Customer Complaints About Breastfeeding Babies

Most of us are employees at some place of business, and many of us are business managers or owners. As an employee or business owner, a primary concern is customer service. It is important that customers have a positive experience while at a place of business. Occasionally the staff might encounter a customer complaint about a baby who is being breastfed at the establishment.

Typical training sessions on customer service address conflict between the business and a customer, but what if the conflict seems to involve two customers at odds, with the employee in the middle? The situation seems trickier when looked at this way. However, when an employee registers a complaint from a customer who noticed a baby breastfeeding, what is actually happening is still the typical single complaining customer scenario. There is no third party involved; there is no second complaint - yet. The point of customer service training is to help the staff efficiently resolve complaints in a way that results in a satisfied customer. No business owner would want their staff handling the situation in a way that may oppose existing laws and actually increases the number of complaints, but sometimes this is exactly what happens.

There have been instances when the business has ended up in the news not because of an anti-breastfeeding policy, but because they made two mistakes in handling a complaint about a breastfeeding baby. The first mistake is staff being unaware or dismissive of existing legislation protecting breastfeeding mothers. The next mistake is that the staff created an opportunity for a second complaint by drawing the mother into the situation when it should have been resolved with the first complaint. Both mistakes can be avoided.

Staff should be informed regarding the law in their state. In most states, there is legislation in place that protects a mother's right to breastfeed her baby anywhere she has a legal right to be. A business in these states must of course comply with the law. That means any action interfering with the woman's breastfeeding of her child such as asking her to cover, move or leave may be interpreted as violating her rights. As an employee or business owner, it would not be reasonable to take action that goes against state legislation in order to resolve a customer complaint. The management must offer a solution that doesn't conflict with the law.

Even in states where there is no legislation, it makes better sense to solve a single complaint than to invite a second opposing complaint. It may be impossible to satisfy two opposing complaints, leaving at least one dissatisfied customer who walks out feeling negatively about their experience. Owners and management can help the staff find solutions that involve only the customer who is making the complaint.

The media shows us another reason why it makes good sense for a business to resolve a complaint without drawing in the second customer. In recent months we have seen numerous reports about the rights of breastfeeding mothers being violated at places of business. It appears that as customers, these women are far more likely to take their grievance further than the customer who initially complained. For the business, this illustrates that it is preferable to end the situation with the first complaint.

The relative rarity of anyone actually complaining about a baby quietly nursing doesn't mean that a business owner or manager can ignore the possibility. It is important to inform staff of existing legislation as well as provide them with training that helps resolve any situations efficiently rather than increasing the number of complaints. The staff may never encounter one single complaint, but when they are informed and respectful, customers with breastfeeding babies will notice what a positive experience they have when doing business there. Women share with their friends, families and acquaintances which businesses are "breastfeeding friendly" and frequent them more often - and you can't put a price on that kind of positive advertising.