JUNE 2022
the verge at a vacant block in an industrial area. The worker was upset that he received the fine because there were no other places to park. The parking team received the complaint and commenced their investigation. They discovered that there were a large number of infringements that had been issued in the subject area on the subject day. They interviewed the ranger responsible and discovered that there was insufficient parking in the industrial estate. The council erected signs informing workers they would be fined for parking on the verge and informed all businesses in the estate that they needed to provide adequate parking for staff. The complainant then received an apology from council staff along with the decision that unfortunately, the fine could not be overturned. The first council spent more time on processing the complaint twice, generated animosity and a poor customer service image. The second resolved the cause of the issue to the best of their ability and still held the line where legislation demands it. In both incidences the customer paid the fine for doing the wrong thing, this will always be the case. However, the customer experience differed greatly with the second complainant feeling validated because their complaint resulted in a preventative action to avoid other customers having a similar experience. All businesses will receive a complaint at some point. What steps should you take to ensure it’s handled properly? Also, what shouldn’t you do?
Having a formal complaint handling process that aligns with the standards is the least that any organisation can do to ensure that they handle complaints correctly. Staff in organisations need to have a simple process that can be easily followed and it needs to be well supported by management.
Some of the things you shouldn’t do include: •
• • • • • • •
Allowing a complainant to escalate higher and higher up a chain of command seeking a better response; Taking an adversarial position when handling a complaint; Arguing with a complainant; Refusing to apologise; Waiting for the complainant to call you back; Only accepting complaints in writing; Re-opening a closed complaint when there is no new relevant information; Blindly following the complainant’s requests.
How can you ensure the complaint process is fair for all parties involved?
Using a standardised approach that aligns with CSIA CHF:2025, AS/NZS/ISO 10002 and the Ombudsman guidelines ensures organisations are handling complaints in a best practice way. The real value for organisations in managing complaints well is far more than happy customers. Complainants bring valuable information to the organisation through their feedback. This could be product feedback, staff feedback or service delivery feedback. It represents the most direct, timely, and accurate feedback on an organisations operations and if captured and used well is the key to improving products, services and ultimately organisations themselves. Organisations can and should certify their processes to accepted complaint handling standards like the CSIA CHF 2025 and implement continuous improvement processes to ensure they take the lessons from complaints and implement changes to improve their service delivery.
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