Complaints procedures in local government : informing your customers

Recently, the British Standards Institution (BSI) issued a new standard: BS 8600:1999 Complaints Management Systems - Guide to Design and Implementation. This standard tends to focus on those systems and procedures that organisations put into motion after a complaint has been received. However, for many customers, particularly of large organisations such as local government services, the problems begin with knowing how to gain access to the complaints system. In the public sector this visibility usually takes the form of some kind of information leaflet which should detail certain basic information that will allow customers to access the complaints system. This paper develops a framework for an effective customer complaints information leaflet and then evaluates Scottish councils' corporate complaints information brochures against this framework to determine whether or not they meet its acceptance criteria for effectiveness. Each leaflet was evaluated against 12 points of good practice developed from both Central Government's guidelines and the new British Standard guidelines. The results showed that although a majority of them met many of the framework criteria, a significant proportion fell well short of what would be deemed acceptable.div_BaM1. Aberdeen City Council (1997), 2. Aberdeenshire Council (1997), Tell Us What You Think, A Guide to Making Comments and Complaints, 3. Brennan, C., Douglas, A. (1998), Developing a process model for standard setting in local government services, Managing Service Quality, Vol.8, No. 4, pp 241-7 4. Brennan, C., Douglas, A. (1999), Best value: improving services by talking to people, Consumer Policy Review, Vol.9, No. 4, pp 135-42. 5. British Standards Institution (BSI) (1999), BS 8600:1999 Complaints Management Systems ? Guide to Design and Implementation, 6. Cabinet Office (1998), Service First, the New Charter Programme, 7. Cabinet Office (1998), The Citizen?s Charter, A Consultation Exercise: the Government?s Response, pp 26- 8. Cabinet Office (1999), How to Deal with Complaints, 9. Centre for Public Services (1998), Best Value Implementation Handbook, 10. Consumer Congress (1993), Consumer Representation Checklist, 11. Corporate Communications Unit (1997), The Lasernet Compendium of Service Improvements 1997, pp 13- 12. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) (1999), Modern Markets: Confident Consumers, 13. Desatnick, R.L., Detzel, D.H. (1993), Managing to Keep the Customer: How to Achieve and Maintain Superior Customer Service Throughout the Organisation, 14. East Lothian Council (1998), Feedback: How to Make a Comment, Complaint or Suggestion About Council Services, 15. Freemantle, D. (1998), What Customers Like About You Adding Emotional Value for Service Excellence and Competitive Advantage, pp 251-2. 16. Gabbott, M., Hogg, G. (1998), Consumers and Services, Vol.Chichester, pp 117- 17. Goodwin, C., Ross, I. (1990), Consumer evaluations of responses to complaints: what?s fair and why, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol.7, No. 2, 18. Katz, B. (1987), How to Manage Customer Service, pp 154- 19. Linton, I. (1995), 25 Tips for Excellent Customer Service, An Action Plan for Service Success, pp 145- 20. Martin, D.M. (1994), Dealing with Demanding Customers: How to Turn Complaints into Opportunities, pp 5- 21. McDonald, K.L. (1998), A comparative study of complaints handling and complaints procedures related to local authority housing associations and private rented housing, 22. National Consumer Council (1991), Housing Complaints Procedures: Principles of Good Practice for Social Landlords, 23. National Consumer Council (1994), Consulting Your Consumers: A Handbook for Public Sector Managers, 24. North Lanarkshire Council (1998), Making a Complaint or Comment, 25. Office of Fair Trading (OFT) (1991), Consumer Redress Mechanisms: A Report by the Director General of Fair Trading into Systems for Resolving Consumer Complaints, 26. Office of Fair Trading (OFT) (1991), Consumer Information Needs, 27. Plymire, J. (1991), Complaints as opportunities, Business Horizons, 28. Rogers, S. (1994), Performance Management in Local Government, 29. Scottish Consumer Council (1997), Best Value in Local Government, the Consumer Perspective, 30. Shetland Islands Council (1998), Do You Have A Complaint? A Brief Guide To Shetland Islands Council?s Complaint Procedure ? An Important Part Of Customer Care, 31. Skelcher, C. (1992), Managing for Service Quality, pp 65- 32. Smith, J. (1993), Quality complaints lead to quality customers, Quality Forum, Vol.19, No. 4, 33. West Dunbartonshire Council (1988), Complaints, What to Do if You Have a Complaint, 34. Western Isles Council (1998), Complaints Procedure,15pub82pub