Logs and record sheets · LR-168 · Log
Customer Complaint Log
Free customer complaint log — reference, what was complained about, who handled it, the outcome and days to close. PDF, Excel and browser versions.
2 pages. The A4 and US Letter files are laid out identically, so neither is shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fillable PDF type and save
Spreadsheet formulas included
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
Fill it in online
The same sheet, on screen. Totals and figures are worked out as you type, rows can be added or removed, and you can print it or download the completed version as a PDF. Everything stays in your browser — your entries are kept in this browser's own storage on this device, nothing is uploaded, and there is no account.
Who this is for
A complaint from arrival to close, on one line. Each row carries its own reference, what the customer said, who picked it up, what was done and the date it was closed — with the days it took worked out for you.
Shops, trades, service businesses, landlords, clubs and small offices who want complaints handled rather than remembered, and who may have to show what happened.
What this helps you track
- Every complaint given a reference, so it can be found again
- What was complained about, in the customer's terms rather than yours
- Who owns it, and what they did about it
- How long each one took to close, worked out from the two dates
- How many are still open, counted at the foot of the sheet
How to use it
- Write the business, the period and who keeps the log at the top.
- Give each complaint a reference of your own — the date and a number is enough — and use it on any letter or email that follows.
- Record what was said as close to the customer's own words as you can manage, and how it reached you.
- Put a name in the handled by column. A complaint with no owner is the one that goes quiet.
- Fill in the outcome and the closed date when it is genuinely finished; the days to close work themselves out.
- Read the whole sheet once a month and look for the same subject appearing twice.
Formats
- Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
- Fillable PDF with form fields
- Fill in online, saved in your browser
- Excel / Google Sheets workbook
The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.
How to print
Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.
Questions
What should I do with a complaint?
That depends on your own policy and on the rules for your trade and country, which this sheet does not attempt to state. It records what happened; what ought to happen is yours to decide.
When is a complaint closed?
When the customer has been told the outcome, not when you decided it internally. Using that definition consistently is what makes the days to close column worth reading.
Should anonymous or verbal complaints go on it?
Yes. Write what you know and leave the customer column as 'not given'. A pattern of unattributed complaints about the same thing is still a pattern.
Is this the same as an issue log?
No. An issue log is internal, about a project. This one is about a customer who is unhappy, and its closing date belongs to them.
Related resources
Customer Contact Spreadsheet
Every customer's phone, email and address on one sheet.
Quality Control Inspection Sheet
Which batch or lot was inspected, against which drawing or specification.
Also in the library
Printable sheets, workbooks and tools on the same subject.
Action Log
Keep every agreed action in one place with a name and a date against it, so the next meeting starts from what happened rather than from memory.
Issue Log
Track the things that have already happened separately from the things that might, so today's problems do not crowd out next month's risks.
Customer Record Card
Keep one card per customer so the history of what was done, what it cost and when the next visit is due lives in one place.
