To handle a customer complaint well: reply quickly, listen and acknowledge the problem, apologise for the specific thing that went wrong, get the facts, fix it with a clear action and date, then follow up and learn from it. Handled this way, most complaints end with a customer who trusts you more than before. Below is the process, how it changes for public comments, DMs, email and reviews, and the mistakes that turn a small complaint into a big one.
Updated 10 October 2026
Reply publicly, briefly and kindly so other shoppers see you care, then move it to a DM or email: 'So sorry about this, Sam. We have sent you a DM to sort it out today.' Never post order numbers, addresses or tracking in public.
Treat a DM like a phone call: reply quickly, ask for the order number, and keep the conversation in one thread. Remember Meta's reply window: answer within 24 hours of the customer's last message.
Use a clear subject, short paragraphs and a specific fix with a date. See our apology email examples for wording you can copy.
Reply publicly to negative reviews with thanks, a short apology and an invitation to contact you directly. Future customers read your reply more than the review.
Under the Australian Consumer Law, customers are entitled to a repair, replacement or refund when an item is faulty, not as described or not fit for purpose, whatever your store policy says. New Zealand's Consumer Guarantees Act gives similar rights. Change-of-mind returns are up to you. When a complaint is about a faulty item, start from what the customer is entitled to, and never suggest they have no right to a remedy. See our refund policy template for wording.
Keep a simple list of every complaint: date, channel, product, cause and fix. Once a week, look for patterns: one product, one courier, one supplier or one unclear page. Fixing the cause is the only way the number of complaints goes down.
Complaints arrive in comments, DMs and email. Paperflower puts them in one list, flags complaints and sends them to a person instead of answering on its own, and drafts a calm, specific reply with the customer's Shopify order next to it. Refunds and cancellations always need a human. For public comments it writes a short reply with no order details, copies it and opens the comment so you paste and post it yourself. See how email support works, or copy wording from our apology email examples.
Most tools treat comments as noise. Paperflower reads every one, spots buying questions like “do you ship to NZ?” and makes sure they get answered before the customer moves on.
Every conversation gets a score so the people ready to buy come first. You see who to reply to now, and who can wait.
Order status, shipping and product details are pulled in automatically, so drafts are right the first time and private order details never go out in public.
AI drafts are on and auto-send is off by default. Complaints are escalated to you. Refunds and cancellations always need a human.
Paperflower starts free with 100 customer interactions a month, no card needed: every message in one list, and you write the replies. AI sorting, reply drafts and spam hiding come with Standard, which is A$47 a month for 3,000 customer interactions, with a 7-day free trial. Human replies are always free. See all plans.
Local time zones, local shipping questions, and support from people who know the market.
Reply quickly, acknowledge the problem, apologise for the specific thing that went wrong, check the facts, fix it with a clear action and date, then follow up and note the cause so it does not happen again.
Reply publicly with a short, kind message so others see you care, then move the details to a DM or email. Never post order details, never argue in public and never delete a genuine complaint.
Avoid 'calm down', 'that is our policy', 'there is nothing we can do', blaming the courier or the customer, and anything suggesting they have no right to a refund for a faulty item.
Within an hour on social media if you can, and the same business day for email. A quick acknowledgement buys time to find the facts.
Not unless you turn that on. By default it drafts a reply and you approve it. You can switch on auto-send for simple, safe questions once you trust the drafts.
Instagram, Facebook and TikTok comments and DMs, support email through Gmail or Google Workspace, and Shopify for order details.
Yes. The Free plan is the basics: 100 customer interactions a month in one list, no card needed, and you write each reply. Standard adds AI sorting, reply drafts and spam hiding, and comes with a 7-day free trial. You can cancel any time. Compare plans.
Connect Instagram, Facebook, email and Shopify in a few minutes. On Standard, AI sorts every message and drafts every reply, you stay in control, and nothing is sent without your say-so unless you switch that on. Free puts every message in one list for you to answer.