DIN ISO 10002:2019-07

Handle complaints systematically and increase customer satisfaction

DIN ISO 10002 provides guidance on complaints handling in organizations. It helps companies and other organizations handle complaints effectively, transparently, and with a customer-focused approach. The aim is to increase customer satisfaction, identify opportunities for improvement, and sustainably strengthen trust in products, services, and processes.

What is DIN ISO 10002 about?

The standard describes the planning, design, implementation, maintenance, and continual improvement of a complaints-handling process. It focuses on recording, handling, assessing, and tracking complaints, as well as deriving improvement actions. In addition, the standard defines guiding principles such as transparency, accessibility, objectivity, customer focus, and confidentiality and helps organizations systematically integrate complaints into their quality management system.

Topics covered

• Guidelines for complaints handling in organizations
• Customer-focused handling of complaints
• Planning and design of complaints processes
• Receipt, handling, and tracking of complaints
• Roles, responsibilities, and management commitment
• Analysis and evaluation of complaints
• Auditing and management review
• Continual improvement and customer satisfaction
• Relationship with ISO 9001, ISO 10001, ISO 10003, and ISO 10004

Practical relevance

Effective complaints handling enables organizations to address customer concerns in a structured manner while also improving processes, products, and services. DIN ISO 10002 helps organizations use complaints as a valuable source of improvement and increase customer satisfaction over the long term.

The standard is particularly relevant for organizations seeking to professionalize customer communication, standardize complaints processes, and meet the requirements of modern quality management systems. Structured complaints handling can also contribute to customer retention and improved organizational performance.

Changes compared with DIN ISO 10002:2010-05

The 2019 edition was extensively revised. The most important changes include:

• Alignment with the current editions of DIN EN ISO 9000:2015 and DIN EN ISO 9001:2015
• Incorporation of content from ISO 10004
• Revision and expansion of the terms in Clause 3
• Expansion of the guiding principles for complaints handling
• Addition of a new clause on the context of the organization
• New annexes on the interrelationships between ISO 10001, ISO 10002, ISO 10003, and ISO 10004, as well as on the process model for complaints handling
• Editorial and technical revision of the standard

Target audience

• Quality managers
• Customer service and customer care professionals
• Complaint and claims management professionals
• Auditors and certification bodies
• Process managers
• Managers with customer-facing responsibilities
• Organizations with quality management systems based on ISO 9001
• Small and large companies across all industries

Conclusion

DIN ISO 10002 provides comprehensive guidance on customer-focused complaints handling. Through its requirements for transparency, responsibilities, process control, and continual improvement, it helps organizations sustainably increase customer satisfaction and use complaints as opportunities for improvement.

This document replaces DIN ISO 10002:2010-05 .