| Introduction |
The Ombudsman has always been an advocate for a positive complaint handling culture of taking complaints as a management tool in achieving higher service standards and improvements in public administration. It was with the vision of inculcating this positive complaint handling culture that The Ombudsman introduced the Internal Complaint Handling (INCH) Programme in 1996 to afford an opportunity for organisations to reflect on the service environment and make improvements and adjustments where due. This positive complaint handling culture forms the foundation upon which effective and professional complaint handling infrastructures could be built to better serve the community.
The purposes of this handbook are - |
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To inculcate a positive complaint handling culture among organisations. |
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To promote professionalism in the handling of complaints by organisations. |
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To serve as a guide to organisations, including those not under The Ombudsman's jurisdiction, which are planning or in the process of setting up or reviewing their internal complaint handling system. |
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| This handbook sets out in easily understood terms how an effective complaint handling system can help your organisation improve its services to customers, the main features and ingredients of a good and professional complaint handling system and how one can be established, some basic complaint handling skills and what redress and remedies can be afforded to the complainants. |
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Complaints should be welcomed in order to prevent them. The emphasis should be on resolving and preventing similar complaints. An organisation is much more likely to gain public confidence if it listens to complaints and moves quickly to resolve or deal with them appropriately. This should also result in a more professional and effective functioning of any organisation. Most importantly, a proper and thorough investigation of a complaint not only redresses individual grievances but also provides a golden opportunity for perfecting the administrative system of an organisation.
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Why a complaint handling system is needed? |
It is fundamental for any well managed and responsible organisation to have clear and well publicized complaint handling procedures. A good complaint handling system will ensure that most complaints are resolved swiftly and readily as close to the root of the problem as possible; that there is a defined procedure for dealing with complaints remaining unresolved; and that lessons learned from the investigation of complaints can be used to improve an organisation's services. |
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The aims of an effective complaint handling system |
2. The principal test of the effectiveness of a complaint handling system is whether it helps to resolve dissatisfaction of customers about the services they have received or believe they should receive. An effective complaint handling system should provide : |
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a straightforward means for customers to make a complaint to the organisation |
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a procedure for investigating a complaint |
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a means of keeping the complainant informed about progress and outcome |
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redress where complaints are substantiated |
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a means of preventing recurrence of identified problems |
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feedback for management decisions on resource allocation, prioritization, strategic planning, service delivery and quality assurance. |
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| The principles of a good complaint handling system |
3. A good complaint handling system should be : |
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easily accessible and conspicuous to customers |
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simple to invoke and operate, with clearly defined stages and responsibilities |
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efficient, offering speedy action and resolution within pre-determined time limits |
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objective and free from undue influence or interference |
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feedback for management decisions on resource allocation, prioritization, strategic planning, service delivery and quality assurance. |
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| The essence of an effective complaint handling system |
4. An effective complaint handling system should be clear on : |
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the definition of a complaint - this will be for each organisation to determine and will largely depend on what the organisation wishes to get out of the complaint system. A complaint system can be narrowly defined as a way of properly dealing with serious grievances. It can also be more widely defined as an expression of dissatisfaction with the organisation's policies, procedures, charges, employees, agents, quality of service or articles sold or provided. It may be helpful also to clarify what the complaint handling system does not cover, for example |
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requests for a service (e.g. reporting a faulty street light which needs attention) |
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requests for information or explanation of the organisation's policy or practice |
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matters for which there is a right of appeal (an independent appeal channel, e.g. an appeal tribunal or board) or a legal remedy. |
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who can complain - this should be anyone receiving or seeking a service from the organisation, including where appropriate anyone authorized by those unable to lodge the complaint personally. It may also be useful to develop a policy to deal with anonymous complaints. Generally anonymous complaints can be acted on where the matter is relatively serious and there is sufficient information in the complaint to enable an investigation to be conducted. Similarly, you may need a policy on how to deal with repetitive complaints. |
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the stages of the procedure - experience suggests that a staged approach is the most effective but the number of stages should be minimal, for example :
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First stage - the service providers deal with initial approaches by customers and attempt to resolve their concerns. To achieve higher customer satisfaction, front-line staff should deal with the complaint on the spot as far as possible. |
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Second stage - complaints from customers still dissatisfied are investigated by an identified complaints officer at a senior level within the organisation, and the outcome reported to the complainant. |
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Third stage - the complaint should be handled by an independent body outside the organisation concerned if the internal procedure fails. For administrative complaints, organisation should inform complainants that they can seek an independent and external review from The Ombudsman or other appropriate bodies.
