Turning whines into wins

Sometimes, however, even the most seasoned fundraisers are gobsmacked at the unreasonable complaints they receive from disgruntled supporters.

Those who attended a session headlined "Turning whines into wins" at the recent Fundraising Institute Australia conference in Sydney were regaled with tales of humorous real-world complaints.

While funny, they served to highlight the disconnect that sometimes occurs between the public’s expectations of philanthropy and charitable workers' day-to-day reality.

Many of the howlers were volunteered by fundraisers in the room based on their own experience. They included stories of:

• a donor who contacted a charity to complain about the colour of an appeal envelope

• a participant in a fundraising event who complained that the charity concerned should have ensured better weather

• a person annoyed that the letter they received from a charity was printed on premium paper stock when it should have been printed on cheaper, thinner paper (the premium paper cost less)

• a supporter who said they planned to take part in a fundraising event but were not happy they had to donate to the organisation concerned and wanted to know if they could donate to an unrelated charity
  
  a donor upset that a charity was holding a nationwide peer to peer fundraising campaign during February when she planned to take holidays

• a person who not only demanded to know why a charity was campaigning to stop whale hunting, but urged for whaling to be resumed as the booming whale population was contributing to rising sea levels

• an irate emailer who contacted a charity multiple times between midnight and 4am demanding to know why they wouldn’t return his calls

• a person who called on Christmas Day and accused a charity of being rude for not having any staff available because not everyone celebrated Christmas

• an outraged caller who demanded to know of a charity: “Why doesn’t the government just pay for this?”

• a person who said, “I injured myself on my way to this event and it’s your fault!”

• a supporter who wrote, “I emailed you two minutes ago. Why haven’t you got back to me?”

• a person who complained, “Your appeal letter about children with cancer made me sad.”

Presenters Claire Hughes, the director of fundraising and marketing at the Ipswich Hospital Foundation, and Erin McCabe, the senior manager of supporter engagement at the Royal Flying Doctor Service Queensland, acknowledged that the anecdotes were funny, but said it was important to have robust policies and procedures in place to manage complaints.

They offered serious advice on how best to handle complaints and emphasised the need for organisations to have a complaints management system in place to do so.

“Most importantly, we want to share with you that as ridiculous as some complaints can be, why they are so important for you and your organisation and why you should talk about them more and maybe our role, less,” said Hughes.

She said rather than shy away from donor complaints; fundraisers should embrace them because they are key to providing a positive supporter experience.

“Nobody likes to handle complaints,” said McCabe.

“They’re sometimes painful occurrences but they can be a chance for you and your organisation to shine.”

She said the reality is that complaints are inevitable.

“They’re the very nature of the work in which we undertake.

“You will never please everyone and when you’re dealing with an industry that is tied up with emotion, there’s always going to be complaints and criticism.”

McCabe said the way organisations and their employees deal with complaints is the key.

“Our job as fundraisers is to drive and inspire change and impact and that can sometimes face criticism because some people might not believe in what we are trying to do.

“Complaints are something to be faced head-on and looked at as an opportunity to learn and foster meaningful interactions with your supporters.”

McCabe said handling complaints correctly was an excellent opportunity to foster the most important currency that charities and NFPs have: trust.

“No charity ever sets out to make mistakes. We are all human; we do make mistakes, and we are going to have things go wrong,” she said.

“Like in any industry, the way that we handle complaints can make a real difference, not just to the donor, not just the charity, but also our sector as a whole.

“[But] unlike many industries, when someone has a negative experience with one charity, it can rub off on all of us.”

Hughes said complainants could be divided into four broad categories:

Passives

Unlikely to take action against a charity but will talk negatively about the organisation to their friends and urge them not to donate. Their anonymity and unwillingness to complain directly means charities can’t learn or rectify the issue they are unhappy about.

Voicers

Actively complain to a charity and outline their issue. They are unlikely to talk negatively about the organisation to others before approaching the charity first and assessing how they deal with their complaint.

“They should be viewed as our very best of friends because these guys will most likely give you a second chance after telling you what their problem is,” said Hughes.

Irates

Can be relied upon to complain to a charity but also bad-mouth the organisation concerned to family and friends before the charity has had a chance to fix their issue.

“They’re angry and they don’t believe complaining to your charity will make a difference. You can work on them, but their minds are already set so they will rattle off their complaint and don’t really give you a chance to respond.”

Activists

Viewed as the sectors most energised complainers, what sets them apart from others who have a gripe is their propensity to complain at a higher level.

“These guys are probably necessary for actual change in our sector because they will take it that one step further and potentially go to governing bodies if they have something really big to say,” said Hughes.

Hughes said voicers and activists were important because they could help generate positive change.

“[But] we also want to ensure that every single one of these types of complainers gets a wonderful experience as we support them throughout.”

She said it was important that organisations had a highly developed complaints management system and appropriate staff training and support in place.

“As soon as those complaints come in, you and your organisation should know exactly how to handle these supporters.”

Hughes said it was also important to recognise when a complainant was more interested in being rude and unreasonable than in obtaining a positive outcome.

“Nobody has to put up with inappropriate behaviour. Know when to walk away.”