What does one complaint really cost?

All registered complaints and claims

Employee time + management overhead

Complaints caused by the same root cause

Average annual revenue per customer

Losses are calculated on profit, not revenue

A badly resolved complaint often ends in customer loss — estimate conservatively

Complaint rates depend on the problem, not the volume: for serious problems no more than 25% of customers raise it with frontline staff; for irritating ones it is usually below 5% — roughly 20 silent customers per complaint (J. A. Goodman, TARP/CCMC). The default (5) is deliberately conservative: not every silent unhappy customer is at churn risk. Raise it toward 20 if your complaints are mostly about small but persistent friction.

Silent customers don't escalate — they simply switch supplier

Fast response, one clear owner, a follow-up after resolution — compare with your current share in section 2