While this model suggests a hierarchical approach to complaint handling, this will not always be the case. Some complaints will never be dealt with by service providers but will enter the second stage or the third stage. For example, some complainants may take their complaints directly to The Ombudsman, who may see it fit to refer simple complaints to the organisations under the INCH Programme, and the complaints would enter the second stage of the process. |
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the form of complaints - As most organisations have set up telephone hotlines to handle enquiries, you should be prepared to receive most of your complaints over the telephone. At the first stage it may not be necessary to require complainants to file in any particular form but from the second stage onwards complaints are best put in writing. Complaint forms whilst useful can be couched in a more user friendly form by the use of wordings such as 'tell us what you think' or 'your opinion counts'. Assistance should be provided for those who have difficulty in writing down their complaint. Wherever possible the written complaint should include details of what the complainant feels went wrong and what he or she would like your organisation to do to put things right. |
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time limits - limits need to be set for each stage of the procedure, including acknowledgment of receipt, investigation and final response to the complainant. The more promptly a grievance can be resolved, the more likely the customer will be satisfied and think highly of your organisation. If a complaint lodged through the telephone cannot be resolved on the spot, dissatisfaction significantly rises if no response is given in a week's time. With written complaints, generally, it would be reasonable for complainants to expect public organisations to give an interim reply or acknowledge within two weeks and provide a substantive reply within three weeks. |
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redress - where a complaint is found to be justified, consideration needs to be given to providing a redress. The redress needs to be appropriate to the complaint. An apology can often be the best remedy for a complaint, particularly if the complainant's concern is addressed. In fact, a surprising number of people would be satisfied with an acknowledgment of error. |
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language - replies to complainants should be in Chinese or English as used in their complaints. Simple and easily understood terms should be used and technical and professional jargons should be avoided as far as possible. |
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further channels - complainants should be given information about what they can do and where they can go within the organisation or external redress channels such as The Ombudsman if they are dissatisfied with the outcome of their complaint. The alternative for complainants to seek redress from The Ombudsman should always be included in an organisation's performance pledge. This will only enhance more public confidence in the organisation's commitment to be open, fair and accountable in serving the public. |
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how to deal with difficult customers - preparation should be made to deal with more difficult customers, particularly those who appear to suffer from a mental illness. It may be useful to identify a specific member (or team) of staff who have relevant training to ensure that this group of customers is not disadvantaged in the complaint process. |
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| Arrangements for training |
5. Training in complaint handling can be an integral part of the customer care training to foster a customer service culture, with emphasis on the positive benefits for both users and operators of the system. Training arrangements have to meet the different needs of : |
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officers who will investigate complaints |
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service providers who will often deal with complaints |
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The training programme needs to include induction training to be provided prior to the introduction of the system and subsequently for new staff, regular refresher training as a continuing process and training of staff who take up new roles in the system. |
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How can complaints management help your organisation to improve your services? |
| 6. Although the primary objective of the complaint handling system is to provide an effective means for customers to make complaints and have them resolved, another very important objective will be to improve services and service delivery. The system needs to include mechanisms for recording and analyzing the types and subjects of complaints and the result of investigations. If investigation reveals any mistake or problem they should be reported to the relevant section heads so that appropriate action can be taken to avoid a recurrence. For grave mistakes with serious consequences or major problems the head of the organisation should be alerted to see if a major overhaul of the system is required. Each complaint is an opportunity to reflect and improve on your services in a positive way. You can identify root problems and improve the system by asking : |
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Where did things go wrong? |
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Was this kind of problem/complaint foreseen? |
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Was there a system in place to deal with such problems? |
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Was the system operating as it should have? If not, why did the system fail? |
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| How can we do better in the future? |
Ask these questions : |
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Could this kind of problem/complaint recur? |
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What likelihood is there of recurrence? |
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What would prevent recurrence? |
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Would the cure be worse than the problem? (Would the cost and complication of guarding against another mistake end up being counterproductive?) |
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One indicator of the effectiveness of a complaint handling system may be the number of systemic weaknesses or problems that have been identified and fixed as a result of complaints.
If few systemic weaknesses have been identified since the introduction of the complaint handling system, either you have a perfect organisation, or most probably you may need to review the type of information you collect about complaints. For example, if you do not collect information about the branch office which deals with the customer, but your experience tells you that quite a lot of complaints have related back to the same office, you would want to start collecting this information more thoroughly.
