Over the years that I have defended broker-dealers and investment advisors on customer-initiated claims, I have seen many things that would make any compliance officer cringe. One spine tingling (not in the good way) type of conduct is when an advisor engages his/her client when the client makes an informal complaint, instead of routing the complaint to compliance/supervision.

So why is engagement against the rules of engagement? The most important reason is that engagement (aka arguing) may only make a simple customer service issues into a formal complaint. Rather than engage, my experience suggests that it is better to get the complaint (assuming it is in writing) to the proper person in compliance/supervision.

Dealing with an oral complaint is a little trickier because you are put on the spot. Nevertheless, the best course, as hard as it may be, is to try to defuse the situation by expressing that you understand the issue that is being raised, you will look into the issue and, finally, will respond further as soon as possible.

By defusing instead of engaging, you give all sides the opportunity to let cooler heads prevail. Many times a customer service issue can be easily addressed by taking a little time to consider the issues and formulate a response/course of action instead of blurting out the first thing that comes to mind; that is invariably the worst thing to say.

If you get a complaint; don’t jump to respond. Use your resources and formulate a well-reasoned response. Sometimes the client is wrong, but arguing with the client gets you nowhere except guaranteeing litigation.