afterwards?

You need to make it so every touchpoint with a consumer is clear, understandable, and easy to navigate. Preventing avoidable complaints means taking a good look at all of your institution’s processes, making them as simple as possible, and setting clear expectations.

4. Empower Employees to Fix Issues On the Spot

One of the fastest ways to turn a small issue into a formal complaint is making a customer repeat their problem three times to three different people, only to be told, “Sorry, I can’t help with that.”

Now imagine a better version: A teller asks, “Is there anything else I can help with today?” The customer asks a question. And the teller knows how to solve it or at least where to send them next.

That’s how you prevent avoidable complaints.

Of course, no one expects every employee to know every answer. But every employee should:

Know where to find the answer
Know who to contact
Know how to direct the customer confidently and correctly

For simple issues—like fee reversals, password resets, or clarification on timelines—employees should be empowered to resolve the issue right then and there. No middle-manager bottlenecks. No seven-step escalation processes.

By giving your team the tools, training, and authority to act, you can build trust, retention, and satisfaction among your customers.

5. Follow Up After Key Interactions

The end of a consumer’s visit—in person or online—shouldn’t be the end of the interaction. By following up with consumers, you can continue to set proper expectations, answer any questions that have popped up, and show that you truly care.

Here are some times you should follow up with consumers:

After an account is opened
After they apply for a loan
After a previous complaint is resolved
After they ring the call center with a question or request
After they submit a form on your website
After they access an online resource

A simple “How did we do?” or “Do you have any questions?” email sent a few days after the interaction can go a long way. It might not get a ton of traction, especially from consumers who had a good experience or don’t need any further help. But for consumers who do have questions or haven’t received the service they expected, this form can capture their sentiment early and prevent a full-blown, avoidable complaint.

Just make sure that someone actually follows up with the consumer after a question is asked or dissatisfaction is indicated. Being asked for an opinion and then being ignored will have the opposite intended effect.

6. Use Kadince to Track and Manage Complaints

Preventing avoidable complaints is a lot easier when you know what complaints are being submitted and are able to examine complaint trends and root causes.

Kadince Complaint Management software makes it easy to collect, manage, and categorize complaints and other feedback. Instead of wondering when the next avoidable complaint will come in, you can get ahead of the game with trend reports and root cause analysis.

Kadince helps you:

Collect and geocode complaints seamlessly from multiple sources
Automatically route complaints to the appropriate stakeholders
Identify trends and address root causes to improve processes
Generate detailed reports for internal teams, auditors, and examiners

When complaints do come through, you can see if there have been similar complaints and make changes going forward. Identifying and resolving avoidable complaints has never been easier!

Schedule a demo to see how Kadince can help your institution find and address avoidable complaints.

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Not All Complaints Are Avoidable

As you begin finding and preventing avoidable complaints, just remember that not all complaints will fit the bill.

Some complaints are simply part of serving a diverse group of consumers with different needs, expectations, and personalities. You can do everything right—communicate clearly, train your staff, offer timely service—and still receive the occasional frustrated call or message. That’s just the nature of customer service.

But here’s the good news: every avoidable complaint you prevent frees up your team’s time and energy to focus on the unavoidable ones that really need your attention.

By eliminating avoidable complaints, you make space for better service, stronger relationships, and a more efficient institution.

None of Kadince, Inc., its affiliates, or its respective employees, directors, officers, and agents (collectively, “Kadince”) are responsible or liable for any content or information incorporated herein. Read full disclosure.