If many systemic weaknesses have been identified since the introduction of the complaint handling system, you can feel confident that you are collecting some good quality information.
Before you conclude that your complaint handling system is effective from the organisation's perspective, you should check to ensure that the problem has actually been fixed, not just identified and accepted.
How do complainants expect to be treated?
When people complain they want six essential things : |
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EFFECTIVE COMPLAINT HANDLING |
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to be heard |
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to be understood |
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to be respected |
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an explanation |
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an apology |
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action as soon as possible |
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Even if you are unable to take the action they want, if you can provide the other elements they will usually be reasonably satisfied.
The rights and responsibilities of complainants |
| 2. Complainants should be aware of and understand their rights and responsibilities. Complainants' rights could include : |
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fair treatment |
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courteous treatment |
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timely, accurate advice |
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privacy |
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reasons for decisions |
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providing timely and accurate information |
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treating the organisation's staff with courtesy |
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adopting a reasonable and co-operative attitude |
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Complaint handling skills |
| 3. Complaints may be handled more effectively if the concerned staff adopt the correct attitude and skills, which may include : |
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showing empathy - remember that whether the complaint is justified or not, the complainant's sense of grievance is real. Your organisation is to deal with that grievance successfully by treating complainants respectfully, pleasantly and professionally. |
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seeking clarification whenever necessary in a non-judgmental way - use open ended questions such as how? when? who? why? and avoid using prompting questions with a disbelieving tone such as Are you sure this is what actually happened? Is ... the underlying reason for making the complaint? etc. as far as possible. |
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trying to defuse any anger of the complainant before dealing with the problem. Courtesy, using good listening skills and showing empathy are extremely important when dealing with this sort of customer. A good tactic is to go along with any statements that do not convey blame or contradict the aims and objectives of your organisation. Use statements starting with "I quite agree" or "You may be right ..." You can usually agree with statements of fact, broad uncontroversial principles and the person's right to hold their own opinions. Finally, don't debate the facts or query the rationale or logic of his arguments until the person is settled. |
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making sure that when you are referring a complaint to another person or organisation, you are referring to the appropriate party and fully briefing that party before you pass the complainant on. Being referred from party to party is perhaps the most frustrating experience of any complainant. People will generally tolerate one 'warm' referral if they don't have to explain everything again. |
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| Remedies |
4. Remedies may take many forms and may include : |
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explaining why the action complained about was taken, having regard to the relevant policies, procedures and legislation of your organisation. Often it is useful to provide the customer with a copy of a particular policy. |
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apologizing with sincerity whenever warranted. Even if an apology is not warranted, the act of apologizing can be a potent weapon to appease an aggrieved person. In those cases, give an apology that does not accept blame for the organisation e.g. "I'm sorry that this situation has made you dissatisfied with us". |
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trying to meet any reasonable requests that would resolve the matter or taking some particular action, such as : |
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providing the service not delivered |
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undertaking to make sure outstanding action is taken within a defined time frame and making sure it is done |
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fixing an identified mistake and informing the complainants of it |
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providing further detailed/meaningful information to customers about the services available |
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allocating a different officer to oversee the customer's case (particularly if the relationship is likely to be ongoing) |
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reviewing/revoking/revising the original decision |
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reverting to the original decision maker for reconsideration |
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agreeing to annotate the customer's file to indicate that facts are disputed |
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changing policy or procedure, so that the problem will not be experienced by other customers and informing the complainant of this |
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waiving a charge or surcharge |
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providing other financial compensation according to existing policy. |
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| What if your organisation is unsuccessful in resolving the complaint? |
5. Internal complaint handling does have its drawbacks in that the complainants tend to doubt its independence and impartiality and that it is usually restricted by the policy of the organisation. It will be up to the organisations to act positively and more openly in order to eliminate these doubts.
6. It will not always be possible to satisfy complainants or agree to all the terms of settlement that they want. Common sense will dictate what is reasonable or achievable having regard to the organisation's policy and resources. Further action may not always be necessary so long as your organisation has properly listened to the complainants, understood them, respected them, and provided an appropriate explanation and apology. Your organisation can take the following approaches : |
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the complainant should be told in clear terms what your organisation can and cannot do |
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your organisation should inform the complainant to seek an independent review by The Ombudsman |
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the complainant should be advised of established appeal mechanisms, both administrative or statutory, to seek an external review and where appropriate the possibility of seeking other legal remedies. |
