Why complaint volumes are rising and what businesses can do about it

Complaint volumes can tell you a lot about how your business is performing in practice. When they start rising, it usually means something is making the experience more difficult than it needs to be. That could be unclear updates, delayed responses or processes that slow down simple issues.

Obviously no one wants to see complaints going up, but they do give you a useful clue about what needs attention before the same problems keep coming back.

Why are complaint volumes rising?

Complaint volumes usually rise when several smaller problems start happening at once. These are some of the most common reasons businesses start seeing more complaints.

Customers are having to do too much chasing

Many issues start long before someone formally complains. The customer may have called more than once, repeated the same information, chased for an update or tried another channel because the first one didn’t get them anywhere. By the time they complain, the original problem may be only part of what’s gone wrong. The effort it took to get someone to take ownership can matter just as much.

Repeat contact, unclear updates and poor handoffs all make the situation worse. The customer rightly feels they’re doing too much of the work, and the organisation ends up handling the same issue several times.

If more complaints are linked to chasing, delays or unclear ownership, it’s a sign to look beyond the complaint itself and ask why customers are having to put in so much effort.

Service teams are already stretched

When customer service teams are under pressure, customers usually feel it quickly. Calls take longer to answer, emails take longer to clear, and advisors may have less time to explain decisions or spot when someone needs extra support. Team leaders may also have less room for coaching or quality checks because the priority is to just keep the day moving.

And it doesn’t mean people are doing a bad job. It means the model has less room to cope with demand, complexity or unexpected spikes.

Small service issues then start turning into formal complaints because customers feel ignored or passed around. A delayed response can quickly become a chase, then a dissatisfied customer, and eventually an escalation that could have been avoided earlier in the journey.

Digital journeys are creating dead ends

There’s no doubt that technology makes the customer experience faster and easier, but only when the journey works for the person using it. Self-serve tools, chatbots, online forms and automated updates can all reduce avoidable contact. But when a customer can’t find the answer they need, or want to explain a more complicated issue, the journey starts to break down. If they also can’t get through to a real person when they need one, it becomes a source of frustration.

This is especially true for complex complaints, vulnerable customers, financial difficulty, bereavement, account issues or anything that needs judgement, expertise and empathy. Customers may be happy to self-serve simple tasks, but they still need human support when the situation is sensitive, confusing or going around in circles.

Strong digital journeys make that handover clear, so customers don’t feel trapped in a process that can’t deal with what they actually need.

Customers expect clearer ownership

Customers are now very used to quick updates, clear progress and a joined-up view of their issue. When that doesn’t happen, confidence drops.

A common complaint trigger is the feeling that no one owns the problem. The customer is passed between teams, given different updates, or told to wait without any clear explanation of what happens next.

That lack of ownership can make even a fairly ordinary issue feel much worse. Customers don’t necessarily expect everything to be fixed instantly, but they usually expect to know who’s dealing with it, what’s happening and when they’ll hear back.

When ownership is unclear, complaining can feel like the only way to get someone to take the issue seriously.

Complex needs are being picked up too late

Many complaints involve more than a simple service failure. Behind the scenes there may be vulnerability, distress, financial difficulty, repeated contact or a customer who has already lost trust in the organisation.

If those needs are missed early on, the issue can become harder to resolve. A customer who needed extra time, a clearer explanation or a different route through the process may end up feeling dismissed. Once that happens, the customer’s experience of the process becomes as important as the outcome itself.

This is where skilled complaint handling really matters. Technology can support the process, but difficult conversations still need people with the right training, confidence and judgement.

Teams need to know how to spot vulnerability, listen carefully, manage emotion and make good decisions in the moment. Without that, complaints can escalate even when the original issue was solvable.

Root causes aren’t being fixed

Some organisations are good at closing complaints, but not so good at stopping the same issues from coming back. That can happen when teams are focused on getting through cases rather than stepping back to look at what’s behind them.

The immediate issue is resolved, the response goes out and the next case comes in. But the underlying cause hasn’t changed. The process is still hard to follow, the system still slows people down, or customers are still left chasing for updates.

Over time, the same themes keep appearing in complaint data, which is usually a sign that the business is fixing the case but not the cause.

Speed is important, of course. But if the same problems keep coming back, complaint data should show where the customer journey needs to change, as well as how quickly each case was closed.

Customers are more prepared to escalate

Customers are more aware of their rights and willing to escalate when they feel an organisation hasn’t listened. In many cases escalation happens because the customer has already tried the normal routes and feels they’ve run out of options.

For regulated sectors, this creates extra pressure. Complaints need to be handled fairly, consistently and within strict guidelines, but they also need to feel human. A technically correct response that doesn’t address the customer’s experience can still leave someone dissatisfied.

When more customers are escalating, it’s time to look at the earlier points in the conversations where confidence broke down, ownership was unclear or the customer felt they had to push too hard to be heard.

What businesses can do about rising complaint volumes

Reducing complaint volumes usually starts earlier in the journey. The aim is to understand where customers are getting stuck, why they’re having to chase, and which issues could be resolved before they escalate.

Look at the patterns behind the complaints

A good starting point is to look at complaint themes alongside contact reasons, repeat contact and customer feedback. Together, these can give a clearer view of where problems are building and where customers are having to work too hard.

Reduce the need for chasing

In practice, that starts with making updates clearer before customers have to chase. Frontline teams also need enough information, time and authority to resolve issues. Technology can help remove friction, but there still needs to be a signposted route to speak to a person for conversations that are sensitive, complex or emotionally charged.

Spot risk before it escalates

Businesses need to look for signs of vulnerability or dissatisfaction earlier in the journey. If those signals are missed, complaints can become harder to resolve and more likely to escalate. Complaint insight should help improve the process, not just close the case.

Give teams the capacity to do the job well

Capacity is part of the picture too. If complaints teams are carrying too much volume, or dealing with more complex cases than the model was built for, quality can suffer. People need enough time and support to investigate thoroughly, communicate clearly and make decisions that stand up.

Bring in specialist support when demand changes

Some of that demand can be reduced through better processes. Other issues need more flexible resource. And some need specialist support, especially where complaints involve vulnerability, regulation, financial difficulty or a higher risk of escalation.

How Sigma Connected can help

At Sigma Connected, we’re used to handling customer conversations that need care, consistency and sound judgement, from complaints and vulnerability to account management and complex service queries.

We can step in when volumes are rising, when teams need extra capacity, or when more specialist support is needed around complex cases. That might mean helping with a short-term spike, flexing resource up and down with demand, or providing a more consistent operating model for longer-term complaint handling.

We bring together trained people, clear governance and the right technology to help clients manage demand, protect quality and handle difficult conversations well.

If complaint volumes are rising, we can help you understand what’s driving them and where extra support could have the most impact.